We’ve officially started our annual planning for the new year.
The process is relatively straightforward. We start by deciding what the company’s three highest priority goals are. With those goals as the base, each department (and manager) creates a big three representing what they can do to reach the company’s big three. From there, we dive into quarterly rocks, SMARTs (goals that are specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and timed), and the explicit tactical steps it will take to accomplish what we set out to achieve.
The meetings are going well. There is a lot of back-and-forth idea sharing, negotiating, and priority setting.
Nonetheless, I had a sneaking suspicion that sometimes what seemed like a dialogue was really multiple monologues.
The reason for the disconnect (or misconnect) was that the participants had fundamental beliefs, at a higher level than we were discussing, that were at odds with each other.
With that said, another important component of meaningful communication is a shared understanding of a common language. Words can mean different things to different people. Simply agreeing on a “word” is different than agreeing on a common meaning.
I shot two videos that I think help teams get to alignment.
Thinking About Your Thinking
The first video discusses several techniques to enhance your decision-making.
One of the ideas is something called “Think, Feel, Know.” Basically, it explains that you have to deal with superficial thoughts before getting to deeper feelings. Then, you must deal with those feelings before you get to “knowing”.
Another technique discussed in the video involves adding time to look for “insights” after working on something. Those insights are often the seeds for something greater.
Chunking Higher
The second video explains how to chunk high enough to start from a place of agreement. Exploring distinctions from there is relatively easy.
I’m a big fan of picking a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (sometimes called a “BHAG”) and taking actions that move you in that direction.
One of the keys to this is chunking high enough to name the roles, goals, and strategies you select with timeless language (meaning that the target words hold up even as you pivot and adjust your focus and actions).
While doing this, I realized that my ideal next chunk of years involves taking Capitalogix to the next level (and beyond) through collaboration, cooperation, and joint ventures.
Once you know your long-term goal, planning the steps you need to achieve it is relatively easy. Achieving smaller goals reinforces successes, builds momentum, and makes continued progress feel more likely.
Extra points if you make them SMARTs (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Bound).
Actions speak louder than words, and your words can distract you.
It’s OK to misstep, and it’s OK to get stuck - but recognize where you are and what you’ve done ... and move forward.
Delayed gratification happens when you want something badly but cannot get it right away. The result is often anger or frustration.
Meanwhile, the mainstream media broadcasts a seemingly non-stop stream of messages screaming for immediate attention and gratification. The result of that is not good either (for example, it can result in higher rates of obesity, drug abuse, and depression).
Don’t be fooled. Overnight successes are rarely actually overnight successes (for long).
To summarize these concepts:
Make sure you have a common language
Begin with the end in mind
Start with the highest level of agreement
Make distinctions from there
Hope that helps.
Over the next 25 years, there are many people I want to impact – and many goals I want to accomplish.
It hasn’t always been easy - but building Capitalogix has been an intensely rewarding passion. It has been easier because I want what I want. Make sure you know what you really want ... it makes getting it much easier.
I look forward to you all being a part of it as well. Here’s to a successful 2025 and an even more successful 2050.
Watching how thoughtfully and carefully they planned the wedding to keep it intimate and meaningful was heartwarming.
The wedding was for them, with parents and siblings as the only guests. They did it at the location of their first date, had their favorite desserts, and wore non-traditional outfits. I believe they will have a party in the spring.
A wedding is a significant life event. So, I’m sharing a few of the thoughts it triggered.
Since they were born, I have been struck by how similar and different my two sons have been. My older son, Ben, is very analytical and yet surprisingly heart-centered, while Zach is very emotionally-centered and yet very intelligent. That slight difference in their center of gravity has been impactful. Ben has always been a “less is more” kind of guy, while Zach has always been a “more is more” kind of guy.
Nature is funny ... and I believe that how you do something is how you tend to do almost everything. For example, Ben always had a plan — yet, Zach was different ... until he fell in love with rugby, and everything changed. I saw him approach fitness, health, schedules, time, and almost everything differently. That exposes an interesting truth - You don’t tend to win races you don’t want to win. Something deeper has to inspire the effort. When you find something deeper, the rest becomes easier. Even in his 30s, rugby is still his passion.
As a parent, a small part of me wished that Zach’s focus on rugby had gone to school or business or something ... But that’s not how I really felt. As a father, I knew that once I saw that he knew how to focus on what he wanted, he could focus on anything he wanted. Because once he knew how to do it for one thing, he could do it for anything.
It was like that for me when I met Jennifer – everything changed. I knew so fast. So, when I saw how everything changed for Zach when he met Sloane, I knew the same thing happened.
Here's how I knew he really loved her. Zach’s favorite food groups are cheese fries, bacon, and extra grease. So, his falling in love with a gluten-free vegan (and not only tolerating it – but defending it) showed me something massively important. For the record, he’s been protective and focused on Sloane ever since. And because of that, I know how this turns out.
