johnmdemarco posted on June 28, 2010 19:50
I’ve blogged a few times about the value of “strategic living,” establishing clear goals that flow out of your strengths and then purposefully cultivating a few intersecting areas of action.
Today, I had another epiphany. I was doing some Web research, and took note of all of my Internet “favorites.” They were somewhat organized in terms of being alphabetized, but I realized they could have more efficiency and depth. In particular, my insight was that their structure should mirror the areas of action.
In my case, my areas of strategic action are “Availability,” “Connecting,” “Learning,” and “Serving.” Those are now the four main folders I have on my Web browser, and each of the four contains numerous sub-folders with key sites and links specific to the strategic area. You might have different names for your areas; the labels aren’t nearly as important as the intent around them.
The likelihood of leveraging your core strengths to achieve worthwhile goals through specific, strategic areas of focus increases many times over through purposeful alignment. However, alignment does not have to be limited to how a person organizes their Web favorites. Your personal or professional reading; development of relationships; attendance at professional seminars, workshops, retreats; and so forth can also dovetail with your strategic areas.
Alignment saves time, sparks greater creativity and leads to better results. It’s incredible how the more intentional you become, the more life seems to partner with you in helping you grow and achieve.