Making the Most of a Year. Master Model

Jim Rohn said, “Finish your year before you start.” Jim is right.

To do that well, I believe you need a ‘Master Model’ to help you know what to do and where to go next. A model is like being able to visualise the instructions; where do the pieces fit to make up the whole?  Being able to see the ‘big picture’ and having clear next steps is essential when it comes to leading yourself through any projects that matter.

A big picture view, clear next steps and some confidence that you are making decisions that matter, are all things you can expect from a helpful model.  You can also engage with it as a tool to leverage off when you need clarity, accountability or a reference point to take your next best step.

In a previous post I spoke about the four fundamental areas of focus that will make the most of your decade. A year is just 1/10th of the next decade, so I believe it’s the same model applied consistently over time. I have briefly reiterated the principles in this post. Below is the model that these ideas hang off, and the steps you must take to make progress.

Making the Most of a Year | Master Model

Image Copyright Rohan Dredge 2014

How the model works:

#1: Destination. Knowing where you want to end up.

Having clarity on your clear end point is essential. Having a picture, a description, and a sense of where you want to end up can make the biggest difference to the kind of future you are creating.

#2: Responsibility. Creation through ownership.

Taking full responsibility for your future is the next key to having your best year, and your best decade. Taking full responsibility for what IS working and what is NOT working is key to making better decisions each time you sit down and do this exercise. You have the life you want right now. It’s up to you to make different choices that will sow the seeds of a different outcome.

#3: Collaboration. We is better than me.

Woodrow Wilson said, “Use all the brains you have got and all the brains you can borrow.” Woodrow is right. We can go much further much faster.

#4: Movement. Prioritise progress and personal growth.

One of the things that will keep your plan in motion is evidence that it’s going well. Keep looking for small wins that add up to making a big difference. Be the kind of person that champions the progress of others and notice it in yourself. Movement matters.

What you get when you do this is:

CONVICTION. I will do this.

Destination + Responsibility = Conviction

Conviction is the belief that this task is worth it. When you have conviction, you have a resource to persevere the perspective, to see a way forward, and the desire to keep moving towards your preferred future.

When you know where you are going, and you are willing to take responsibility for the creation of that next step, you make a decision inside that says, “This can be, and this must be.”

Conviction is the thing that transcends circumstances and serves your future. Guard it well.

SYNERGY. We can make it.

Responsibility + Collaboration = Synergy

Synergy results from our combined efforts making us able to do more than we could apart from one another. When I decide to create my future, (instead of leaving it in the hands of others) I chose to work with people who I can live eye to eye and shoulder to shoulder with. We can then enjoy the beauty of our combined efforts rather than just the output we can exert.

Synergy means we enjoy the benefit of others efforts. Aristotle made it clear when he said, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

MOMENTUM. Watch me fly.

Collaboration + Movement = Momentum

Momentum makes you look better than you are. It’s a leader’s best friend and a huge encouragement for your decade long and annual planning focus.  When you work together and take the next best step, you are creating an energy that will consistently remind you of the importance of what you’re doing and the benefits of doing it well.

Momentum is when the additions you make to your personal growth plan become multiplication in the results you experience. Serving the things that create momentum is a priority in the early stages of your plan. Being disciplined. Creating habits, inviting accountability and persevering through inevitable challenges. It’s worth it!

PROGRESS. Next best step.

Movement + Destination = Progress

Make progress not perfection. Making the most of your year and intending to have the best decade ever is about small consistent steps in the right direction. When you know where you are going, you have the energy to get there by moving confidently in that direction.

Paul J Meyer says, “Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focussed effort.”

“It’s helpful to remember that models are helpful until they aren’t,” says my friend and mentor Matt Church. Matt is right. Use this until it stops helping. Use it to create the conviction, the synergy, the momentum and the progress your next year needs.

Question:

What specific ways can this model help you make the most of your year? I’d love you to share your thoughts.