New Years Eve Party! Fantastic. “What are you going to do differently next year?” asked my neighbour. I had indeed resolved to change next year. I was fed up of some of my habits that did not allow me to achieve what I wanted to achieve in terms of my goals.

Next year I resolved was going to be different! I was going to get fitter by jogging every morning for 4 km! I was going to lose 10kg! I was going to be less stressed! I was going to be more effective at work! I was determined to achieve all of this. Nothing was going to get in my way!

On January the 1st in the morning I got up and looked outside. It was cold and wet. I felt tired from the previous late night. I tried to get going and put on my tracksuit and then just sat there, watching the early morning news. Then I could no longer ignore the need to eat in the morning and gave up on the jog. “Maybe tomorrow’” I said to myself.

Has this ever happened to you?

How can we become far more effective implementers of our plans?
How does a company ensure that was agreed at the managements meeting is implemented?

The answer is a process that systemises the implementation of the action plan. Having a good time management system to pursue your goals is an example of one type of system. This traditionally was a paper-based system such as a diary or results tool (the Time Manger) but these days tend to be software such as Outlook.

Having a system that by its very nature automatically prioritises and implements actions that result in goal achievement is critical to success.

At work, it’s capturing the learning and knowhow of the business and implementing it on a regular basis. A well-known example of this might be the decision-making process whereby there is a regular department meeting whereby decisions are taken and they are followed up on an electronic regular basis to ensure that actions have been implemented.

Say for example you wanted to ensure that your managers gave the annual appraisal to a certain level and spent sufficient time with your colleagues coaching them and helping them plan their development. You could implement a system whereby they have to submit online the results of that appraisal (agreed or commented on, of course, by the coachee). If the results were not submitted by each manger by a certain deadline then there would be an escalating reminder system which would also inform the management. There could be in-built consequences of not submitting on time, the manager not getting his end-of year bonus (as one multi-national system works!). There would also be an ‘alarm’; for the business if things were not submitted and of course for this to work there has to be a consequence if something is not carried out.

Managers could even be scored automatically on whether they have submitted on time and whether they have filled in all the boxes.
Capturing, systemising and automating all the processes that yield results in an organizational can give a competitive edge to an organization and ensure that it achieves its strategic goals.

Doing it for yourself in your own personal systems and processes can mean the difference between achieving your life goals and just dreaming about them!