THE 3×3 STRATEGY INTRO!
You set yourself specific goals – and then everyday life intervenes? The 3×3 strategy of the American bestselling author and coach Michael Hyatt helps entrepreneurs to really achieve their goals.
Finally set up the outdated homepage, double sales within a year, or launch a new product in two months – many leaders have ambitious plans and goals. And then they don’t reach them because other tasks interfere: a new job is more important than revising the homepage, unexpected problems arise.
Coach, entrepreneur, and author Michael Hyatt and his daughter and co-managing director Megan Hyatt Miller know the problem – and they have a solution ready: The 3×3 strategy. The method helps entrepreneurs to keep an overview of their goals and to constantly work towards them.
Micheal Hyatt’s promise: With this method, you triple the probability that you will actually achieve your goals. In their podcast, father and daughter explain how the strategy works. Entrepreneurs set three goals or tasks in three steps – hence the name 3×3 strategy.
FIRST: SET 3 QUARTERLY GOALS
Megan Hyatt Miller coaches and advises entrepreneurs and knows from experience: “Probably the biggest mistake most entrepreneurs make is that they set too many goals. Sometimes they start the new year with 30 or 40 goals and believe that they can achieve them all. ”That is a fallacy – because urgent tasks keep interfering and distract entrepreneurs from the important, long-term goals.
It is better to limit yourself to a few, but really important goals. Leaders should only pursue three goals per quarter, Michael Hyatt recommends. “If you limit your focus, you can multiply your success,”
This is how you set your three goals:
Entrepreneurs should only set quarterly goals that contribute to the long-term success of their company. According to Megan Hyatt Miller, To find these goals, Leaders can ask the following questions:
- Determine what is particularly important for you in the next three months?
- What is particularly urgent, what do I have to complete this quarter?
- What do I have capacities for?
The last question is the crucial one. “Resist the temptation to focus on too much at the same time,” says Michael Hyatt. Because: “Having 15 priorities at the same time amounts to having none at all.”
For example, for a small furniture manufacturer, the goals for a quarter could be:
- Build an E-shop.
- Create 250,000 dollars in sales.
- Find a co-managing director who has his back free and supports him in the management of the company and employees.
SECOND: SET 3 WEEKLY MILESTONES
If the goals are set for the next three months, the task will be more detailed: Weekly milestones that contribute to the quarterly goals will help entrepreneurs to stay on course. To do this, they set three tasks at the beginning of each week that brings them one step closer to their goals.
At the end of each week, entrepreneurs should look back at what they have achieved in the week. Defining and reflecting on the tasks initially requires discipline, says Michael Hyatt. “But it’s worth it.”
How to find your three tasks for the week:
The Eisenhower Matrix can help determine three important tasks for a week. You can use the method to sort tasks by priority: from unimportant and not urgent (tasks that can be done later) to important and urgent (to be done immediately). According to Michael Hyatt, it is mostly so-called B tasks that bring entrepreneurs closer to their long-term goals: They are important, but not urgent.
If the furniture manufacturer from the example above would like to devote himself to the E-shop and the search for a co-managing director, his weekly tasks could look like this:
- Write a concept for the E-shop.
- Call several agencies to get quotes for building the E-shop.
- Place a job ad on different job boards.
THIRD: DETERMINE DAILY TO-DOS
The third step of the 3×3 strategy helps entrepreneurs achieve their weekly milestones – and finally the quarterly goals. In the morning, they determine which three tasks they want to do during the day. The same applies here: these tasks should contribute to their goals.
This does not mean that entrepreneurs should only tackle three tasks each day and then put their feet up. Rather, in addition to the tasks that arise anyway, you should determine three particularly important ones.
The purpose of the three daily tasks is not just to make progress – it is also the feeling that you have really achieved something. Megan Hyatt Miller: “At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what else has happened: You have completed three important tasks that bring you closer to your goals and advance your company. “It feels great. ”
Of course, there are also days when you can’t get to anything else through hours of meetings or workshops. Then, according to Michael Hyatt, it is enough to undertake only one important task.
If the furniture manufacturer intends to place the job advertisement for the co-managing director in one day, his daily tasks could look like this:
- Write a text for the job offer, precisely defining the tasks and requirements.
- Submit the job advertisement to an employee for review.
- Call a friendly entrepreneur who has found a co-managing director through a job exchange – and ask him about his experience with suitable job portals.
Recommended Readings: Using Inner Forces To Achieve More
How to find your three daily tasks:
According to the Pareto principle, 80% percent of the result can be achieved with just 20% percent commitment. Micheal Hyatt transfers this principle to the 3×3 Strategy: The instructor knows from experience that many entrepreneurs have 15 to-dos every day. But only three of these tasks – 20% percent – according to Hyatt, really move them forward. So only choose tasks that really help you.
Tip: Entrepreneurs should write down their goals and look at them regularly so as not to lose sight of them. Where you write down the goals is up to you – whether in a diary, on your cell phone, on the computer, or in an annual plan that hangs on the wall in the office.