DBA Members’ Forum | February Summary

• In short, the methodology in the book suggests you shift your thinking from an annualised plan of attack, where you think you have all the time in the world to get things done and quarter four becomes a nightmare (!), to redefining your timeline to shorter periods to encourage high productivity.
• The ideal period he says is a 12-week period that is linked to a longer-term 3-year vision which is ‘scary’ and aspirational. Start with the vision and work back.
• Michael suggests using the energy you have at the end of your year, when time is tight and targets need to be hit, and applying that principle to a 12-week timeframe enables you to achieve more.
• It means you don’t lose track of what you need to do on a daily basis to achieve your goals. 
• Maintaining the energy and momentum over 12-weeks is easier than when you have an annual plan – hit your targets in the first 12-week cycle, you have the motivation and momentum to apply it again and achieve more. 
• Michael suggests starting with thinking about what you want your life to look like, an aspirational goal that is far enough away that you don’t think of how you’ll get there.
• Then taking an ambitious vision that gets you closer to that aspirational goal. Don’t limit yourself, choose something that scares you a bit, because if it doesn’t then that suggests you already know how to get there. An ambitious vision is one that needs you to think differently and creatively about what you do and how you do it. 
• Then you can think about your professional life, how your next 3 years will get you closer to that aspirational goal. Next, plan how each year will look and bring it back to 12-weeks that you measure and track constantly. 
• Things can slip off track if you’re not fully tied to your vision – so that really is the key and tied to your aspirational goal. 
• This methodology works with personal or business goals or a mix of the two.
• Working with the 12-week year at an organisational level aligns the team behind one vision and forces you to confront confusion and divergence, deal with it in the team and make sure your tactics are well resourced and realistic.
• You can buy the book here and Michael kindly offered DBA members a $1000 discount on the Accelerator Programme, reducing the price to $997. 

There was much, much more covered in the hour – you really had to be there. Do make sure you join us in our next DBA Members’ Forum on Monday 4 March at 4pm GMT, look out for an email from me in a few weeks with more details. If you would like to attend, get in touch here. 

We’ve captured the conversation highlights from the all the Members’ Forums which have taken place and they can all be found here.