You know the feeling when it is nearing the end of December.

There is a certain excitement in the air to finish off the year strong.

What if we could somehow replicate this feeling for every week in the year?

Luckily that is what the 12-week year shows us how to do

The problem is you are likely using annualized thinking.

There are three advantages outlined in the book of a 12-week year rather than a 12-month year.

Advantages:

1. 12 weeks of planning has more predictability compared to 12 months of planning.

The farther ahead you plan in the future the less predictability you have. With long-term plans, you have to make many assumptions about what is happening 8 months down the road.

2. 12-week plans are more focused.

Many annual plans have many goals this is one of the main causes of failure to execute.

The goal of the 12-week plan is to be exceptional at a few things instead of somewhat good at many.

3. A 12-week plan has much more structure than a 12-month plan

The 12-week plan puts into perspective the value of every moment of every day. Only so many weeks can you underperform before you don't reach your 12-week goals. Deadlines have also been shown to increase work ethic and execution.

In a 12-week plan, each week is a month and each day is a week. This view of time causes you to be less keen on wasting your time as you only have so much time before the deadline.

It is important to understand that your long-term outcomes are created from your daily inputs.

If you are unhappy with where you are at in your life or your progress. Your unhappiness is likely because you are not taking consistent action on the critical tasks that are needed to reach your goal.

The 12-week year execution system.

This system consists of 8 parts:

• Vision

• Planning

• Process Control

• Measurement

• Time Use

• Accountability

• Commitment

• Greatness in the moment

3 principles:

1. Accountability

2. Commitment

3. Greatness in the Moment

5 disciplines:

1. Vision

2. Planning

3. Process Control

4. Measurement

5. Time use

3 principles explained:

Accountability:

Willingness to own actions and results regardless of the circumstances.

Freedom of choice is the foundation of accountability. 

The constant mindset of “What more can I do to get the result”

Commitment:

 Promise you make to yourself.

Keeping commitments to others builds strong relationships

“Keeping your promises to others builds strong relationships, and keeping promises to yourself builds character, esteem, and success”(Moran 66)

Commitment is ownership of a future action or result

Greatness in the moment: 

Greatness is not proven through accomplishments but is instead validated by them.

Five Disciplines Explained:

Vision:

A compelling picture of the future.

Your business vision must align with your personal vision.

If they are aligned it creates a powerful emotional connection and in turn, causes long-term commitment.

Planning:

Planning involves prioritization of the tasks and tactics that are most important to reach your 12-week goals. 

A good plan increases the likelihood of proper implementation.

Process Control:

Tools and events that make sure that your daily actions are contributing to the critical actions in your plan. It makes sure that the majority of your time is spent strategically. 

Measurement:

Part of the reason that people are so enthralled in sports is due to the tracking of analytics and measuring. You need to do the same. 

Measurement drives the 12-week year. Measures include both lead and lag indicators that provide useful feedback that is crucial for informing your decision-making

Time Use:

Use your time with clear intention.

If you are not then the day is in control of you.

An important topic that the book covers is the Emotion Cycle of Change

Now that you understand at a basic level the 8 parts of the execution system. You need to know how to handle the discomfort you will feel from implementing the 12-week year.

This is where the Emotion Cycle of Change comes in. 

The duration, depth, and extremes of these cycles vary but in all cases, you will experience this cycle when you are making a change in your life. 

This image was adapted from Kelley/Connor’s model of change cycles.

As you can see there are 5 stages

1. Uninformed Optimism

2. Informed Pessimism

3. Valley of Despair

4. Informed Optimism

5. Success and Fulfillment

The first stage is usually the most exciting as we just see the good of an opportunity without knowing the cost.

The second stage is where we realize this opportunity is not as easy as it showed in the 30-second ad and we start wondering if the change and benefits are worth the effort. 

