Blog : progress gameplan

Progress Issue #2: Stalled quarter goals

  • By amanda@amandaburris.com
  • March 15, 2019
  • Systems

Every fresh year or quarter comes with their very own set of ambitious goals. Deadlines set. Goals mapped. And yet you sit here, ignoring the half eaten Ben and Jerry’s, vday candy, or whatever your vice, beating yourself up for coming short of yet another goal. So off track. So much wasted time. Don’t even get started on money. And feeling like a horrible leader for your small but mighty team.

Look, you are not alone. I’ve been there, we all have. It’s demoralizing to feel the quarter sneaking up on you knowing full well you are going fall short of the ‘plan’. I totally understand how it feels to see those unmet goals sitting there and left wondering why you let the momentum slow down to a complete complete stop. Even with the best of intentions and elbow grease.  HOW and WHY did this happen?

One of my key analysis points when working with clients is to see how their benchmarks or milestones shape up to meeting their goals. The most common reason why isn’t that the goal was too big or off or dumb, but rather the steps to get there were not properly broken down into single, level actionable items and prioritized. 

This is a foundational principle into everything I teach and implement. We can’t have ‘launch a fill the in blank item’ without making sure every step into the progress is broken down, delegated, prioritized and (as much as possible) unlinked from depending on the progress of something else.

But listen carefully, this so different than a 75 point checklist. This is a real plan that is both adaptable and firm, because priorities are broken down creating a consistency and collaboration that isn’t found on any bulleted checklist.

Revamp in 3 super easy steps

STEP 1: Get everything down to an actionable, single level task

The to do’s are the problem! Many times (even with detailed operating procedures) we still attack recurring or special projects using a broad, generalized “to do list” vs. a set of detailed, prioritized actions.  When we operate from a detailed, single level task your team knows exactly what to do and when.  You are setting your operations up with a clear, transparent plan.

STEP 2: Unlink to do’s from depending on each other

Once you have your tasks broken down into single, actionable items you need a system that clearly defines each task along with independent subtasks. This allows your team members to work ahead, with each other, and be in front of deadlines.

STEP 3: Set your priorities and focus

Unlinking and getting those to do’s to task level is just 2/3 of mapping your next steps. The most important element to making your next steps count is to set out your priorities.

Much like shoving 30 days into 90, not having these key and crucial components prioritized into single level tasks are keeping you from consistent momentum towards your goals. 

Once you eliminate the ripple effect, you will see real progress towards your goals. You’ll also be able to see where things are coming together quicker, what needs more refinement or a second hand, and what part of the process needs a little more work.

If you have your ‘launch fill in the blank’ simple sitting there, not broken down or prioritized, and working on tasks in general terms you won’t be able to see how much is left to reach the goal or move the project to DONE!

If you find yourself in this scenario, then you need to refine and tweak your tasks and prioritization.  By taking one week to analyze the work done, the gaps that still exist, and the remaining items necessary you can get those goals back on track and get out of the stalled space.

Now if that has your wheels turning, you need to spend a little bit of time getting this just right. No better place to start than with Your Progress Gameplan. It’s an easy method to get your next 90 days broken down into a real gameplan! 

Progress Issue #1: Shoving 90 Days of Work into 30 Days

When you put those leggings on (sans spanx) do you ever feel like you’ve just shoved a few extra pounds into em? Like you’re a sausage about to bust out of the casing with one wrong move? You know the I-can’t-pick-that-penny-up-off-the-floor kind of move. Honey, you know you’ve been there a time or two. That Sara Blakely knows a thing or two.

I use this example a lot when I start working with clients, not because they need to look slimmer or anything, but because I normally step into a hot mess when it comes to forward planning. All too many times, I see an entire launch, reboot, or overhaul dog eared for one month. Just like when we are too ambitious with that Spring ensemble from last year- your project planning could undergoing the same stress.

Shoving 90 days of work into 30.

One wrong move. One missed deadline. One sequence you can’t nail. One flu away from total and complete disaster.

Oh snap.

That was the seam bustin’ wide open.

Asana just laughed in your face.

Wouldn’t it be refreshing to have that launch, reboot, revamp or whatever mini project planned for and broken down 90 days in advance. Wouldn’t it be a nice change to clear your regular ‘ole stuff out (like that pesky blog that remains unchecked) to make room for fresh white space for the mini project?

Wouldn’t you feel more in control and your team dialed in if you had all the ducks in a row?

