365QOD-Day22

“Expect your strategy to be 100% wrong” Fran Johanson

A recent blog talked about taking baby steps. Let consider the idea from another angle.  You have an idea to do something.  The idea seems brilliant.  You expect wild success.  However, it does not happen like you thought and soon enough you feel discouraged and give up on the idea.

Now consider an alternative.  You come up with a brilliant idea.  But after taking a few baby steps you realize that it is a good idea.  Taking the good idea you ask yourself how you can make it a better idea.  Taking a few baby steps in that direction you convince yourself that it is a better idea but it is still not yet a great idea.  Pondering some more, you decide that if you take additional executable steps in a slightly different direction you will get to a great idea.

Note that the final design might not be even close to your initial brilliant idea but a much more refined workable idea in terms of time and resources needed.  Fran illustrates this idea in a 99% conference speech and his book. 

In order to take these small executable steps, baby steps, you must be willing to except the risk that comes with it.  By making these steps small enough it reduces the risk of failing to accomplish it and move towards a better idea.

Today’s question is:

What are the smallest executable steps that could move me from my current level to the next level?