How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

October 10, 2008 · Comments

box Constraints are important to marketing, but also to all executions. We need boundaries. We need a sense of what goes in the box. Understanding what you can and cannot do is one set of rules, but putting together a system of what you intend to do, your goals, requires a strong understanding of the boxes you are going to configure.

Too esoteric? How about this: you don’t want to buy cars from Coke. You don’t want your airline pilot cooking your supper. You, yourself, shouldn’t try to be a combination web designer / CPA. It’s not that you can’t do this, but rather that the results are less than stellar. This is some of the mindset behind the way the folks at 37 Signals create software, by the way.

In planning my goals for 2009 (and yes, I’m thinking about that right now), I’m thinking about which small boxes to use, what goes in them, and how I will address the challenges faced by choosing not to do everything. I’ve got some plans for what I’m doing with CrossTech (both Media and Partners), as well as how I’ll work with other social media types across the globe.

Want a peek inside my head?

As with all things I do, the goal is to give you something to help you figure out YOUR 2009.

Planning and Constraints: a Framework

Let’s start with plans/goals. If I don’t, I’ll just put stuff in place for no reason .

My big plans for 2009

  • Publish Trust Agents and help others develop.
  • Educate through speaking / advising / articles or interviews.
  • Equip businesses through a social media practice.
  • Improve blogging to educate more. Deliver smaller chunk projects.
  • Improve my physical health to improve my capacity.

(Note that my plans are all phrased around my biggest core belief: be helpful.)

Now, here are some things that are important to me, and important to my sanity, and important to my business needs.

Some Constraints

  • Writing practice even more disciplined. (I write TONS, but need to focus on what goes into blogging versus what goes into work.)
  • No more than 3 trips a month.
  • Small (2-3 day vacations) every 3 months tops.
  • Walk daily, especially if I can walk my daughter to school in the AM instead of my commute.
  • ALL conferences reviewed on: opportunities / reach / committed time.
  • Check ALL requests versus the five above-mentioned goals. Fit in? If not, pass through to others.
  • EVERYTHING goes out of my inbox and into review. Approved projects are commitments.
  • All commitments have time allocated to them, and all time is budgeted.
  • All commitments are checked against revenue needs and time budget.
  • Commitments are spreadsheeted: who, what, due, hrs, $, notes, status.
  • Twice weekly commitment reviews, and success reviews. (Am I doing what I said? Are my projects succeeding? If no to #1, fix it. If no to #2, can I fix it or do I kill it? No screwing around, because of the economy.)
  • Accountable to Operations head.

If I hope to succeed, I do also have to keep track of what I’ll need to deliver on my five big goals.

Some Things I’ll Need

  • An assistant and/or an intern. – I can’t manage my inflow by myself any more. I need a parser.
  • Build and enhance my network of support. – CrossTech and I have a framework started for this. I’ll enhance it even more.
  • More business acumen. This past month, I crippled myself by putting out too much travel budget in one big pop. It left me broke for several weeks. Small businesses need to manage their cash flow, and I’m now much more aware of how this works.
  • An Operations head, mentioned above (have someone in place for this).

Boiling This Down

If you want to do something like the exercise I did above, here’s what I did:

  1. Decide what matters most. Articulate it in the largest possible way. It’s easier to drill down when you have the larger goals in mind.
  2. Put constraints around HOW you’ll accomplish the goals you’ve set out to accomplish. Include accountability in the constraints.
  3. Figure out what you need to help you achieve those goals. In my case, I need two other people and some more education. You’ll need something else.
  4. Make your goals public in some form or another. (This helps with accountability).

If you can put your giant plans into small boxes, it will help you move towards your goals. It’s part of what Julien and I think about when we talk about “Make Your Own Game” in our book. (That’s the chapter we’re writing so it’s heavy on my mind.)

What do you think? Does it make sense? How does it match your own needs? What would you change?

Photo credit, Alana Elliott

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  • Great post Chris! I use the 37 signals software religiously.
  • "You, yourself, shouldn’t try to be a combination web designer / CPA. It’s not that you can’t do this, but rather that the results are less than stellar."

    While I appreciate that you're writing this for most people, as a naturally multifaceted person, this just doesn't apply to me or several people I know. Some of us naturally have several major skills.

    For example, I'm currently pursuing a job where I'll be a trainer, web designer, and configuration management representative. All in the same job. That's what they want, and those are (some of) my skills.

    Anyvay. Specific things that leaped out at me:

    "Help others develop" seems like too vague of a goal. How will you know when you've succeeded?

    For the assistant/intern, have you considered a virtual assistant, a la GetFriday.com? I have a virtual assistant through them, and am very pleased.
  • Chris, you just gave me a framework to plan my 2009.

    Will post to my blog when it's done, great weekend exercise. Thanks for sharing the process you used to come up with your road map.

    All success
    Dr.Mani
  • @Kyle - I just like the people. : )

    @Brent - You're right. One size doesn't fit all.

