What 3 words will help you achieve your goals in 2020?

You can learn a lot from taking stock of the past year and setting goals for the next one. Through retrospection, realization and aspiration, you can build the skill of goal achievement.

I have been using Chris Brogan's "My Three Words" approach to annual planning and evaluation for seven years. After choosing your goals for the year, you select three words that will guide your mindsets, actions and behaviour toward attaining them. At the end of the year, you assess how effective each word was in keeping you on track toward success.

My primary goal for 2019 was to finish the first draft of my second book. The words I choose to guide me were leap, space and determined.

Leap was my prompt to take risks and not play it safe. The premise and format of my book are nontraditional, and I didn't want to compromise on my concept. I would rather receive criticism for something true to my vision than praise for something ordinary. Leap helped me make decisions that aligned with my ambition, some that were out of my comfort zone.

Space was my guide for managing my calendar. I needed to balance work and writing. Every consulting assignment I committed to would mean less time to write, but each would provide new insights on how to lead change. The balance between writing and consulting felt right for 2019, although clients’ needs influenced my calendar more than the space I intended for them.
 

Determined was my trigger word to exhibit drive, perseverance and tenacity. When barriers appeared, I pushed through them. I also used this word as a mantra: “you are determined, do it.” Determined played a similar role to leap. In hindsight, a different word might have been more helpful.

When I moved to a new office in September, I neglected to transfer my three words Post-It note on my monitor. Without visual reminders, leap, space and determined lost a lot of their power. They became vague notions instead of concrete productivity tools. I won’t let this happen again.

My three words for 2019 helped me stay focussed on my goal when I used them. I will work on using my new words consistently this year.

My primary goal for 2020 is to finish my book. Once I have completed my first draft, I will progress to the editing and publishing phases. This is my launch year!

The three words to guide me to success are precision, forward and enjoy.

Precision will direct the quality of my writing. Given my chosen format, I must make every word count and delete the ones that don't. I will need to cull some chapters to reach my target length. Precision will be a factor in selecting the ones to be cut. It will also direct how I communicate about the book. I must be clear and concise to get noticed.

Forward is about making continual progress. There is no time to stall or rest if I am going to be successful. Regardless of setbacks and delays, I must keep moving forward. As long as I do so, I will achieve my goal.

Enjoy is a new type of word for me. It’s a reminder that your path can be as fulfilling and pleasurable as your destination. Achieving a goal without being conscious of how you did it loses part of its value. Self-awareness leads to improvement.

I feel inspired by my new three words posted on my monitor. Now it’s time to put them to work. What three words will guide you to achieve your 2020 goals? There is no time to waste. 

Phil

3 Words Can Guide You to Success in 2019. What are yours?

How will you stay on track to achieve your goals next year? This is a question I ask myself every December. Defining my goals isn’t a challenge; avoiding distraction so I can accomplish my goals is. 

This will be my sixth year using Chris Brogan's "My Three Words" exercise to think, act, and behave in ways aligned with achieving my goals.

Here is how Chris’ technique works: After setting your goals for the year, select three words that will act as prompts to guide you through the decisions and tasks required to achieve them. For example, in 2017, one of my goals was always to speak the truth to clients because that is how I could provide the best value to them – especially when they didn’t want to hear it. The word permission was my trigger to communicate my insights, observations and risks directly.

Your three words act as guardrails for your mindsets, actions, and behaviours. Keeping them visible and front of mind informs the choices you make as you complete your tasks. You are conscious of your words, and the price you will pay by not following them.

My 2018 words were courage, discerning and moment. Here’s how they guided me to success:

Courage represented my desire to make big moves in 2018. I was beginning to write my second book and didn’t want to compromise the picture in my head of what it could be. On the book front, it worked. I pushed myself to break standard formats and approaches. It also supported my goal of changing my presentation style at conferences, trusting the audience to customize the content live instead of me assuming what would be most useful. Courage motivated me to take risks at each session. What I still need to work on is the courage to say no more when faced with requests for my time.

