The Good Life

How do you define success? If you do not have clarity about what success is then all roads lead there. Without clarity you may never arrive or worse yet, arrive at a destination (or outcome) you never intended.
Whether you are defining a task, creating a project scope statement or thinking about your life, it’s critical to make the time to define success.
As you create a definition of success consider:

• What does “good enough” look like? Perfection is an impossible goal. When you are clear on “good enough” then take time to celebrate when you’ve reached it!
• What is finished? We were working with a project team who was unable to define what “finished” meant. It created tremendous frustration for everyone being impacted by the project. To move on to what’s next it’s helpful to have closure. Unclear definitions of finished mean that you’ll never really be done.
• Does it matter when? Is there a specific time frame that’s critical? Some goals are fabulous if they’re completed. Other goals are interdependent or have time boundaries. Be clear on timing.
• What will be different (mindset, behavior or skills?) Make sure your definition is complete and includes the components that really matter. We’ve observed many incomplete definitions that lead to less than satisfactory outcomes because they didn’t include these other dimensions.

If anything is important enough to give your time to, it’s important to make the time to define success. What outcome will make the investment of your time worthwhile?
We believe that the good life is different for everyone. What does success mean to you? Or as Clayton Christensen wrote about,How Will You Measure Your Life?