Governance is not an option…
As you know I specialise in corporate governance, well if you didn’t know you do now. Anyway I had a thought this morning, if corporate governance is “the systems by which companies are directed and controlled” then what are the systems by which individuals are directed and controlled? Then I started to think about the governance framework that I have developed for companies and how it might work for an individual. Many of you, familiar with my work in governance, will recognise Resources, Competency and Execution.
I have noticed that the most successful companies are normally the best governed companies but more importantly where there is a corporate failure you always find somewhere in the root causes, a failure in governance. I don’t think it is too much of a stretch of the imagination to suggest then that the same principle would be true for governing individuals. That is if we are not achieving to our potential then perhaps poor governance is a part of the cause.
As we approach a New Year and evaluate how the last year went I have a few questions this month for you to consider and act upon, which are loosely based around my governance framework (for further details on the framework you can visit www.thegovernanceforum.com).
Before I do that I want to do two things; share another poem this month and a system that I use each year that you may benefit from.
The poem is one that I have referred to many times over the years and is written by the great educator Benjamin E Mays a President of Morehouse College. Morehouse produced a distinguished graduate in the person of Martin Luther King Jnr., who described him as “spiritual mentor “and “intellectual father.”
“It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. It isn’t a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream. It is not a disaster to be unable to capture your ideal, but it is a disaster to have no ideal to capture. It is not a disgrace not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for. Not failure, but low aim is sin.”
I hope those wise words will inspire or revive your dreams as we move onto the system that I alluded to earlier.
Review my strategic life plan. – amend the necessary parts of the plan to align with my current plans for the next few years. This document has my vision, mission, values and goals for quite a few years. I recognise that life is a journey and although you may not see direct results every single year I must ensure I am travelling in the right direction.
Evaluate how I achieved against my plans for 2012 with a RAG (Red, Amber, and Green) rating in each key area. Although I can’t change the past and should not dwell there for too long, I can find elements of learning to propel me into the next year.
Answer my power questions and make those difficult decisions that need to be made as I prioritise my goals. I have included the questions below. Choose the plans for the next twelve months that align with my strategic vision in the key areas of my life. Now is the time to put down a marker of where you want to get to and just work consistently each day towards it.
Share my goals and plans with key people like my wife and children, my parents, my Pastor and a few close friends that I am accountable to. If it is going to be achieved it must be monitored and taking counsel from respected “stakeholders” – those that are interested and impacted by the decisions that you make, will be key.
Decide on my key theme for the year and my most important goals to focus on.
Power Questions
Resources
1. What is your current net worth and how much do you intend to increase it by this year?
2. Name a favourite book, bible character that you need to read again this year, an inspiring film that you need to watch, a transforming message that you need to meditate on and a favourite song to listen to.
3. What do you want the people that you are accountable to, (mastermind group) to advise on or help with this year?
4. What will be your code of conduct and the standards that you will live by?
5. What plans do you have in place to create a passive, residual income?
Competence
6. What relationships have you neglected that, you know, you need to spend more time on in the coming year?
7. Which people/ projects do you need to spend less time with and what habits do you need to cut out?
8. What skills, attributes do the people in your mastermind group need to have?
9. Who will you share your plans with to help support, encourage and make you accountable?
10. How will you let those nearest and dearest to you know that you love them?
11. What are of your personal development do you need to focus on this year?
Execution
12. What do you need to do differently in 2013 to get you/ keep you on the right track?
13. What is the one big project that you will work on for the next twelve months that will take you outside your comfort zone or really challenge you?
14. Where do you want to be in the next five years in your business/ career, family, spiritually and in health?
15. How will you monitor how you are achieving against your goals and against the standards that you have set for yourself?
16. How would I spend my time if having to make money wasn’t a necessity and what can I do to get closer to spending my time in this way?
As I reflect on these questions and my plans for the New Year, I know I will have to make some difficult decisions. Difficult because I want to stay focused on the important things so that I have a better chance of achieving them. This will mean I will have to say no to a lot of urgent things but not necessarily important to my plans, I will have to say no to habits that seemingly won’t make that much difference to my overall goals but ultimately I know as they compound and accumulate they end up taking me way off track. Difficult because there are many good things that I do that are worthy, important and make an impact but I believe are hindering me from achieving truly great things. I hope you make some decisions also that will keep you moving in the right direction in life whatever you have decided that is.
I wish you all the best for the coming year, blessings without number and good things without end.
