There are four basic steps to achieving big goals in life. First, you must sit down and clearly define exactly where you are and what you are doing at the moment. Second, you must examine your past and determine how you got to where you are today. Third, you must decide where you are going, and where you want to end up, one, two, three and five years from now. Finally, the fourth step is for you to decide how you are going to get from where you are to where you want to be in the future.
When I conduct strategic planning sessions for the executives of large corporations, we spend a good deal of time taking a snap-shot of the company as it exists today. Sometimes, very careful analysis of the current situation can generate valuable insights into what the company should be doing in the future. In your personal strategic planning exercise you must do the same. You must stand back and take a look at your sales career, as well as your personal life as it is now, and honestly evaluate yourself in terms of the larger picture.
Here’s how you do it. Imagine that you begin walking from City A to City B, a distance of 30 miles. At the half way point, 15 miles out, you will be in neither city. When you look backward toward City A, you would no longer be able to see it. When you look forward to City B, it will not yet be visible. This is similar to your situation at this initial phase of personal strategic planning.
City A represents the past and City B represents the future. Where you are at this moment represents the present. Now, imagine that you could rise above yourself, way up into the air, thousands of feet. At a certain point of altitude, you would be able to see City A, yourself on the road, and City B, all at once.
By the same token, situation analysis enables you to see the past, present and future, and how they affect each other, with greater clarity. When you are clear about where you are coming from, where you are at the moment, and where you are going, you become much more focused and effective in your planning and goalsetting.
Now, here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, examine your past history and determine the major steps you took to get to where you are today. What have you learned from your experiences?
Second, look forward into the future and decide where you want to be in three to five years. What could you do today to move faster in that direction?
Brian Tracy is the author of “Million Dollar Habits” and “Getting Rich Your Own Way.” He can be contacted at 858.481.2977, or visit www.briantracy.com.
