This is an excerpt from my latest book, Getting Results the Agile Way.  It’s from the A Word from the Author section.  One of my readers tells me that this was the most impactful prose for them.  I think because it answers the question, “Why did I write this guide?”  This is yet another reminder to me how important it is to lead with your why. Here it is …

“Results were the name of the game, and I didn’t have the playbook. When I first joined Microsoft more than 10 years ago, I was overwhelmed. It was a sink or swim environment. Every day I had to play catch up from the day before. I got more email than I could possibly read, more action items than I could possibly do, and challenges that were beyond my skills. Inside the team, we affectionately called this scenario, “trial by fire.” There were no boundaries to my days, each day bled into night, where I was consistently “burning the midnight oil.” It reminded me of the saying, “whatever doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.”

However, I hadn’t moved across the country, leaving everything and everyone I knew behind, to fail right off the bat. One of the first things I did to survive was study the best of the best. I found people in the company that got results and I learned from them. I learned everything I could about productivity from anybody who was willing to share their system with me.

…As I mentored people and teams around Microsoft to help them get results, I honed my system. It was one thing for me to get results, but it has been quite another to package it up for other people. Because I was continuously building new project teams, I needed a system for getting new people on each team up to speed quickly. As the saying goes, “necessity is the Mother of invention.” These challenges forced me to simplify my system, and lean it down to the most effective parts. The result is a tested system that’s scaled up to large teams, down to individuals, and is a system I can bet on time and again. The most important thing is simple, so if I fall off the horse, it’s easy to get back on.

This guide is my attempt to give you the playbook that I wish somebody had given me so many years ago for getting results.”

—Excerpt from “A Word from the Author”, J.D. Meier, Getting Results the Agile Way

Photo by lululemon athletica.

“Success is simple. Do what’s right, the right way, at the right time.” — Arnold H. Glasgow

Getting Results is spreading.  It’s leading to all sorts of interesting connections for me and it’s making a difference in people’s lives.  I’m getting regular emails from people that have adopted the approach and found a new lease on life.  I think the most surprising one for me came earlier this week … a raving fan liked the book so much he offered to translate it to Chinese!

A few of my friends mentioned I needed to share success stories for Getting Results.  I thought the testimonials were enough, but actually, people want to hear the specifics of how other people are adopting the approach.  I get it.  Here are three stories:

• Success Story #1: Praveen Rangarajan Success Story — Praveen is not a “process” guy, but Agile Results gave him just enough structure to support his everyday things. Using Agile Results he learned to improve his results at both work and life in a more systematic way.
• Success Story #2: Dennis Groves Success Story — Dennis went from overwhelmed to on top of his game and driving his day.
• Success Story #3: Rob Boucher Success Story — Rob added just enough process and structure to balance his work and life as a creative artist and free spirit.

More people told me they will be sending me their stories soon, but I thought these 3 were great to start with.  They are down to Earth, from the heart, and from real people you can relate to.

Enjoy!

Photo by Wild Child HC.

“Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.” — Ovid

One of the most important patterns in Getting Results is the Monday Vision, Daily Outcomes, and Friday Reflection pattern.   It’s a simple way to get meaningful results each day and each week.  It’s how I avoid getting overwhelmed and how I drive results for myself, the teams I lead, and the people I mentor.

What makes the results meaningful is that each week, on Mondays, you’re stepping back and looking across what matters in your life.  This means taking a look at your life hot spots (mind, body, emotions, career, financial, relationships, and fun.)  It also means taking a look at the activities and projects you are juggling at work and in your personal life.  It’s a quick way to see the forest from the trees.  This is how you carve out meaningful results for the week.  You can see the end in mind, and when you know the goals, you can pace yourself better, prioritize easier, and focus more effectively.

Each day, you can create stories for your results.  Using The Rule of 3, you limit yourself to 3 stories (you can always bite off more, but use 3 to focus and concentrate your time and energy.)  To guide yourself, you simply ask, “What are my 3 best results for today?”  The Rule of 3 has been around for a long time.  Marketing uses it.  The military uses it.  You can use it in your everyday life to avoid overwhelm, organize your time and energy, and simplify your life, while improving your results.

On Friday’s, this is your time to reflect and check the score.  Simply ask yourself what are 3 things going well and what are 3 things to improve.  This is a chance to celebrate your victories and to learn your personal success patterns and personal anti-patterns.  It’s also a great way to improve your rhythm of results.  If things aren’t getting done, you need to ask yourself, why?  Are you biting off too much, or are you getting distracted.  If you’re getting things done, but not getting the results you want, you have to ask yourself, are you working on the right things?  Are you spending the right time and the right energy, or does it feel more like you’re just going through the motions.  Use your own reflection and insights as a way to learn and improve.  The beauty is, you get a new chance at results, each day and each week.  You can test what you learn, apply your learning, and improve as you go.

