The Magic Target
Mark Lee introduces a new approach to achieving your objectives through combining the power of a magic circle and a target.
It’s possible you just have one key objective for your practice. Most of us though have three or four. If you think you have more than this you will probably struggle to make time to bring them all to fruition. So I suggest you start by focusing on just three or four at a time.
Draw a large circle and divide it into as many segments as you have key business objectives (max 4). Then draw a central circle near the middle leaving room to put key word reminders of each of your main objectives into the central segments. You now need to draw two more circles equally spaced around the target and within your initial large circle.
The area just outside your central segments is what I call your inner circle. For each of your key objectives you should note down who are the inner circle of people who could help you make progress towards your objectives. You might also note down what you need to ask of them or learn from them, though there probably won’t be room to do this within the circle.
In the next (middle) circle you note down for each main objective, the stepping stones that will contribute to you getting where you want to go.
Then, finally in the outside or ‘magic’ circle you note down those actions you need to take for each objective. And it’s best to make them as specific as possible.
The reason I call this area the ‘magic’ circle is that it is this list of actions that enables you to start making progress towards your objectives. The simple fact that you have identified specific actions may even motivate you to get moving. It’s not always easy identifying what you need to do first to get onto the ladder of success. But until you do that you are unlikely to get far.
The inner circle is also key. Few of us have the skills, knowledge and experience to do everything all by ourselves. It must make sense to identify an inner circle who could help us.
Your inner circle might comprise friends, business associates, networking buddies, fellow accountants or perhaps a mentor or a coach.
Another way of thinking about the magic target is that the central area contains what you want to focus on. The inner circle contains who can help you. The middle circle highlights how you are going to achieve your targets and the magic (outer) circle contains the actions you need to take now to make progress.
I have my magic target on a big whiteboard in my office. It serves as a constant reminder of my key objectives, my inner circle for each of these objectives and the stepping stones I need to take in each case. I update the outer magic circle every week and love the sense of progress this provides.
My magic target is all quite separate from my day-to-day to do list – although some of the magic circle actions do get on that list too.
Would you like to have Mark Lee as part of your Inner Circle?
He only has time to work with a select number of practices and does so through The Inner Circle for accountants. See here>>>
