Insight 24-1: The Universal Blueprint for Achieving Goals

It’s so simple, sitting there in plain sight. I have seen this pattern play out in so many different parts of my life, from choosing a college to getting customers for my companies. Regardless of the complicated jargon that people put on it, the underlying strategy and steps remain remarkably consistent. This insight is that this universal blueprint is applied to nearly any endeavor in life or business. Here’s how it works:

A Process

This is a process. Some may call it a campaign, a funnel, or other like names.

1. Define your objective (or goal, outcome, vision)
   • Start by clarifying and forming a clear idea of the outcome.
   • What are you promoting or pitching? What is the end goal you’re aiming for? What do you want to do?
2. Gather list (or audience, colleges, things)
   • Identify who needs to hear your message or what needs to be determined. Collect a list of prospective things that meet specific criteria relevant to your objective.
3. Qualify list
   • Not all prospects are created equal. Using a focused set of criteria, siphon out the prospects that most align to your objective. Sometimes, developing a ranking scale based on priority or a scoring mechanism can be helpful. This doesn’t have to be fancy or complex; the simpler, the better for everyone.
4. Write your message
   • Draft, then redraft, then finalize your message to your qualified prospects. Leverage personalized or contextual information to enable the message to connect or catch the audience’s attention.
   • Have someone else read through your message before you click send. The message should contain a tailored message that speaks directly to your target’s needs and interests.
5. Launch the process
   • With everything in place, it’s time to go live. Start your outreach via email, phone, or other way to transmit information.
   • Monitor the progress. Monitor the engagement you get with your messaging and qualified targets.
6. Reflect and iterate to improve this process.
   • This could mean changing the qualification characteristics, the messaging content, or the entire objective.

That’s it. All kinds of “experts” will tell you their way of doing things is right in every single category of the market, but in reality, if you understand this process, each person is doing the same thing. The context is key.

Context of Goals

While the process may remain universal, the complexity of the goal may require more nuanced strategies than the steps above outline. Additional knowledge in a certain field may be required to set the criteria and evaluate the criteria against prospects. This knowledge may also require specific additional steps that support the goal.

Example – for choosing a college – simple

• Define the campaign: Decide what you’re looking for in a college.
• Gather your audience: Research institutions that align with your criteria.
• Qualify your prospects: Narrow down to colleges that offer the programs and opportunities you need.
• Craft your message: Prepare your application in a way that highlights your fit for the college.
• Launch your campaign: Submit your applications and await responses.

Example – selling your business – more complicated

1. Define the Goal: Decide on your desired outcome for selling your business, like the sale price and buyer profile.
2. Gather Prospects: Identify potential buyers such as industry competitors or investors.
3. Qualify Prospects: Narrow down to buyers who can meet your terms and have a good reputation.
4. Craft Your Pitch: Prepare a compelling presentation or document highlighting your business’s value.
5. Launch Campaign: Reach out to your qualified prospects to negotiate and finalize the sale.

Summary

Regardless of the complexity and the need to bring additional people on with specific knowledge to support with the process, internalizing these steps gives you power to achieve your goals. By understanding these basic steps and continuing to repeat them in different areas of your life, you will gain in productivity, creativity, and happiness (through achieving more and harder goals).