This is the path of continuous growth.  It’s this path that will help you improve in any dimension of your work or life.

To compact this concept and make it easy to visualize and remember, I created a new cheat sheet:

• Cheat Sheet – Monday Vision, Daily Outcomes, and Friday Reflection Pattern

Enjoy!

Photo by ccarlstead.

When i first joined Microsoft, I felt like I had joined an elite team of smart people that gets results.   Microsoft is a big place, and I had joined the Developer Support Team.  It was an interesting team and I was surrounded by people who worked smarter, harder, faster, and more effective than anything I had ever seen before.  There were people that built robots and people that built rockets.  There were former accountants and former professors.   The intellectual horsepower was stunning and so was the passion.

I was curious how I too could become a skilled Softie.

As a new Softie, I was assigned a mentor and a buddy.  My mentor was for technical skills and learning the ropes, while my buddy was for helping me simply get acclimated to life at Microsoft.   While it was great to have a supportive team to help me learn how to spread my wings and fly, what I really wanted was a map for becoming a skilled Softie and improving my effectiveness in this amazing environment.  After all, I didn’t join Microsoft to just hang out.  I joined it to make impact and learn the ways of successful Microsoft employees.

Success Factors
Ask and ye shall receive, right?  I was given a competency framework organized by success factors and core competencies.  This was the map I was looking for.  The success factors included the following:

• Customer Feedback
• Individual Excellence
• Long-Term Approach
• Passion for Products and Technology
• Results
• Teamwork

It was a simple but powerful set.  I really liked the fact that it stressed teamwork, results, and excellence.

Core Competencies
The success factors organized the core competencies.   Here is a map of the core competencies based on my old notes:

While the competency map is old, I think it’s pretty timeless.  Periodically, I scan the competencies and look for areas of growth.

Photo by eviltomthai.

I created a simple view of the Getting Results Knowledge Base for my latest book, Getting Results the Agile Way, which is a personal results system for work and life.  The Knowledge Base provides simple job aids including Cheat Sheets, Checklists, How Tos, Guidelines, and Templates.

If you want a quick visual overview of Getting Results, then explore the Visuals for Getting Results collection.

I would also recommend you browse the Guidelines for Getting Results.   The guidelines are a very tight set of “what to do,” “why,” and “how” summaries for getting results.  What’s special about this set is that I reviewed them with several folks inside and outside of Microsoft that have focused on personal productivity and team productivity for many years.  You might just find the gem that’s a game changer for you.

If you want a jump start for learning the system, see Getting Started with Agile Results.

The book is going to edit soon, so your feedback would be appreciated. (Making changes gets tougher when the book is in edit.)

Photo by totalAldo.

Effective is doing the right things for the right results.  Efficient is optimizing.  It’s the least waste of time and effort.

Before you try to be more efficient, first try to be more effective.  There’s no point in optimizing ineffective things.  I think of this as first asking, “What do I want to accomplish?”, then asking, “Where can I optimize?” For example, I first make sure I have the right things on my To Do list, before I try to optimize them and whenever I’m learning something new, I first focus on the mechanics before I speed up.  In other words, don’t try to shoot the bow faster before you can hit the target using the right technique.

One important Covey lesson one of my mentor’s always points out is, “Be efficient with things, but be effective with people.” I like the distinction.

Getting Results includes some simple ways to improve your efficiency and effectiveness.

Photo by eyeliam.

“If you don’t know the trees you may be lost in the forest, but if you don’t know the stories you may be lost in life.” —Siberian Elder

We’re wired for stories. Stories help us make meaning and they help us remember things.  They can also help us simplify and avoid getting overwhelmed in our everyday things.  The big idea to keep in mind here is that you’re the most important story teller in your life, and you can use little stories for getting results.

You can use 3 stories to drive your day.  By using the power of stories, we turn the “daily grind” into the “daily great.”  … “Call the customer” becomes “win a raving fan.”  … “Clean the living room” becomes “create a powerful sanctuary for recharging and renewing.”  … “Create a project plan” becomes “Share the playbook for my game winning plan.”  These are all little stories that help you write your story forward and connect with your results.

3 Stories to Drive Your Week
You can also use 3 stories to drive your week.  Just stepping back to ask yourself what are 3 stories you want for your week helps you carve out a compelling path forward.   In fact, I use this to drive my project teams.  On Mondays, I ask the team, “What would be our 3 best results for the week?”, or “if this were Friday, what are 3 results we want under our belt?”  This forces us to step back and design a compelling week before we spend our time and energy.  This connects us to the end in mind, in a very simple way and it helps us create a shared vision of what good looks like.

