You’ve heard it many times before: “Start with the end in mind” meaning decide in advance the result or outcome you desire before you take action. In marketing, the “end” is more clients, better clients, higher income, bigger cases, and so on.
Decide what you want before you create the plan, buy the ad, book the room, or create the content.
It makes sense and I agree. You have to know where you’re going before you start the trip.
So, why have I reversed this classic piece of advice? Why do I tell you to “end with the start in mind”?
Because it is also good advice. It means developing the habit of deciding, in advance, the action you will take after you complete what you’re working on, or about to start. What’s the next step? What should you (will you) do after you start the project or do the first task on your list?
If “find three ideas I can use for an article” is the first step, what’s the second step? If the first step is to go through your list of business contacts and invite someone to lunch, what will you do when you arrive at the restaurant? (Hint: asking them ‘what are you working on’ is a good option).
Okay, choose the next step. Don’t end the first step without deciding on the second step.
Yes, but you’ve got other things on your calendar or todo list. Contracts to read or write, calls to make, emails to reply to.
You’ll get to them. But before you start something new, take a minute to choose the next step you’ll do with the thing you’ve already started. Do it now, while the idea is still fresh.
It’s all about creating and sustaining momentum and compressing time between steps. It’s about finishing more of the things you’ve decided are important before starting other things you may never finish.
It’s about being proactive about your work so you can achieve better results.
Try it. When it works, do it again. And keep doing it. As Seinfeld said, “Don’t break the chain”. Which is why I know that after I’ve finished writing and posting this article, my next step is to choose an idea for the next one.
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