We’re halfway through the month of December now.
In my neck of the woods, now is the time when time gets very busy.
Many people are holding and attending holiday parties to celebrate the year that is almost on its way out the door.
Other people are winding down for the month and year.
It’s been cold here in North Carolina, and it appears that some people are looking forward to hibernating for the next week or two.
I’m looking forward to having some time to unwind, decompress, and spend with my family.
Yesterday my children spent half of the afternoon playing the “Shake the Presents” game.
My wife informed me that “Shake the Presents” is a mandatory game that all children play.
I was a bit surprised by her comment and asked her what she meant.
She said that the curiosity of unopened presents compels children to hem and haw and luxuriate in what could be.
The anticipation of excitement is palpable.
What if that was the way we approached each new day?
What if we saw each new day as a gift of unlimited possibilities?
How would that change the way we approach our world?
Many people take a deep breath of fresh air as they look towards the New Year.
The New Year holds unlimited potential.
People set new intentions with their New Year’s Resolutions.
This year will be different.
For more than 100 years, the Wrigley Faithful proclaimed, “There’s always next year!”
The perpetual hope of what the New Year will bring is always a source of inspiration for me.
I read recently that only 25% of people keep their New Year’s Resolutions for 30 days.
Grimmer still, only 8% of people accomplish their New Year’s Resolutions.
That could lead one to proclaim, New Year’s Resolutions don’t work.
Why do so few people follow through on accomplishing their New Year’s Resolutions?
The structure of New Year’s Resolutions is flawed.
If it were such a good structure more people would be successful with their New Year’s Resolutions.
There is a better way to accomplishing our goals called the Ninety Day Sprint.
The Ninety Day Spring works because it is a long enough period of time to accomplish significant improvements.
Additionally, the Ninety Day Sprint is short enough that one can maintain focus and urgency to meet the deadlines for key objectives to accomplish during the time period.
The Ninety Day Sprint consists of the following steps.
Choose Big Rocks
There are times in my business when I’ve been caught up in improving everything in my business.
What I found when I focused on improving too many things, I had dismal results.
When I attempt to make too many things important, then nothing becomes important.
A Big Rock is an objective that, once properly implemented in your business, will make a big difference.
The Big Rock should be large enough that you can accomplish it in Ninety Days.
If the objective can be accomplished in one week, then it probably is not significant enough to improve your business.
When creating Big Rocks, it’s important to simplify your business.
I look at my business as a three-unit entity.
The three units of my business are:
- Sales and Marketing – This unit is responsible for bringing in revenue from new and existing customers.
- Operations – This unit is responsible for delivering services and products to customers.
- Finance – This unit is responsible for the money the business earns and spends.
When I choose my Big Rocks each quarter, I choose one or two Big Rocks for each unit of my business.
If I choose two Big Rocks in a unit, the second Big Rock stays on the back burner until I accomplish the first Big Rocks of each of my three units.
After I choose my Big Rocks, the next step is to list out the necessary tasks that will need to be performed to complete the Big Rock.
Put In The Work
During the Choose Big Rocks phase, we defined the work required to complete a Big Rock.
A Big Rock will weigh you down if the work is not done.
Work is the actions we take to create realities from our dreams.
Putting in the work is where we demonstrate that we want to accomplish our dreams.
Work is the magic ingredient to the life of your dreams.
Thomas A Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
When we have our Big Rocks, it’s critical that we work with diligent persistence until we’ve completed the work associated with our Big Rock.
Calvin Coolidge instructed us on the power of persistence,
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
Assess Progress Weekly
The Assess Progress Weekly Phase is our chance to measure our progress on the Big Rocks.
By measuring our progress, we can determine what adjustments need to be made to move us closer to the completion of our Big Rocks.
Sometimes life gets in the way, and we don’t make the progress we intended.
By assessing our progress weekly, we bring our attention back to what we previously determined was the most important objective for the current quarter.
Schedule time in your calendar each week to assess your progress on the Big Rocks.
Each week ask yourself the following four questions regarding your Big Rocks.
- What went well?
- What could be improved?
- What was missing?
- What was confusing?
The answers to these questions will help you get past any roadblocks you encountered the previous week.
Conclusion
If you’re looking to make improvements in your business in 2020, then it’s time to transition to a process that will give you better results.
The Ninety Day Sprint will improve your results because it is the perfect amount of time.
The Ninety Day Sprint is a long enough time that you will have enough time to accomplish objectives that are meaningful for your business.
Also, 90 days is a short enough period that you’ll be able to maintain the focus and urgency it takes to complete something significant.
When you’re looking to make improvements in your business, look at improving in the following three areas of your business:
- Sales & Marketing
- Operations
- Finance
There are three steps to making the Ninety Day Sprint work for you.
First, you need to choose your Big Rocks, which are objectives that will make a significant difference in your business.
Second, you need to put in the work.
The third step is to assess your progress weekly, so you maintain your focus and continue your progress towards completing your Big Rocks.
By implementing the Ninety Day Sprint in your business, you will make more significant improvements and experience more abundance in your business.
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