Habit 2 – Be intentional

Habit 2 requires you to be intentional in carving out time and effort for concentrating on achieving one important goal.

Intentionally carving out (protecting) and concentrate at least 20% of your time, effort and resources on the most important, rather than urgent. These are important goals, activities, and actions that matter most, which will make all the difference and have the greatest impact (Habit 1).

This where Habit 2 of effective execution comes in – Be intentional and carve out time for the important 20%.

The 80/20 Pareto Principle

In business, 20% of the sales reps generate 80% of the total sales. Or 20% of customers generate 80% of the total profits.

Personally, I spend about 80% of my time in my dining area which represents 20% of the total floor space in my house. Or I use 20% of my mobile phone apps 80% of the time.

As “work will fill the allotted time that it is given” (attributed to Peter Drucker), this habit requires you to intentionally carve out and set aside at least 20% of your time, effort and resource to concentrate on achieving one important goal that will make all the difference and have the greatest impact (Habit 1).

Make hard choices to protect what is important from all the many other merely ‘important’ or urgent goals. That doesn’t mean you abandon all other goals. They’re still on your list, but they don’t require your next diligence and effort right now.

The greatest challenge in narrowing and prioritising your goals and actions is simply saying “No” to a lot of ‘good’ ideas. When you know your highest priorities and important goals you want to achieve, you will have the courage to say “No” to other things.

Be intentional with your strategic alignment

The way to say “No” to other things is by having a bigger “Yes” burning inside.

This bigger “Yes” comes from knowing your purpose (why do I exist?), mission (What do I do?) and vision (Where am I going?).

My purpose-driven framework:

• Why do I exist? – My purpose is to make a positive difference in people’s lives.
• What will I do? – My mission is to encourage, challenge and guide people towards achieving their vision and goals.
• Where am I going? – My vision is to see people living purposefully according to who they are.

LinkedIn’s vision and mission:

• Vision – Create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.
• Mission – The mission of LinkedIn is simple: connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.

As goals are hierarchical, intentionally prioritise your actions and time to ultimately achieving your strategic goals (purpose, mission and vision), whether these are corporate or personal goals.

In the example of British Airways, the goal that relates to the critical success factor of timely arrival and departure of planes will focus and lead or drive the efforts of pilots, flight attendants, cleaners, caterers, baggage handlers, front desk staff, etc.

Likewise, Habit 3 requires you to ensure that everything you do must contribute to the achievement of your purpose, mission and vision, which is supported by the achievement of important tactical goals.

Design a strategy with execution in mind

Plans and strategies need to be implemented. Therefore, always begin with the end in mind, which is one of The 7 Habits of Effective People.

Intentionally design your goals so that they are implementable. It is about understanding how goals can be practically executed whilst they are being developed and documented. Think through how execution success will look like.