Keep Your Stories Simple but Compelling
Your stories for the week don’t need to be complicated.  Ideally, you keep them simple so you can recall them whenever or wherever you are.  In fact, my 3 stories for this week are: 1) Get clarity on my career, 2) Finish off the outstanding issues for my open project, and 3) Create a compelling vision/scope for my next project.  I say the stories as simple one-liners so that I can easily remember them, but the one-liners remind me of the results that I want and they help me stay on track.  Whenever I get lost in my day to day, I can step back and ask myself, what were my 3 stories for the week.   If I need to find more drive and motivation, I tune my stories by tapping into my values and connecting to the things that give me juice.

3 Ways to use Stories to Drive Your Week
Getting started using stories to drive your week is pretty simple, and it gets even easier with practice.  The key is to just start.  Here are 3 ways to use stories to drive your week:

1. On Mondays, identify 3 stories.  As part of Monday Vision, Daily Outcomes, and Friday Reflection,  identify 3 stories for your week.  Simply identify 3 results you want to accomplish.  Next, spruce them up as simple one-liner stories.  If you have trouble turning them into stories, just the fact you identified 3 results you want to accomplish goes a long way.  You’ll become a better storyteller as you go along.  One thing that helps me is I think “villain and victory” and what the hero needs to do to win.
2. Each day, use your stories for the week as a guide.  As you figure out your stories for each day, consider them against your bigger picture for the week.   Wednesday is a great mid-way checkpoint to see if you need to significantly change your stories or change your approach for a strong finish.
3. On Fridays, reflect on your stories.  How well are you doing against your stories?   … Either you’re nailing your stories or you’re not, and either those results are compelling for you or they are not.  The beauty of this is it helps you see if you are biting off too much.  It also helps you learn how to package up your results.  Most importantly, it helps you see your wins, even if they are only partial.  Chalk your partial wins up to making progress and celebrate your successes.  When you miss results, rather than get down on yourself, turn it into lessons and carry the good forward.   Remind yourself that each week is a new chance at bat.

While 3 stories might sound too simple, you’d be surprised how much clarity this adds to your days and to your weeks.  The little stories add up and that’s how you create your epic adventures in your life … moments at a time, and a story at a time.  Remember that it’s a numbers game, and the more you get up to bat, the more chances you have to hit the ball out of the park.

My Related Posts

• Use 3 Stories to Drive Your Day
• Monday Vision, Daily Outcomes, and Friday Reflection
• Getting Started with Agile Results

Photo by ground.zero.

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” — Chinese Proverb

I thought it would be good to share the momentum of Getting Results so far.  It’s been a bit of a whirlwind and I’m seeing some great trajectory.  I didn’t really know what to expect, but folks in the know are telling me the trajectory is strong and contagious.

I’ve decided to make March a focus on Getting Results so I’ll continue to post on simple ways to get results in work and life.

By the Numbers
I’m not driving by the numbers but they’re helping me see what’s working and what’s not.  I keep my eye on the ball and focus a pitch at a time, but I periodically check the scoreboard to see where I’m at.  In terms of raw numbers, it’s pretty good so far:

• 8,000+ visits to Getting Results.com this first week
• ~90 Facebook Fans within 3 days of making it available.
• Getting Results.com hit the 1st page of Google search results for the search “getting results” on Friday (bouncing between 1st and second page of search results)

Back at Work
Getting Results is gradually spreading around Microsoft.  It’s mostly word of mouth.  The people I mentor end up telling their managers, teams, and other team, and then it spreads.  I see people like to share their success and success has a beautiful way of snowballing.  Any way, here are the highlights from this past week at work:

• I saw a spike in the number of Microsoft colleagues asking me to mentor them
• I got asked to do a brownbag for ~90 folks in our Microsoft Consulting Services this month to talk about the book.
• I got asked to teach my scenario-driven approach to train 500+ Microsoft PMs, developers, and testers (10 sessions of 50+)
• A few companies asked that I would do a Webinar to share the Agile Results system (after all, who doesn’t want their teams getting great results.)

This means I need to streamline my training material and train some more trainers.  I never want to be the bottleneck (which is why I’m a big believer in creating platforms, tools, books, job aids and self-paced training so people can run with it on their own.)

What’s Success Look Like?
For me, it’s all about impact … a person at a time, a team a time, an organization at a time, a company at a time … etc.  I’m less concerned about the numbers, and more concerned that I see the right things happening

• Individuals are sharing stories how life just got a whole lot better
• Work environments and organizations are shifting to better places to be
• Individuals are finding ways to unleash their best

My real test is people all around me follow their passion, kick arse and take names, and get more out of life.

My simple goal for now is to help more people drive their day, their week, their month, and their year with 3 compelling stories at a time.

