There has been a lot of hype about “The Secret” to reaching our goals and dreams: Is it done through Intention or Strategic Planning and diligence?  Women mostly like to believe that it is through their more feminine energy that they can create: visualizing, intending, intuiting, and surrendering to their Divine.  Men traditionally for years have believed that a good plan and hard work will do the trick.

I would have to say, as an Executive Coach and Trainer, that the balance of both methods is true, in my opinion.  The acronym that puts the two practices together for me is this:

V - Get clear about the VISION of what it is you want in your life, personally and professionally

I - Now exercise your INTENTION in everything you do.  Feel how important this vision is to you and make the commitment to the choices required that are in alignment with what it is you say you want.  Notice when you seem to want something more than what you say you want.  Be curious about that and then ask yourself what that is about for you and what choices you could make that would work for you to get you what it is you say you want.  Be open with yourself and explore possibilities

S – Then, after you have discovered what obstacles get in your way and new possibilities of reaching what it is you say you want, plan out the specific STRATEGIES that work for you to meet your vision

E – Create confidence and EMPOWERMENT in yourself by making the choices that you have contracted with yourself to make.  Notice how when you are in integrity with what you say you want, you will attract more of the opportunities to you. As you honor your own intention, you will stop sabotaging yourself by not recognizing your own inner obstacle of double-minded thinking and then choosing conflict avoidance and conveniently blaming it on something else or someone else.  Instead you will take responsibility to discover what it is you really want and how to get there

I believe in the principle of “what we think about, we bring about” and the enormous power of our minds, however, I also believe that sometimes our mind possesses double-minded thinking, which is the reason we do not get what we say we want.  We may say we want something, but deep down do not want to sacrifice a comfortable behavior to get it. Or perhaps, we truly want what we say we want, but do not believe we deserve it (after all little missy, who do you think you are anyway? J)   That is why, both having INTENTION for what we want and thinking through a do-able STRATEGY is important, in order for us to reach our goals.  Being disciplined in both matters, will help us to be empowered enough to make the choices that are in alignment with our intentions, as they present themselves.

My consulting business, Susan K. Wehrley & Associates, Inc., (www.solutionsbysusan.com ) has been going into businesses for the last 22 years teaching management teams, executives and employees to reach their goals in the most fulfilled and effective ways.  Often, what starts out as a business focus, will end up incorporating other aspects of their lives, because after all we are whole people who have habits and life skill sets (or not) that effect us in both areas of our lives.  My business has primarily been business-to-business to make the Company Strategic Planning more clear within the company and to operationalize it all the way down to each employee so that they understand, in each moment of choice, which decisions would put them in synch with their teammates and the company vision and goals. I have found people who do this in all areas of their life are more apt to carry this behavior out at work, because they understand how to recognize “the elephant in the room” that might be getting in the way of achieving their goals and how to deal with it.

When we hold ourselves accountable to “say what we mean, and mean what we say” we hold an intention of integrity for ourselves.  This also means that we have committed to deal with obstacles as they come up so that we can stay on track.   Living in integrity means that our “yes” means “yes” and our “no” means “no”, even in the face of adversity and challenge.   For some people, this is why they have vague and foggy goals: They would rather avoid conflict than create the life they want.

Do you have foggy thinking? What are you doing to become more intentional this New Year?

Susan K. Wehrley

Business Consultant

Founder/CEO of BIZremedies

262-780-1944

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In today’s economy, with the unemployment rate at nearly 10%, it is important to be a stand out professional. As an employee, consultant or business leader, you will stand out among the rest if you are strategically minded, have the ability to identify a root cause and bring a team together to problem solve root needs and meet the goals.

Being strategically minded means clearly understanding a company’s goals, department goals and the initiatives needed to meet those goals. It also requires the ability to not treat symptoms but the root cause or need that lies beneath the surface of these symptoms. When we treat the problem at this level, we are able to create a positive trickle effect in the most efficient and effective way. Of course none of this analysis would even matter if we weren’t able to get buy in from our team members who are going to implement the goals, the findings and the initiatives that need to happen. This requires a collaborative style of relating that gets people emotionally engaged and passionate about creating results. When looking at this description of a professional, how do you measure up?

In order to become a more professional consultant, here are 5 things you can do:

1) Before moving forward on a project, ask yourself what company goals does this project fit into to add value.

2) Do a root cause/need analysis (Create a mind map naming all the symptoms and then ask yourself what is the common missing piece that would solve these symptoms.)

3) Engage others in the process of naming the symptoms and agreeing on the missing piece or root cause/need; This will be a collaborative process that will get buy in.

4) Clearly chart out what needs to be done: action steps, who will do them, by what date and what is the expected standard.

5) Finally, set a follow up date to benchmark and hold people accountable to the progress.

Whether you are a professional leader of a company, professional consultant, or an employee who wants to be more professional, this 5 step process will help you to be more strategic and therefore create better results in your life. How are you doing in regards to these 5 areas?