#2 WWSLL? (What Would Success Look Like?)

I’ll be making reference to time management quite a bit (since time is a finite resource).

In Chapter 3 of David Allen’s Getting Things Done, the author introduces “The Natural Planning Model” - a process for getting projects under control. I’ve used this 5-step process since I read the book 20+ years ago, on both personal and professional projects. It's been a game-changer and lifesaver.

There are 5 steps to the process as follows:

1.    Why are we doing this project? What principles are involved with this project?

2.    What would “wild success” look like in the long-run?

3.    Brainstorm ideas to make this defined “wild success” happen.

4.    Organize your ideas into organized lists made up of projects and next actions.

5.    Begin executing next actions off these lists in order to move the project towards completion.

Of these steps, I find step 2 - defining what success will look like - to be pure genius (I call step 2, "WWSLL?" – What Would Success Look Like?). It can be applied to just about any project where there is a degree of complexity where the outcome isn’t clear.

I mention WWSLL because I actually used this process in the initial planning for this blog, Numbers That Work. Here it is so you get an idea.

Step 1: First ask why you're doing this? Why am I creating a blog?

1. I naturally think about solving problems and enjoy this type of work.

2. I find it rewarding to help others. It gives me purpose.

3. I enjoy connecting with people and want to gain opportunities to share my experience with others - It's why we are here.

4. I'd like to find some additional opportunities to help other individuals and organizations.

Step 2: WWSLL for Numbers That Work? Here’s my initial thoughts.

1. My perspective provides unique, valuable and engaging advice to improve the professional and personal lives of leaders and managers in organizations.

2. Readers will experience improved profitability, better utilization of assets (capital and human), greater recruitment and retention of key employees with fewer headaches.

3. Challenges are managed with less hand wringing and greater sense of calmness.

4. The blog has helped me find a voice for myself, “a perch to crow from” as a favorite colleague of mine has a way of saying.

5. My blog introduces me o organizations where, as a fractional executive, I can add significant value and be rewarded for what I bring to the table.

6. As I write and publish, not only do people gain new insight, but I gain new knowledge (always!) and develop additional ideas and techniques to help others  

7. I’ve gained additional credibility, opening up opportunities for speaking engagements, presentations and media appearances.

8. My blog has proven valuable with other cultures, awarding me opportunities to work with people in distant locales and expand my horizons.

   Some of these ideas may seem to be a reach, but as David Allen says, you're supposed to list Wild Success. Nothing here is wild, per se, but ambitious perhaps.

The next step in the 5-step process is Brainstorming. I won't dive into that in this but I will say this. Once you know what success will look like, your brain naturally starts thinking about the various options to make that success happen. Hence why it is called the Natural Planning Model.

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