Photo by mistycabal.

If you don’t have a system for results, now is a great time to adopt one.  I’ll give you a quick start and step you through adopting Agile Results.  Even if you already have a system for results, you can adopt pieces of Agile Results to get more out of it.

Having a system on your side gives you a firm foundation.  It helps you when you fall down or are overwhelmed.  It also helps you move up the stack by not having to worry about the basics.  By making results a routine and rhythm, you can direct your attention on to bigger and better things.

Agile Results in a Nutshell
These are the basics.  If you do nothing else, simply identify 3 great results for today.  The rest will follow.  This helps you get mindful about your results and keeps you forward-looking. This little pattern increases your focus, your prioritization, and keeps you inspired as you carve out and drive your great results.  Here is a quick summary of how you can get started with Agile Results:

Mapping Out What’s Important

• Identify the most important results in each area or hot spot in your life: mind, body, emotions, career, financial, relationships, and fun (consider where you over-invested or under-invested.)
• Consider your work projects (identify 3 great results here)
• Consider your personal projects (identify 3 great results here)

Producing Results

• On Mondays, identify 3 results for the week
• Each day, identify 3 results you want to accomplish (this drives your day)
• On Fridays, reflect on your results. Identify 3 things going well, and 3 things to improve.

Monthly Themes

• Each month, pick a theme for focus. This is how you can balance across your interests. It allows you to focus less on one thing, while you focus more on another.

You can read the one-page guide on getting started with Agile Results for a simple walkthrough.

The Sum is More Than the Parts
I’ve been trying to put my fingers on why something so simple works so well.  I think it’s the synthesis of:

• Agile (respond to change, stories and value-driven, … etc.)
• Outcomes over activities (instead of a task-focus, it’s a focus on results and outcomes)
• The rule of 3 (used from military to marketing for great results and avoid overload)
• Lean (demand driven, avoid getting stuck in the process, reduce open work, hack away at the unessential)
• Scrum (backlog for life + weekly sprints to bite off what you can chew)
• Stories / story-driven results (we’re wired for stories, making meaning, emotional connection)
• Positive psychology (3 things going well, focus on forward)
• Strengths-focus (spend more time where it matters, focus on energy)
• Project management (think in projects, start/end, know the work, know capacity/throughput)

Together, these parts create a powerful synergy and momentum in your life.

A Simple Frame for Maximum Results
It’s a lot compacted into a simple frame

• Use 3 stories to carve out results for your day, for your week, for your month, for your year, and for your life.
• Ride the rhythms of results — focus on weekly results – Monday vision, daily outcomes, Friday reflection.
• Let things go and slough off … the art of letting the right things go to spend more time on the right things that matter.
• Catch your next best train … set the trains to leave the station each day, each week, each month … miss the train today, catch your next best one over dwell on the train you missed … get up to bat time and again.

What Are Your 3 Results for Today?
You can test yourself and gauge your progress.  You’ll know you’re doing well when you can start answering the simple question, “What are my 3 results for today?”  Test yourself each day.

When you first start, you might think of things like “have a great lunch” or “clear my inbox” or “win a raving fan.”  As it becomes a habit, you’ll find yourself creating even more compelling stories and getting creative with your results.

Photo by Tigr.

The Getting Results Facebook Fan Page is now available.  It’s for my latest book, Getting Results the Agile Way.

Getting Results is my first non-technical book and it’s all about making you great.  You’ll learn the super skills for working on the right things, the right way, at the right time, with the right energy … unleashing your best.  Oh, and did I mention, you can read it all for free?  It’s all free in HTML.  You can learn the secrets of how I drive myself, coach other teams at Microsoft, and lead distributed teams around the World for more than 10 years for world-class results.  It’s spreading fast … people are adopting it … and people are writing stories to me about how it’s changing their lives.  Who knew success would be so contagious … and everybody wants some of that

It’s all about getting results in work and life.  It’s the best of the best success patterns for making the most of what you’ve got, playing to your strengths, mastering your time, and living your values.

I’m a fan of sharing know-how rapidly, effectively, and unselfishly … so all the secrets are in the guide, no holds barred.  You get the distillation of trial and tribulation, deliberate practice, and synthesis of the best of the best methods for getting results.  Get the system on your side and like Bruce Lee said, “absorb what is useful.”

Maybe you’ll be the next rags to riches story.  Maybe you’ll become the new hero at work who moves mountains and makes things happen.  Maybe you’ll just find more joy in your day to day.  Either way … best wishes on uncorking yourself and may the full force of Agile Results be with you.

If it’s not for you, maybe you know somebody who needs a lift up in life.  Share it with them.  I’m teaching my friends and family and all who care about the skills to go the distance in an ever-changing world.

Photo by dheuer.