Discerning is how I wanted to make decisions. This one worked well too. It helped me test my decision process: was I considering all options, what were the pros and cons of each one, and who had experience I could learn from? It also helped me resist giving a quick answer that was not aligned with my goals.

Moment is about focusing on the present instead of thinking about the past or guessing about the future. The more I could stay in the present, the higher my productivity. This word was effective in keeping me present when speaking with others but didn’t help to avoid distractions when I was by myself.
 
Overall, my 2018 words did their job of helping me achieve my annual goals.
 
My number one goal for 2019 is to finish writing my next book. All three of my new words need to guide me to this goal. Here they are:
 
Leap is about jumping into new and unknown territory. I must be fearless to create the book I must make, which is very different from my first. This will require taking risks and making mistakes; if I play it safe, I will fail. This is not an option.
 
Space refers to room within my calendar to seize opportunities or solve problems. I can’t fill my days at the expense of flexibility. This has always been a challenge for me: Defaulting to saying yes without weighing the consequences. I know I will be tested throughout the year and space needs to guide my behaviour.
 
Determined signifies the spirit behind never giving up. It’s about drive, tenacity and perseverance. Passion is the emotion that underscores these traits. I will achieve my goals this year and passion will fuel my progress.

Choosing my 2019 words builds anticipation and excitement for the new year to begin. My goals and word guides are set. It’s time to perform. Posting my three words on my monitor and reviewing them every morning will keep me on track. All I need to do is follow them.

What three words will guide you to success in 2019?

Phil

What three words will guide you to success in 2017?

This is the fourth year I am using Chris Brogan's "My Three Words" exercise to help achieve my goals for the upcoming year.

This is how it works: select three words that will guide your actions and behaviours toward achieving your goals for the year. Keep them visible, like taping them to your laptop or monitor, to ensure they are considered as you make decisions throughout the year – is this decision aligned with my three words and the goals they support?

This simple exercise has kept my goals top-of-mind and on track, increasing the odds of achieving them. They have also encouraged me to reconsider choices I have made hastily or without fully considering the consequences of them. 

Looking at the words I selected over the years provides an accurate summary of my ambitions over time including some consistent themes and new directions:

2016
Excite the people I work with to help them accomplish their goals
Create new mindsets, approaches and tools for managing change
Focus to minimize distractions, either time wasters or low-value activities

2015
Choiceful in my decisions to align with my goals
New change support offers and different ways of providing them
Flexible scheduling so I leave room for unanticipated requirements and opportunities

2014
Purposeful in everything I do to fulfil my purpose of helping people and organizations be more successful by working in new ways
Groundbreaking change support offerings and different ways of providing them that move me out of my comfort zone
Global clients and perspectives for breadth and universality 

Some words have worked better than others. Last year, "excite" led me to taking on the most speaking engagements I have done in the five years of leading Change with Confidence. It was the best format to maximize the number of people I communicated with and expanded the number of industries I have worked in. 

On the ineffective side, "focus" provided little value. It helped me realize that knowing I was unfocused wasn't enough to trigger an action to refocus me, something I have corrected for this year. 

I have been considering my 2017 words over the holidays, replacing or refining ones that don't have the power to guide me. All of them will help me write my second book, which is a big goal for this year. Here they are:

Aspire to aim higher, moving beyond what I have accomplished before (I am best out of my comfort zone)
Prioritize my time and activities to keep me on my path and avoid detours
Permission to speak the truth as I see it because that is the best value I can provide

I am ready to succeed.

The "My Three Words" exercise is an excellent way to kick-off a new year: assessing last year's words helps you evaluate your accomplishments and shortfalls; selecting your new words builds inspiration and motivation; and following them keeps you on track by heightening the implications of the choices you make. 

So what do you think? What three words will guide you to success in 2017?

Phil