The third stage will be your lowest point. At this pain, all the discomfort of change is felt and the benefits seem unimportant. This is where most people give up. That means if you can push past this stage you will be ahead of most people. Those who get through this stage need a compelling vision.

If you get to the fourth stage then you are likely to succeed. Your inputs are starting to create your desired outputs. The cost of inputs is becoming less as they have become a habit. At this stage, the key is to keep the momentum going and not stop.

Success and fulfillment are the opposite of the third stage. This is where all desired outputs are had with little discomfort.

Understanding where you are with the cycle is crucial for your mindset. This is because if you relate with each one as a stage and understand they come to pass. You will be more likely to keep going even in the lowest of lows.

For example, my valley of despair was when I got suspended on Twitter. 2 weeks of hard work looked like it had gone down the drain. Fortunately, the valley of despair only lasted about a week, but in that week I considered quitting. Luckily my account was reinstated, but it is crucial to understand what stage you are in. This helps you to know that it is not permanent and in time you will be on to the next stage.

8 part Execution System - In Depth 

Free notion template to fill out for 12-week year tactics/goals - https://www.notion.so/templates/12-week-year-planner

Vision:

“The most powerful visions address and align your aspirations with your professional dreams”(Moran and Lennington 77)

You want your vision to be big. All incredible accomplishments in human history were first envisioned and then created. Imagine greatness for yourself. You want your vision to make you uncomfortable.

If you create your vision and feel that is impossible.

You might ask yourself how would I do this? This is the wrong question at this stage in the process. You do not know how to do it since if you did you would have already done it. You don’t know how to do it, this causes you to feel that it is impossible. Don’t ask how. Ask what if? Asking what if allows you to think about the possibility and understand and feel the benefits. As you feel the benefits and the experience your desire will intensify. 

One you have changed from impossible to possible. You go to the next level possible to probable. You ask How might I? 

Now you may be thinking that you were just told earlier not to ask how. 

The problem was not the question but the timing of the question. 

Early in the process, it causes you to shut down, but now that you have felt your compelling vision of the future you can ask this question.

As you do your planned actions you will move from probable to given. Given is a sense of clarity and clarity is a powerful feeling when moving towards your vision.

A good vision will give you a reference point for why you must keep going. Even if you are in the valley of despair. 

Three-time horizons for your vision:

1. Long term aspirations

2. Mid-term goals (3 years)

3. 12 Weeks

Aspirational Vision:

Write down everything you want to have, do, and be in your life. What is most important to you? Be bold and go big. There are no right or wrong answers. Write out the life you deeply desire in the next 5 - 20 years.

Three-Year Vision:

This vision is about your long-term vision. Based on your long-term what do you want in the upcoming three years. Be as specific and detailed as possible. Write about your vision for your personal and professional life.

I will cover the 12-week vision under 12-week planning.

12-week planning:

One reason that you will benefit from 12-week planning is due to the much shorter time horizon compared to annual plans. The short horizon causes you to have greater clarity. In turn, this causes this plan to be more action-based. 

A good 12-week plan is crucial to accomplishing your goals for the 12 weeks. The plan will also include what actions you need to do to accomplish your 12-week goals. 

Your 12-week goal or goals must be specific and measurable. 

There are 5 criteria for each goal and or/tactic

1. Make them specific and measurable

2. State them positively

3. Ensure they are a realistic stretch

4. Assign Accountability 

5. Be time-bound

If you would like to see some sample 12-week plans you can get them for free at the 12-week year website - Shop

When you plan your tactics answer these two questions

• What Actions will you struggle with?

• What will you do to overcome those struggles?

12-week Goals:

Reflect on your 3-year and long-term visions. Then determine the progress you want to commit to achieving in the next 12 weeks. You want it to be a realistic stretch. This means making sure that the current way you are operating will not be sufficient to achieve the goal. 

Process Control:

Set of tools that help you even when things go off course. 

Without structural support follow through on the tactics you outlined will be mostly based on willpower and discipline. This may work for a bit, but after a while, your willpower and discipline will run out. 

