Leaders and Laggards

It’s still January and still thus New Year’s Resolution Season, so one last blurb on goals. I discussed the importance of goals being measurable and specific. I noted the benefit of breaking large objectives into smaller chunks and bringing their meaning into today. Lastly, I wanted to touch on the value of aiming your attention on leading, rather than lagging measures. Said another way, focus on inputs not outcomes.

Here’s what I mean, and we will choose a weight loss goal to pick on since it’s an easy target, but this can be applied to most any goal. Losing 10lbs in eight weeks is both measurable and specific. Breaking that down into smaller chunks with daily importance, that’s 1.25lbs per week. Now every day matters and the week’s objective is manageable. So, the last step is converting the outcome – losing the 10lbs – into inputs that will drive the results we want. Here’s the catch, the input must be something you have direct control over. For example, you may not be able to lose 1.25lbs every week. But you can choose to add 20 minutes of physical activity every day. You can choose to cut out soda at lunch. You can choose to meal prep and bring a healthy meal each day to work and thus avoid going out to eat for lunch and potentially tempting yourself with a poor choice for your mid-day meal. These are all inputs under your control that will drive the outcome you desire.

Lagging measures are the more obvious results of the small, but impactful choices you make on a daily basis. And although this is what people will typically look at and measure, you often don’t have total control over the outcomes. Learn to isolate the most impactful variables that you can control and act intentionally and deliberately on those. Commit to inputs in faith that the outcomes will follow.