Learning From Past Goals To Improve Future Planning

Over the last few years, I've written letters to myself using FutureMe(org) every January. It takes at most 30 to 60 minutes to write, and provides me with space to think about what I want to prioritize personally and professionally in the year ahead. Then, on whatever date you set in the future, you get your letter emailed to your inbox. I've found this exercise helpful as a forcing function to slow down and snapshot my perspectives at that point in time. It's also a way to document my biggest wins and losses for the year and appreciate all that has happened in the last year. It's funny reading later how things actually played out to what I thought might happen. After doing this a few times, I've found my general goal-setting abilities improved, and the fluidity and depth of earlier thoughts play out through lived experiences. If you decide to do this, a few ideas to help you get started: 1. Block an hour of time and start by taking stock of your energy level. Consider recalling your biggest overall three wins and losses of the year. 2. Next, list out notable events on the year and how you feel in thinking back on those things that happened. I find it helpful to segment the personal and professional events. 3. Is there anything you wish you had invested more of your time into? What's stopping you from doing so? What would be a small step to begin making that part of your identity? 4. What goals would you be proud of if you were to read this in a year? Push that 10% further than your brain's first thought and write it down. Consider a baseline and stretch goal. 5. Are you positioning yourself for success in hitting your goals? In what ways are you prioritizing your self-care and what do you wish you had done more in taking care of yourself the last year? Health is wealth. Time-permitting after my annual letter, I write a mid-year letter as a fallback note of encouragement to hype myself up. That way, when there is inevitably struggle along the way, I have something from my earlier self to recenter myself on. You can apply this in a lot of different ways: with partners, friends, directs reports, etc! I often forget about my letters and get to experience the joy of reading something I wrote to myself around the new year, reinforcing the value of the exercise and restarting the loop.

I see many people talking about learning from their failures, but almost no one mentions learning from their successes. From childhood, we’re hardwired to learn from our mistakes, but often, we ignore learning from our wins. Failures tell you what not to do, but success tells you what to do and how. It’s more than just a destination. it's a series of  -steps -decisions,  -and strategies that help us achieve our goals. Just as we go over and over again and analyze why we failed analyzing our successes can give you a blueprint for constantly winning and hitting your goals. For example: Say you delivered a successful running project, but you don’t understand what exactly you did to make it work, you won’t be able to repeat it again. That’s why this practice is so important. Use this simple and easy 4-step process to create our own recipe for success. 1/ Reflection: Take the time to reflect on your successes.  What gave positive outcomes? What strategies or steps worked for you? 2/ Identify Patterns: Look for repeating patterns in your wins and successes. Are there specific approaches, habits, or collaborations that helped you deliver? Take note of those. 3/ Adapt: Understand that Success is not fixed. It can change depending on the situation. Use what works well for you in different settings and problems to make sure you come out on top. 4/ Continuous Improvement: Learn from both good and bad outcomes. Success is not about being perfect; it’s about getting better. Once you create a habit of doing this constantly, you’ll be able to pinpoint what it is exactly that helps you move forward in life. Believe me, I’ve been doing it for the past 2 decades. It’s life-changing. P.S: What’s one success story from your life and 3 key things you learned? Don’t hide what you learned, inspire and help others grow by sharing your stories and tips.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 . . . 🔷As a manager and leader, whether you're just starting out or you’ve been in the game for years, you know that the decisions you make every day can have lasting effects. But how often do you stop to reflect on how those decisions are made—especially when they don’t go as planned? 👇Before diving into your next big decision, ask yourself: ❓What past decisions didn’t turn out the way I expected? ❓Am I repeating the same approach, hoping for different results? ❓How can I use past experiences to improve my current decision-making? 💡In our rush for efficiency, we often move quickly, believing that speed will bring results. But true efficiency comes from intentional reflection—slowing down to mine the lessons hidden in past decisions, even when those decisions didn’t work out. 👉Here are some key steps you can take to improve your decision-making by learning from past experiences: 1️⃣ 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺. Before jumping to solutions, make sure you're addressing the right issue. Don’t let assumptions or desired outcomes cloud your understanding of what’s actually at stake. 2️⃣ 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻. Stress can cloud judgment and reinforce biases. By understanding what’s triggering your stress, you can prevent it from skewing your decision-making process. 3️⃣ 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘇𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁. Choose a few decisions that didn’t go as planned. What went wrong? Were there warning signs you ignored? This reflection will help you avoid similar mistakes. 4️⃣ 𝗔𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲. Every decision comes with assumptions. Looking back, what assumptions led to poor outcomes? Did you rely on incomplete information, or overlook key factors? 5️⃣ 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Use what you’ve learned from past mistakes to make adjustments to your current decision. What new approaches can you take to get a better outcome? 6️⃣ 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽 𝗮 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻. After reflecting on your past and current decision, create a strategy that addresses the lessons learned. Ensure your approach incorporates new insights to avoid repeating mistakes. 🪴Mistakes are not failures—they’re opportunities for growth. By taking the time to reflect on past decisions, you gain the insight needed to make more informed and confident choices in the future. 💫Remember, slowing down and reflecting is not a sign of inefficiency, but a strategy for long-term success. Ask yourself: 𝘈𝘮 𝘐 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵, 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴?

