Goal Achievement: Execution

by Celes | | Email this post

This is part 6 of a 7-part series on what it takes to successfully achieve goals.

• Part 1: Goal Achievement: Introduction
• Part 2: ESPER
• Part 3: Establish
• Part 4: Strategy
• Part 5: Planning
• Part 6: Execution
• Part 7: Review

© jurvetson

“Execution is all that the world sees.”

Execution is the 4th step of ESPER framework. This is the step where your goal really gets brought to life in physical reality. When you were establishing your goal, you created the virtual image it in your mind. In Strategy, you developed the key pillars and principles you need to build your plan on. In Planning, you develop the specifics of your plan, right up to activities you need to do and integrated it into your schedule.

Execution is an extremely critical step because execution is all that anybody ever sees. You can spend all your life establishing goals, strategizing and planning, but if you never get down to the execution, nothing is going to happen.

It is the step when things manifest, get brought to life, takes physical shape. It is when your goal becomes reality.

Assuming you have done a thorough and rigorous job in the previous three steps and you have prioritized the right tasks in your plan, how your goal manifests in reality now weighs on your ability to execute according to your plan.

The key personal development skills that execution tests are 1) Self-Discipline 2) Maximizing Productivity. I have already written a series of articles in those topics which you can check out below.

1) Self-Discipline

Self-Discipline is Overrated: How to deal with situations where you feel resistance or inertia towards achieving your goals.

2) Maximizing Productivity:

1. Become the Master of Your Time – Two key pillars of productivity: Effectiveness and Efficiency
2. Put First Things First – How to better manage your activities with Time Management Matrix
3. 80/20 Principle – Focus on getting the 80% right with 20% of your efforts
4. Myth of Perfectionism (3-part series) – How perfectionism impacts productivity and what to do about it
5. 50 Ways To Boost Your Productivity
6. Why We Have Slumps And How To Get Out Of Them
7. Why I Wake Up Early (And 9 Reasons You Should Do So Too)

In the last part of the series, we will be looking at the last step of ESPER – Review.

This is part 6 of a 7-part series on what it takes to successfully achieve goals.

• Part 1: Goal Achievement: Introduction
• Part 2: ESPER
• Part 3: Establish
• Part 4: Strategy
• Part 5: Planning
• Part 6: Execution
• Part 7: Review

Filed in: Goals & Success | Posted on Jan 24 2009