    @Dr. Mani - Can't wait to see what you come up with. You're clearly doing lots.
  • Good plan, I also am going to reference to this post while setting some goals for the future.
  • It's always interesting to see how people process their goals and then the framework to carry them out. Thanks for sharing... I learned something by you thinking out loud.
  • Great article and overview of your plans. Good to see I'm not the only one already planning ahead for 2009. I think I'll post to my site once I get a core overview and plan put together.

    stumbled and re-tweeted :)
  • My sainted mother-in-law once told me a
    story she read about Pavarotti.
    Before he became famous ,rich and one of the
    Three Tenors he told his father he was going to teach voice,as he continued to try to make as an opera singer.
    His father told him to pick one and be the best he could doing it. It was impossible to sit on two big stuffed chairs at once.

    We know now which he chose.
  • Thank you for this, Chris! I am a big fan of structure and how it helps us think more clearly and get better results. Great reminder to start on 2009. I will play with this during my upcoming marketing refocusing week out of town.
  • Neat post Chris. I'm in the process of doing this for the year ahead as well, mostly for creating more scalable growth for my business, but for personal goals as well. I particularly like the issues regarding accountability around hours spent vs. profitability of the business.
  • Thanks for this post Chris. I have been struggling and have for sometime on when to say no. The problem is not having enough time. The problem is having too many commitments. We have to learn to say no and to cull those we need to get rid of.

    Travel this next year is going to be a key to me expanding our business even more. And I would echo your comment about getting an assistant. I used one before and it was great. Time to dust them off and bring them back on board to take some of the work load from me.

    Love your framework for the coming year. As one of the previous commentors mentioned, this also gives me a framework to start my own goal setting for 2009. More then just goals, but a plan of action too.

    Thanks again Chris.
  • Thanks for sharing the components of your framework, Chris. I like how you think and since I'm just now turning my focus to 2009 Q1 plans, this is right on time. It would be great to get a quarterly update from you on this so we can see how you do and how you course correct along the way. And btw, on the "improve my physical health" goal, you might want to consider engaging a wellness coach that works by phone long-distance:)

    All the best.
    Erica
  • Aaron
    Scrum. It gets attention in software development, but it can be applied to many forms of project management.
  • Chris.. Always willing to help :)
  • Thanks for sharing that Chris. Loved the way you chose the word "Constraints" instead of the usual "resolutions". In design, constraints are the catalyst for creative thinking, and I see how your sharing of your "constraints" not only aligns your goals with your personal believes, but opens it up for crowd-sourcing and education as well.

    I'm hoping that you'd develop this idea of constraints further, even as the reality of social media shows that like every thing else in life, the only irreplaceable resource is Time.
  • Chris.. does it make sense... yes, but the important thing is that it makes sense to you. I might do some things differently and some the same. For example I start with listing my goals for the year, such as the revenue I want to make, #of clients, etc then prioritise. Then I plan the actions and the steps I will need to take, the measures and the resources I'll need. I use a combination of whiteboarding, mind-mapping and project planning tools including my trusty Moleskine.
    I find the HOW is very important, as well as regular review and tweaking for the unexpected...

    I definitely would suggest looking into getting a virtual assistant/s and outsource everything that's isn't the best of your time. All administrative tasks for starters. VAs are a great resource. I use 2 right now. I have a business colleague who uses 3, each for a different aspect of their business.

    Many SB's fail to grow because they fail to delegate and try to do everything themselves, instead of focusing their time on their core business.

    Great post...thanks for sharing.
  • I can help virtually, with references... very experienced in a multitude of aspects. See profile/blog on my site and also on Active Rain.

    Seriously. And I love your daily emails.
  • Thank you for sharing your goals Chris.
  • Chris- I use a process called vital factors to manage my priorities. My former CEO turned me onto it and it works well. It keeps me really focused and helps me plan, track, and analyze how I am doing toward
    my objectives.
  • Hi Chris,
    Good post.

    You're planning like it's 2009.
    --Steve
  • Initially I didn't agree with your article - which is very unusual! You were referring to creating a niche market that played to a skill and as I read further I realized you also meant that organizing our abilities and goals into small boxes allows us to see the big picture.

    You CAN be a web designer and a CPA. It will serve you well if you design web sites specifically for CPA's. You'd understand issues and find resolutions that the average designer might not.

    I have many different work experiences and seemingly unrelated skills. It all combines into a unique amalgamation of services that aren't offered by any other VA I am aware of. That's my niche market... or my small box.

    The one commonality?

    I get great pleasure out of helping my clients succeed while making their life easier for them in the process. This philosophy has allowed me to choose my clients my entire career and I've never been bored with my job.

    I too have been thinking about goals for 2009.

    So... when I saw you were in need of an assistant, I almost threw my hat in the ring because I would be excited and honored to work with you, but then I realized, you don't quite fit into any of my boxes. Boundaries are the most difficult skill to acquire when you're a creative/social type who loves to learn and experience new things.

    Thanks for another awesome article Chris... I always seem to come away with lots of good information that leads to further thinking. You deserve the Oscar of blogging.

