Get specific and take action this month
- Choose one thing you can do this month that takes you closer to impact.
- Identify the key people who can help you actually do it.
Nothing saved yet from earlier steps. Start at Step 1 to build the goal and plan this step turns into action.
Your task in this step is to come up with one thing you can do this month that takes you closer to impact, and, in parallel, to identify the key people who can help you actually do it.
Pick one thing for this month
It could be the most important impact from your Step 2 plan, the six-month goal from Step 1, or the time you freed up in Step 3, as long as it links to what matters most. Then name a specific first activity.
Nothing to pull in yet, write your focus for this month below.
Get some backup
To keep your newfound commitment alive, get some backup. Social norms are powerful: no matter how impervious we think we are to others' opinions, we're subtly influenced. We take advice from those we know and trust, so it helps to surround yourself with people who will help you stick to the decisions that move you towards your most important goals. Sometimes a single person is the bridge to a whole community who can help.
Partly this is about support and inspiration when progress requires sacrifice. Partly it's about accountability: articulating your goals to someone who matters to you creates staying power during the wobbly moments.
In a study of 149 people, those who wrote down their goals and shared them with a friend were up to a third more likely to report reaching them, or being at least halfway there, after four weeks.
Gail Matthews, Dominican University of California (2015). Small sample, but the principle holds: accountability helps.
Create your influence network
Identify five people a few steps ahead of you on their pathway to impact, who might mentor you, and five influential stakeholders who have the power to help you make a significant impact. Done with humility, it's surprising how openly people respond to someone who wants to learn from them. As a PhD student, Prof. Reed reached out to key authors in his field and ended up co-authoring 12 papers, six cited 100+ times. So don't be shy.
5 mentors, a few steps ahead
People you can learn from, academics or knowledge brokers.
No mentors yet. Who's a little further down the road you want to travel?
5 influential stakeholders
People with the power, reach or resources to help.
No stakeholders yet. Who holds the doors you need opened?
Name your accountability buddy
Who can you discuss your impact plans with, and check in with again in a few months? Write it down; that's the single most powerful step you can take right now.
Could you do the same for them, so you keep each other accountable?
Your tasks for this step
Four things to complete before Step 5. Your progress is saved.
See everything as one impact plan
Your goal, your plan, the time you freed up, your action this month and your network, pulled together into a single page you can edit, print or download. It updates as you go.