How can you make the next twelve months truly extraordinary?
I find that a fascinating question, because it takes us out of the sphere of New Year resolutions and incremental goal-setting and gets us thinking expansively and boldly.
Regular readers will know that I’m a big proponent of exponential leadership - the idea of multiplying your impact instead of “adding” a bit more value.
But you can’t do it until you can imagine it, so if you want to set yourself up for a year of exponential impact the chances are you need to elevate your vision and sense of the possible… dramatically.
So… here are three ingredients you can use to bake yourself a 🎂 “cake of exponential vision” 🎂 as you ponder what the year might have in store. Carve out 60 minutes to work on this and let me know how you get on!
INGREDIENT 1: Some new questions
Here are a few helpful exercises I’ve used in the past to expand my sense of the possible and make some big leaps forward in my own life:
Zoom out ten years.
Think about what an extraordinary future would look like in ten years’ time. Write out a description of your “average perfect day” in a decade, so you can really picture it. And then think about what progress you would need to make over the next twelve months to be on track towards that goal.
Write next year’s “annual newsletter” today.
Place yourself mentally twelve months into the future and write down all the successes and progress that have occurred over the year. This is called “future pacing” and it’s incredibly powerful as it forces you to get really clear about your preferred future.
Ask yourself what will change and what will stay the same.
Over the next twelve months, what do I want to nurture and maintain, what do I want to let go of, and what do I want to create? The first question draws your attention to the good things that you want to preserve, the second question forces you to drop some things that are no longer serving you. And the third question taps into your creative power and vision for the future.
Imagine you 10X your key metric in the next year. How did you do it?
It’s very easy to play it safe and think about 10% improvement. But what about 10X? Imagine you 10X your key metric (revenue, profitability, life satisfaction, free time, …) over the next twelve months. Now, work backwards: how did you do that?
Ponder what you would do if you knew you couldn’t fail.
Often we stay stuck in incremental goals because we’re trying to be sensible. What would be a wild and audacious goal that feels impossible and perhaps too risky to try, but would be incredible if you could accomplish it?
INGREDIENT 2: Some new data
As part of this process, I do recommend you take the Xquadrant Exponential Executive scorecard. This is a quick (two-minute) assessment that will help you map out your roadmap to exponential success in the year ahead. You’ll discover:
INGREDIENT 3: Some new challenge
Finally, don’t do this alone. Find someone who can stretch and push you, and get you out of your comfort zone.
One way you can do this is by applying for a 40-minute Executive Preview session with me. In this 1:1 coaching session I'll draw out a vision that will set you on fire, and help you build a personalised roadmap to an extraordinary next 12 months.
There are only 10 sessions available, and they will be held in January 2024. Apply here.
