Recently, I’ve fallen victim to classic blunders. One was to consider tangentially related projects that paid well because I knew I could make a difference, even though they didn’t align to my vision. I caught myself on that one, but not until I shifted my attention and spent a couple of hours talking about it with the prospective clients. Another blunder was to start too many simultaneous initiatives that ARE in line with my vision.

Both are examples of a different type of distraction that plagues me and too many other entrepreneurs who are hustlers by nature. We say “yes!”, we wonder “what if?” and we have a strong bias to action.

Of course, the tools that I use and teach are the critical tools I need to apply to my own business to stay focused on my plan.

(Doh!)

Being Strategic

Being strategic means that you know the vision and purpose, that you see and understand the trends and environment, that you craft a strategy and prioritize tactics that align to the strategy, and that - IMPORTANTLY - you behave in accordance with the plan.

I admit that I need to remind myself of my vision and strategy often, so I don't let new ideas hijack my attention. Since our actions dictate what we actually accomplish, making a vision into a reality requires a clear strategy and actually taking actions that align to that strategy.

I realized that I was getting caught up in the idea off something that was not in line with my vision and strategy today. This happened right at the moment when I was starting to get some real progress based on my strategy. WHY is that? Because prioritizing the tactics that align to your strategy is an everyday choice. New things are coming into my life everyday - ideas, projects, possibilities. Every day I need to be able to re-examine the tactics (including possible actions) that are on my plate and re-prioritize them based on my STABLE strategy that is working me towards my vision.

Being strategic is an everyday choice.

Need to know more about how to be strategic, and get some practice and coaching? I'm offering my "How to be more strategic in UX work and life" class in January.

You can also subscribe to my mailing list. Each month I send out a newsletter summarizing tools, classes and writing that I've been working on, along with a provocation or two.