That is absolutely possible!

What you need is a Gameplan and I’ve got the exact solution! Let’s get you setup with your own Progress Gameplan so you can plan your next 90 days with confidence and in ultimate planning style.

Instead of getting that busy-ness high from shoving 30 into 90 (FYI: busy-ness high- the false high from being unnecessarily busy). . . what if you learned to plan to get things done AND be adaptable at the same time?

By implementing the Progress System and the principles behind it you will feel more in control. Your team will feel more confident in their next steps. And in the end, you will have a higher quality product (and process) because you are planning in advance- yet being flexible to account for any bumps in the road.

So if the later sounds way better than that unfortunate pen drop at Target, then I think you need to check out my way of doing things.

You can start with a serious from the ground up overhaul. . . or you can start small. Thinking in terms of sprints, mapping your our next 30-60-90 day gameplan, and scheduling regular reviews to make sure you are tweaking and achieving #allthethings.

 

The 411 on Your Genius Zone (Why It Works and Doesn’t Work Too)

The 411 on Your Genius Zone (Why It Works and Doesn't Work Too)At some point you’ve heard these pieces of advice:

  1. Delegate everything and stay in your genius zone
  2. There’s only enough time in the day, be intentional and stay in your lane bro
  3. CEO doesn’t mean Chief of EVERYTHING Officer

I totally get it. These pieces of advice make a LOT of sense. If you are struggling to scale and break into that next level, you might have tried to apply one or more of these ideas. BUT delegation, genius zone, and figuring out what to work on first isn’t really as easy as it sounds. It’s easy to think there must be something wrong with YOU. Why is it so easy for everyone else? What are YOU doing wrong?

Nothing. No, I mean it. You aren’t doing anything wrong and there isn’t anything WRONG with you and there actually isn’t anything wrong with that advice. The only problem is that advice only works for SOME people but it doesn’t work for EVERYONE. And really all of those tips are theories and not as easy to implement. Like exactly how does one DELEGATE, stay in their lane, on top of it all. . . and waltz into their office with the right combo of Andy & Miranda?

This is the key difference. While other folks might preach the ‘get it off your plate’ mentality as the only path to success, it’s just not true.

If you are anything like my awesome clients, the ones that….

Create and publish magazines, books, and digital publications.
Lead thousands of women in membership sites.
Mentor, coach, and run high level masterminds.
Launch a podcast. Or maybe two.
Have 10K+ FB group members.
Walk into conferences and have immediate authority.

They ALL have found their genius zones and successfully hand off anything outside of it, but they didn’t start there and they certainly continue to have their pulse on all the things. . . without their finger in every pie.

My people (that’s you dear) tend to do better when they do things a different way.

My signature way of doing this is based on PROGRESS, basically everything I teach, preach, manage, and implement is a systematic way of planning for (and reaching) your goals, while we improve operational efficiency and scalability and minimize growing pains.

Why does this work for people like you?

Because instead of working off of a mile long list of have-to-dos or only working on the creative fun parts (while turning a blind eye to things like, I dunno REVENUE) , we focus on priorities based on goals, benchmarks, and milestones.

That’s why I created the VIP Intensive. I’m so over awesome people like you struggling to to manage #allthethings and keep shoving 100 days of work into 30, but never really getting anywhere with it and feeling like a complete loser because of it.

I wanted to create something that would work for MY type of people.

It’s 5 sprints with me as your progress guide. We dive deep. Gather facts and data. Set the goals. Break down the plan. And customize your 90 days to work for you and your team. We set you up to stay in your genius zone, slowly handing off those tasks you no longer want to handle and even help you build or train up team members.

If you’d like to…..
Set big fat audacious goals.
Carve out actual time to work on ‘one day projects’.
Have a team who has your back and buy in to your vision.
Feel accomplished at the end of every quarter.
Know what to work on and when.

This would be a good place to start. Listen, you can keep doing things the way you’ve been taught but I doubt much will change because you’ll never be the type of person those ways will work for.

You are in good company, I can’t do it either.

You’ll continue to….

STRUGGLE.
To diminish your dreams because you don’t have the right tactical plan.
Have work bleed over into your family time.
Beat yourself up because your brain is ALWAYS ON.
To see, feel, and ALLOW things to fall through the cracks.

But who wants that? Not when you can prioritize all the things into an actual plan. FINALLY stay in your genius zone, without blinders to what is happening within your business.

You can learn more here.