Before You Begin – ElPropósito4 min de lectura

Three steps and three messages for 2023

Photo by Pietro Mattia on Unsplash

The essence of any goal lies in three steps we need to take before setting it. Most of the goals abandoned during the year were poorly framed or poorly worded from the start. A typical, badly run strategic planning exercise, for example, ends up barely put into practice. At its core, a good strategic plan should get us from point A to point B, create more value and deliver results that, without the right framing, will leave us stuck exactly where we are. So what makes a goal achievable?

The first big step is the very word that inspired the name of my blog, "El Propósito": purpose. Many organizations, and people, don’t know their purpose, their essence, the reason they’re in this world. Remember that purpose sits on the highest rung, well above vision, mission and values. A clear purpose is the first key of all. Without one, it’s as if the plane or the ship had no compass, and the pilot simply wouldn’t know where to steer. If we’re leaders and others depend on our leadership, many of them will have boarded the plane without knowing the pilot has no idea where it’s going. Sound familiar?

The second step is resources, and to know them we need to take stock of everything we have. Wars are won with resources. Getting from point A to point B in a war means taking ground, and for that you need at least two or three tools to take even a first step. We may gather more resources as we go. Still, trite as it sounds, that first analysis matters: the strengths we have (and how to make the most of them), the weaknesses holding us back (and how to tackle them), the opportunities (and how to seize them) and the threats (and how to mitigate them).

The third step is setting the goals themselves. The only constraint here is the previous step. With few resources, we obviously can’t set an endless list of goals. We have to be clear on what we want and what we have to get there. This is where one key to execution becomes obvious: allocating resources. Making the most of strengths, mitigating threats and reducing weaknesses all take resources. So when setting goals, the smartest approach is to be clear from the outset that what we’re proposing is truly achievable. How SMART the goal is comes second.

There’s no rule of thumb saying six, seven or ten goals suit us best. What we do need to know is that as we take consistent steps toward a north, a purpose, we find ourselves in an ocean of opportunities that gradually brings the results we hope for. I want to close with three messages about goals. The first is about owning everything that’s in our hands to do. It makes clear that if we do everything within our reach and the result still doesn’t come, we’ll always have the chance to learn and try again. The second is action. If anything in life is empowering, it’s having a plan that inspires us to move, and acting on it. The last is faith. With everything I’ve described well framed and worked through, around what gives meaning to our life and existence, all that’s left is to trust that sooner or later the results will come. Good luck in 2023. May it be a fruitful year, full of health and blessings.

Warm regards and all the best,

Rodrigo Baccaro

P.S. I dedicate this post to my dear friends Aida, Fernando and Fernandita. May God bless you, and may Juan José intercede from heaven for you and for all of us for as long as we’re on this earth. No words I could offer right now would let me feel I’m bringing you even the slightest comfort. All I can do is trust in my faith that God our Lord, in His infinite mercy, will sooner or later give you the comfort to understand and come to terms with all of this. All my love, my friends, all our love to you. Big hugs.

Author: Rodrigo Baccaro

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