I spent half a day analyzing why my 2023 goals weren't fully achieved. Do these 10 revelations resonate with you? Resolution vs. Intention: Last year was about resolutions; this year, we’ll pivot to intentions with concrete action items. No Monthly Reviews: We missed regular check-ins. The solution? Scheduling monthly review meetings with my husband in our calendars to stay on track. Didn’t allocate ample time for Intention Setting: Rushed goals led to missed targets. This year, we're dedicating proper time for thoughtful planning and all of January to get our year planning right. Travel and Relocation Considerations: We overlooked this last year, but it's essential for this year's goal-setting. This year, we’ll incorporate travel/relocation impacts in our intention planning. Setting Priorities and Deadlines: Without them, we failed to prioritize what’s most vital. Now, we’re spending time classifying our goals and setting realistic timelines according to travel plans. Power of Visualization: This week we’re creating a vision board for daily motivation and focus. A digital one too so we always have access to it even when traveling. Budgeting for Success: Underestimating costs, travel expenses and moving fees was a pitfall. This year, every intention includes a budget plan. Defining Starting Points: Knowing where we begin is crucial for measuring progress. For example, instead of saying, 'I’m going to a gym,' say, 'I’m going to X gym and signing up at a certain time and day.' Preparing for Change: Anticipate and strategize for the inevitable changes, especially in a dynamic lifestyle. We’re also taking the time to educate our kids using the change curve, so we can prepare for the emotional and mental aspects required to adapt to change. Calendaring Goals: Integrating intentions into our daily schedule is key to keeping us on course. Last year, we indicated the months we wanted to reach a milestone but didn’t take time to actually check our calendars. This year, all intentions and milestones have been plotted! Sometimes the best way to start something is to understand how things don't work. This exercise has already impacted me and it's just the first week of the year! Happy goal-getting! #2024 #GoalGetter #NewYear #Intentions

A lot of marketers make the mistake of setting next quarter goals without understanding how previous initiatives paid off. From OKRs to V2MOM to GMTs, there's no shortage of goal-setting frameworks. There aren't a lot of frameworks BACKWARD reflection though. Keep setting goals and making content strategies, but don't forget to look backwards and assess how things went. If you want to set better targets, it's important to understand what worked. OLDDs stand for Observation, Learning, and Do Differently. It's a simple one-slide approach to reviewing: What was done What was learned What needs to be done next And the best part is that it doesn't replace your OKRs or your quarterly planning, but instead complements them by giving you a chance to reflect. Have each team member fill out their own slide using the provided template, which is broken down into three columns and prompt boxes. Observation: What happened? Learning: What did you learn? Do Differently: What are you going to do next? SImple. Share during a marketing all hands or as part of QBRs so there's a process of learning and growth among peers. After a while, you'll have several quarters of OLDDs to look back on and see progress, which is great for both company and individual growth. The template is pretty straightforward, but if you want me to share the one from the video, DM me. Happy to share it. What are you doing to regularly review what you did, what you learned, and what you're going to do differently?