For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a “list” nerd. To-do lists, goal lists, event lists, lists for employees, lists for family (you get the picture). Most of the time I use those lists – quite successfully – to keep me on track; to ensure that important items or tasks don’t get missed. These lists are my goals for the day/week/month. Items that I want or need to accomplish. However, I never seem to get to the “big picture” items on my list. When I say “big picture,” I mean the items that would likely make a big impact on the success of Meetings Northwest. I’ve put them at the top of the list, middle of the list, end of the list – it doesn’t matter. I skip around them, go to the next item or just toss them when it is time to make a new list. However, I always have a good excuse for my approach, “I’ll do them after this project is out the door; I’ll start when I get (employee) setup on this new task; I’ll read/research/outline them while I have down time at the airport.” You get the idea.

I’ve spent some time the last few months (when I was supposed to be working on the “big picture” items while traveling) thinking about this and came to the conclusion that I am a detail person. This has always been my identity – I just wasn’t a big picture person!

That changed this last month after reading the May 2014 PMCA Convene Article “It’s What You Do, Not Who You Are”, I realized the truth in featured author and motivational psychologist Heidi Grant Halvorson’s comments – “…people reach their personal and professional goals, not simply because of who they are, but more often because of what they do.” And while I have long considered myself a doer, I haven’t been doing what I needed to do.

Specifically, I haven’t been framing my lists/goals correctly. When I write on a list “determine strategic priorities for next 5 years,” I’ve doomed myself to failure before starting. Most days I’m so swamped in the details of keeping a business running (as any small business owner can relate to), that I don’t have time to take 15 minutes, let alone several hours (or days) to map out strategic priorities in a five-year growth plan. But what I do have time for, and what I can put on my list:

  • Assign employees to name one area of our business that they would like to expand/grow.
  • Have employees email three of their strengths and how they can fit into our business.
  • Evaluate client list and identify top industries that I would like to expand into.
  • Have employees rank employment benefits to see what is most important to them ($$, flexible work schedule, insurance, etc.).
  • Make a list of what is most important to me (personal/family time, money, etc.)

I need to stop setting these broad sweeping goals and make a strategic list that breaks my “big picture” goal into smaller, more manageable (and doable) tasks; ones that I can take 15 minutes and work on every day. Within a few weeks, I might even be able to cross a “big picture” item off my to-do list!

Traci Ulberg

About the author:

Traci Ulberg actively chose to base her business (and life) in the beautiful state of Montana. It is here that she has found not only a talented pool of professionals, but also the post-work activities that help maintain a healthy life balance.   She enjoys all things outdoors with her husband and three children. She also harbors a secret love for building and is known for lending a hand to friends and family that have framing, roofing, and wiring projects. No fear of heights here!