I want to say how proud I am of Zachary and how happy I am for both of them as we welcome Sloane to the family.
Her love has brought out the best in Zach, and we can’t wait to see the life they’ll build together.
That reminds me of something I thought about several times during the wedding ... it is that love is both a noun and a verb. It’s a thing (a state, a feeling, or even a target) … but it’s also something that you can choose, commit to, and do. The noun without the verb is frustrating - because you couldn’t move towards it and would have to get lucky to experience it. But the verb without the noun would be exhausting because you’d always be searching without finding or driving toward something that you don’t arrive at. This perspective on love as both a state and an action resonates as a natural truth for me. It is like inhaling and exhaling ... one without the other is futile.
If you are interested, there is an active online community forum that shares examples of Desire Paths. It may give you some ideas and knowing laughs.
I am a creature of habit, and even though much of what I think, feel, or do seems to be happening based on real-time choices or decisions, much of that is just a well-worn rut of unconscious behavior.
As a subtle reminder to my son, who just got married, expect many of your existing Desire Paths to change (even if you don’t want them to).
The lesson ... It’s often easier to account for or take advantage of human nature (or nature) than to fight against it.
Here is a short video on how this relates to your business and tech adoption. I call it Functional Mapping. Check it out.
The video provides additional depth and detail beyond what’s covered in this post. I encourage you to watch it for a more complete perspective.
Understanding the natural path for both technology and people makes it easier to understand and anticipate the capabilities, constraints, and milestones that define your path forward. That means you actually have to understand the different types of users and what they expect to do. Here’s a diagram that explains how we build AI-enabled applications.
Each stage is really about the opportunity to scale desired capabilities and automation.
It isn’t really about building the technology; instead, it is about supporting the desire.
You don’t have to get it right. You just have to create momentum in the right direction. Meaning ... if you can anticipate what is coming, you don’t have to build it. Instead, you should figure out where you want to build or create something that will move things in the right direction to help make that happen or benefit from it when it happens.
You’ve probably heard me talk about how Capabilities become Prototypes. Then, Prototypes become Products. And, ultimately, Products become Platforms.
This model is fractal. That means it works on many levels of magnification or iteration.
What first looks like a product is later seen as a prototype for something bigger.
SpaceX’s goal to get to Mars feels like their North Star right now ... but once it’s achieved, it becomes the foundation for new goals.
This Framework helps you validate capabilities before sinking resources into them.
It helps you anticipate which potential outcomes you want to accelerate. Rather than simply figuring out the easiest next step … you have to figure out which path is the best next step to your desired outcome.
The world is changing fast! Hope you’re riding the wave instead of getting caught in the riptide!
Finding The Path Of Least Resistance ...
There’s a concept in design and transportation called Desire Paths.
A Desire Path is the path users take instead of the path intended by the builder.
Here’s a great example.
If you are interested, there is an active online community forum that shares examples of Desire Paths. It may give you some ideas and knowing laughs.
I am a creature of habit, and even though much of what I think, feel, or do seems to be happening based on real-time choices or decisions, much of that is just a well-worn rut of unconscious behavior.
As a subtle reminder to my son, who just got married, expect many of your existing Desire Paths to change (even if you don’t want them to).
The lesson ... It’s often easier to account for or take advantage of human nature (or nature) than to fight against it.
Here is a short video on how this relates to your business and tech adoption. I call it Functional Mapping. Check it out.
The video provides additional depth and detail beyond what’s covered in this post. I encourage you to watch it for a more complete perspective.
Understanding the natural path for both technology and people makes it easier to understand and anticipate the capabilities, constraints, and milestones that define your path forward. That means you actually have to understand the different types of users and what they expect to do. Here’s a diagram that explains how we build AI-enabled applications.
Each stage is really about the opportunity to scale desired capabilities and automation.
It isn’t really about building the technology; instead, it is about supporting the desire.
You don’t have to get it right. You just have to create momentum in the right direction. Meaning ... if you can anticipate what is coming, you don’t have to build it. Instead, you should figure out where you want to build or create something that will move things in the right direction to help make that happen or benefit from it when it happens.
You’ve probably heard me talk about how Capabilities become Prototypes. Then, Prototypes become Products. And, ultimately, Products become Platforms.
This model is fractal. That means it works on many levels of magnification or iteration.
What first looks like a product is later seen as a prototype for something bigger.
SpaceX’s goal to get to Mars feels like their North Star right now ... but once it’s achieved, it becomes the foundation for new goals.
This Framework helps you validate capabilities before sinking resources into them.
It helps you anticipate which potential outcomes you want to accelerate. Rather than simply figuring out the easiest next step … you have to figure out which path is the best next step to your desired outcome.
The world is changing fast! Hope you’re riding the wave instead of getting caught in the riptide!
Onwards.
Posted at 06:39 PM in Business, Current Affairs, Healthy Lifestyle, Ideas, Market Commentary, Personal Development, Science, Trading, Trading Tools, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0)
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