    Best wishes for a successful, yet constrained, 2009.

    Pat Williams
    CyberCletch LLC
    Pat@CyberCletch.com
    www.RealHomeSense.com
    Twitter: cletch
  • Reading your post left me thinking, "I really need to prioritize things moving forward!" - thanks for the wake-up call.

    Your post and the comments left by readers has pointed me in the right direction as well. I'll be sitting down putting together goals and an action plan not only for 2009, but for the rest of the year.

    Thank you for sharing this with everyone!
  • The good thing about taking on only what you can and passing the rest on to other people is that a) it's not really saying "no"; it's being helpful, and b) it's a good karma move.

    I've passed work on to others (only people I absolutely trust!), and I've found that usually it ends up coming back in another way (be it a more developed project or new connections, etc.). Usually by the time it comes back around to me, it's a better fit and I have the time, and the project becomes more beneficial not only to me but to the people I'm helping.
  • you can be two or more things such as a pilot and a chef, and be good at both, but have a separate business card for both.

    When someone calls for the chef, that's who you are etc.
  • Chris, a critical guiding factor for a creative and hopefully innovative person (there is a difference) is congruence. You're exhibiting this in your plan.

    Are there multiple leverage points for your goals in each activity? Does doing A push forward progress on B and also, maybe M and P as well?

    I draw and review a congruity map regularly to see that all the activities are connected. This defines the box. Interestingly others may not see the connections. That's OK. The congruency map is for you. I learned this from my mentor Nido Qubein.

    Jim
  • I like the framework that you set out in your blog post. It has the elegance of simplicity which means it's usable.
  • Another helpful post Chris, thanks. In the midsts of this process as well for our business. Trying to be more structured and purposeful and your post will defintely provide some guidance.

    I have never used a virtual assistant, but other folks I trust have had great luck with them. However you choose to get the help you need, the most important thing is that you (a) realize you need it and (b) are going to do something about it. It's easy to fall into the "I can do it all myself" trap.

    Hope you do provide progress reports as you go - I think we'll all learn from them.

    Kathy
  • It seems that only through the mis-takes, I get redirected on the 'way'...

    This post gets to the heart of a question I put to you a few weeks back. While I was thinking web measures, you have brought it back to the personal, where all our endeavors need to be rooted.
  • Thanks for sharing your goals. How are you managing your deadlines and commitments on spreadsheets? I'm trying to do this myself - slow myself down to get it into a system so I can be proactive with my time.
  • You said:
    * More business acumen. This past month, I crippled myself * by putting out too much travel budget in one big pop. It * left me broke for several weeks. Small businesses need to * manage their cash flow, and I’m now much more aware of * * how this works.

    Answer:

    Need a quick Finance 101? McGraw "Finance for Non Financial Managers" (Robert A. Cooke) is very easy to read, relatively free of obscure jargon and extremely good. This will also help you understand your small business customers much better.

    --Marco, who deserted Technology for Finance
  • Plan your work, work your plan - analyze your life in small boxes...
  • Putting goals in writing is the first step towards fulfilling those goals. Including boundaries and contraints is great because it's important to understand the potential roadblocks that could get in the way.

    Nice post, Chris. You may want to consider executive coaching if you ever get tired of social media. You have a clear sense of the need for work-life balance and I think you'd be good at it.

    John P.Kreiss
    MorganSullivan, Inc.
    http://www.johnpkreiss.com
  • I like your last bullet point under big goals for 2009. I saw an infomercial yesterday about P90X, this fitness program that is supposed to get you in tip top shape in 90 days in an hour a day. I'm thinking about purchasing it because it made sense, although when it comes to fitness, it always do better when working in conjunction with others. Anyone interested in doing this program or propose another one we could do?? Might be a fun way to get into shape and tweet about our experiences along the way, especially as we enter this wonderful holiday season.
  • I am totally with you here, 2009 goals need to be formulated now so that by the turn of the year you are ready to hit the ground running. Its very important to set some rules and allow yourself to succeed at it.
  • Chris, great post! You're way ahead of most of us with your 2009 planning. As a next step, you should consider putting together a monthly budget. Estimating your revenue, expenses and cash flow and then tracking actualization against those estimates will definitely improve your accountability (and hopefully keep you stay clear of cash flow surprises). Additionally, it will force you to quantify your goals to ensure that they not only feel right, but also have potential to contribute to the CB retirement fund.
  • I think it's great that you're already planning for 2009. For the past 2 weeks I have been planning on where I want to take the restaurant next year, what mistakes were made this year, etc. I have to extend that '09 planning to my other professional responsibilities and then work on melding them all together.

    Just a thought, I saw that you mentioned needing to hire an assistant/intern. Have you given any consideration to hiring a virtual assistant(s)? I have had great success using a small team of assistants that allow me to focus on other interests. You know where to find me if you want to discuss more :)

    Looking forward to seeing what amazing stuff you come up with next year! Here's to success in 2009!
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