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It was the United States Army General Creighton Adams who first posed this question..
‘How do you eat an elephant?’
His answer..‘One bite at a time’.
Sustainability Entrepreneurs who are facing action paralysis or some kind of decision block that is caused by the overwhelming presence of a large project sat in front of them, just remember this advice.
"One bite at a time".
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So what is stopping you right now?
Tell us what is stopping you right here.
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The metaphorical elephant
In this case, the elephant is the sheer enormity of the task at hand. But the truth is, a project is only as big as you allow it to become because its size is dependent on your perception. That project is not insurmountable, it’s totally manageable because it’s your creation and you can tackle it whichever way you see fit. The best way, we advise, is to break it down into tiny bite size tasks.
If you can dissect your project into significant milestones, and then assess what tasks will be required to meet those milestones, and what you need to do or who you need to work with to do those tasks, what you’re actually creating is a logical strategy.
Is breaking down goals as hard as it seems?
Seth Godin once asked the following questions:
- What’s the smallest possible footprint I can get away with?
- What is the smallest possible project that is worth my time?
- What is the smallest group of people I could make a difference to?
Seth felt that the smallest thing is the most achievable. It’s risky, because if you do something small and you do it badly, it reflects badly. Naturally we are drawn to big projects, because they’re so big you can hide within them. The small is more realistic, it gives you jobs you can face 1v1 and fight to completion. When you choose small, you remove the safety boats.
Everyday is a winding road
When you create your plan switch on your computer or start making calls to get your work done, you come prepared with a plan that will help you meet your objectives. You fulfil your tasks and get a little bit closer each day. At the end of each month when you look back, you’ve made huge leaps! Months later, enormous leaps! After a year, you can look back in awe at what you’re achieved. So, why can’t we do the same looking forward? Well, we can.
‘I’ll just save that for next week’
How often do you get to the end of the week and realise that you haven't finished your to-do list? As well as being totally demotivating, it just adds on to your future pile, and while you’ve been busy, you’ve not been as productive and progressive as you could have been. Instead of doing 5 things at the same time and doing them badly, pick one thing at a time and do it tremendously.
Seeing tasks as individuals missions rather than collective challenges makes them far more manageable and enjoyable.
How to generate milestones
1. Define your goal or object in the clearest terms possible, outlining potential achievements, ideal deadlines, and KPIs.
2. Define why you’re doing it, for what benefit, who will prosper, and why people will care.
3. Start a list. On this list put everything you need to do to achieve your objective, no matter how big and monstrous or small and seemingly insignificant. You can put these on sticky notes too. Write down your steps, explore them and find steps within the steps. If you have side tangents, write them down too. Think about the end goal and work backwards to consider steps you might not have thought of. Identify the resources needed, obstacles you will face, and help you might need to seek.
4. Organise your list into a chronological sequence, applying rules of priority alone the way. Consider the 80/20 rule, that 20% of your tasks will accomplish 80% of your action. Get rid of the stuff that is fluffy and unnecessary.
Without realising it, you’ve eaten some of your elephant, and that elephant looks a lot smaller than it used to. Now, you’re moving forward at such a manageable rate. Entrepreneurs, you’ve got this, it’s a technique you can use right this minute. Go!