The Point: Every year-end it’s the same old same old… A bevy of the year’s “Top” lists (Top 10 Goals of Successful Leaders), a slew of New Year’s Resolutions (ones that you’ll never keep, or keep for the first 4-weeks of the new year), and a bunch of “Year in Review” stories about what went right/wrong in the year that just was. Well that all ends right here and right now! In this post we’ll explore how you can truly set BOLD versus SAFE intentions and achievement expectations for the New Year… Ones that a year from now you’ll be glad that you did. Enjoy!
NOTE: If you want an Accountability Partner (someone that will keep you on-time/on-target towards actually achieving your New Year Intentions and Expectations, see the end of this post for a special offer!
Resolutions are Painful | Goals go Unmet
As the year approaches conclusion, I would ask you if you were an executive coaching client of mine to rate the year that just was. Here, do it right now:
Q1A: On a scale from 1-10 (with 10 being best-in-class come write an article on me and we’ll get published in HBR – Harvard Business Review), how would you rate the year that just was?
Q1B: What would have needed to occur for you to have rated it a 10?
Here’s what I know (and you should too if you want BOLD versus SAFE)… New Year Resolutions are often painful when you set them (you are admitting defeat in as much you haven’t been able to accomplish them prior to setting them… perhaps setting them again each year, right?) Resolutions are also painful when you don’t accomplish them, or as I just mentioned have to revisit them again the following year. I also know that Goals sometimes go unmet, both professionally as well as personally. You can rationalize the professional goals that aren’t accomplished by saying that the economy was against you (“This would be a great business if it wasn’t for the customers” one client told me!) You might even be able to blame it on your team (Leaders lead though, so that’s not a good excuse!)
Be BOLD… SAFE Won’t Work (i.e., BOLD versus SAFE)!
In researching why this whole nonsense of resolutions being painful and goals going unmet occurs, I stumbled upon a formula that should be considered when setting just such future desires. First and foremost, we should attempt to set Intentions and Achievement Expectations, and here’s why: It might seem like a semantic moment regarding what you call something, but the reality is that it can and will make all the difference in the world. Your mindset will shift towards a different paradigm, especially when you write them down (More on this in a minute).
There also is an achievement moment that comes when you classify these Intentions and Achievement Expectations across four (4) variables, which are:
– Scale
– Risk
– Innovativeness
– Difficulty
You can elect to play things SAFE (Small, Achievable, Following, and Easy) or you can play things BOLD (Big, Outperforming, Leading-Edge, and Difficult). Guess which one the leader who leads chooses? By the way, the BOLD acronym is also the 4 Tips! for this post.
SPECIAL OFFER! If you’d like to see 25 of my “100 BOLD Intentions and Achievement Expectations for 2017!” send me an email to info AT javelininstitute.org… These will not only be BOLD, but will blow SAFE ones out of the water for what I know is going to be my best year ever! You’re not going to have a “best ever” 2017… Why not?!?
SUMMARY
In this post we’ve examined the leadership challenge of BOLD versus SAFE along with 4 tips to help you succeed. If you are serious about your success, then send me an email through the SPECIAL OFFER! above to see how I’ve structured my very own 100 BOLD Intentions and Achievement Expectations for 2017. Here’s to your success!
Sam Palazzolo