It is crucial to have support structures that help you on the days when you don’t have willpower. 

You need to understand if your tactics get done for a week you had a great week if not you lost the week. This creates clarity for the outcome of each week. 

One tool that was shared in the book is WAM or Weekly Accoutnability Meeting. These meetings are not to hold one another accountable but rather to nurture individual accountability.

This meeting is held on Monday morning after the week has been planned and is about 15 - 30 minutes.

“WAM is used to confront breakdowns, recognize progress, create focus, encourage action”(Moran and Lennington 107).

Meeting Agenda 

1. Individual Report Out - Each member shares how they are tracking their goals and how effective their execution was

2. Your results for the 12-week year to date.

3. Your weekly execution score

4. Intentions for the coming week.

5. Feedback and suggestions from the group.

Weekly routine:

1. Score your week (Notion Template helps with this)

2. Plan your week (Notion Template helps with this)

3. Participate in a WAM

Measurement:

Effective measurement uses both lead and lag indicators.

Lead indicators are what happens early in the execution. They are what create the lag indicators. 

An example shared in the book was if someone wanted to lose 10 pounds. Their weight goal of 10 pounds is the lag indicator. The lag indicator is at the end of the 12 weeks. A lead indicator in this example might be how many laps swum weekly or daily and caloric intake.

Most of the time the more often a measure is the more useful it is.

If you can score an average of 85% or higher on your tactics overall each week then you are likely going to hit your 12-week goals.

Time use: 

Most people think they don’t have enough time but in most cases, the problem is their poor allocation of the time they have.

There are 3 types of time blocks you want in your weekly schedule 

• Strategic Blocks

• Buffer Blocks

• Breakout Blocks

Strategic Blocks:

3 hours long and are scheduled early in the week. The book recommends one of these blocks per week. There are times when you work uninterrupted or your most important tasks for your business.

Buffer Blocks: 

These blocks are to deal with low-level activity ex. email and phone calls. They are 30 minutes to an hour. Scheduled however often you need them but for most people one or twice daily.

Breakout Blocks:

These blocks are to prevent burnout. Three hours long and should be once per week if the 12-week year is working for you. The book recommends only one per month till everything is working in the 12-week year. 

5 Steps are outlined in the book for a model workweek

Model Workweek:

1. Block out 15 minutes on Monday Morning to review the prior week and plan for the current week

2. Schedule a three-hour strategic block

3. Schedule one or two buffer blocks each day. One in the morning and one near the end of the day

4. Schedule a breakout block

5. Schedule all additional important activities

   Additional Important activities could include:

   Client and prospect appointments

   Standing meetings

   Marketing and sales

   Planning

   Anything else 

Accountability:

Those with a victim mindset allow their success to be limited by external circumstances, people, or events. 

Accountability gives you the keys to the car. You have full control of your life when you have accountability. Accountability is the ownership of one’s actions and results. It simply is an understanding in which people understand the roles they play in outcomes. It is crucial to understand that accountability is not based on whose fault it is but instead on what is necessary to create better results. 

“When we acknowledge our accountability, our focus shifts from defending your action to learning from them.”(Moran and Lennington 141)

4 Actions to take to create greater accountability. 

1. Resolve to never be the victim again

2. Stop feeling sorry for yourself

3. Be willing to take different actions

4. Associate with “Accountables”.

Commitment:

Personal commitments are promises you make to yourself to do certain actions.

There are 4 keys to successful commitments:

1. Strong Desire.

2. Keystone Actions.

3. Count the costs.

4. Act on commitments, not feelings. 

Greatness in the moment:

Greatness in the moment is simply understanding that greatness is not proven through accomplishments but is instead validated by them.

Understanding this will help you through stages like the valley of despair when your inputs are not reaping any benefits.

Hope you found this newsletter helpful!

Thanks for reading!

Sincerely, Christian LaBosco