The 12-Week Year – an ebook review

Execution is the single greatest market differentiator.

According to Moran and Lennington, 12 weeks is enough time to accomplish or move projects significantly forward and yet short enough time to motivate us to getting things done. The authors argue that we often fail to execute and hit our desired targets with annualized planning because we often think we have plenty of time to get it done. You have an entire year, right?

This is precisely the line of thinking that somehow gets us further behind in executing the plans and attaining the goals. Hence, their solution: The 12-Week Year.

The 12-Week Year posits that we can take on and plan new projects and activities we want to accomplish and work around them on a 12-week period compared to the annual and quarterly planning approaches we’re used to.

About the Book

Divided in to 2 parts, the book teaches us the principles and techniques we need to implement the 12-week year into our personal lives and even careers and businesses. The first part covers the principles and the second part guides us onto using these principles in planning our 12-week year.

There are 8 fundamental components of the 12-Week Year is divided into 3 principles and 5 disciplines. The principles are the foundation of both professional and personal success and these include:

1. Accountability – refers to ultimate ownership of one’s actions to achieve desired results
2. Commitment – refers to a personal promise that reflects into the future
3. Greatness in the Moment – happens the moment one chooses to do the things that needs to be done in order to become great.

The 5 disciplines are required to effectively execute and these include:

1. Vision – painting a clear picture of the future, the emotional connection
2. Planning – focuses and clarifies priorities and actions
3. Process Control – tools and events that align daily actions with critical actions
4. Measurement – provides the feedback necessary to make informed decisions
5. Time Use – being in control of and intentional with time use to achieve results

My Take

“If we did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” —Thomas Edison

I find the steps practical and do-able. The components of the 12-week year are really nothing revolutionary. As the authors have pointed out, it’s always a problem of execution and we fail on it because of a number of reasons. It may be because we are overwhelmed, disorganized or just plainly do not have an idea on how to get started.

My personal favorites were the way they tackled commitment – as a promise to one’s self and how it is different from an interest, accountability – in terms of ownership and not as a yardstick or judgment and the greatness in the moment – because all we really have is now (a.k.a. the present moment).

The only way to know if you really can achieve your goals using this technique is to execute. Apply this on your work, business or a passion project you’ve been planning to get off the ground – like this blog of mine – that you haven’t quite gotten around in your mind yet. This might just work for you. I am going to do the same and maybe you can let me know how if these steps are helping you achieve more.

One of my favorite quotes is from Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Above all, try something.” Don’t settle for not getting what you want, failing on your promises and missing the things you know you deserve. When you really want it that bad, then do something, do everything, do whatever it takes – make sure you have exhausted all the possibilities before you even think about quitting or changing your mind about wanting something.

Where to get a copy

You can get a copy of the book from the 12-Week Year website here. Hard copies, Kindle version and MP3 CDs are available on Amazon.

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Moran, B., & Lennington, M. (2013). The 12-week year: Get more done in 12 weeks than others do in 12 months. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork

This book in not really new. In fact, the copy I have says it was published in 2006. The interesting part is that apart from teaching some principles on becoming healthier and making better choices in terms of food and lifestyle, the book offers lessons and wisdom applicable in different areas of life.

If you’ve read this book, I hope you enjoy revisiting it with me. If you have not, then you are in for a pleasant surprise.

About the author

Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork was written by Mike Huckabee, a former governor of the state of Arkansas and in his words, a “foodaholic”. What’s written in the book are the principles he applied and learned from his journey to health.

In this inspiring book, Gov. Huckabee shared how he was able to change himself from a lifelong of unhealthy eating habits to becoming more aware of his food choices and incorporating physical activities into his usually packed calendar.

About the book

The book basically outlines a simple program that you can follow if you want to shed some pounds, start a fitness regimen and eventually become healthier. Gov. Huckabee affirms that becoming healthier is a decision that demands determination, hard work and commitment. It’s a life-changing choice that will require you to make changes in your present self and lifestyle to become a better, healthier version of you.

The 12 STOPS to End Bad Habits and Begin a Healthy Lifestyle* are:

1. STOP Procrastinating

Four basic principles essential to stop procrastinating:

1. Set a very specific and definite start time for your program within the next 2 weeks
2. Share your start date with several trusted friends, family members, and perhaps your doctors.
3. Start! After you set it and share it, start it! Don’t let anything keep you from this very important and hopefully life-changing appointment.
4. Stick to it!

2. STOP Making Excuses

You don’t have to enrol in an expensive club or clinic to develop healthy habits but you do have to stop making excuses

3. STOP Sitting on the Couch

• Develop a more comprehensive approach to health, as opposed to trying to get rid of some excess pounds within a specific time frame and for a specific purpose.
• Bottom line is you must make the conscious decision to stop sitting on the couch.
• Focus on the things that will truly help adjust your life in the simplest and least expensive way possible.

4. STOP Ignoring Signals from Your Body

These may be some of the signs:

• Being tired
• Shortness of breath
• Lethargy
• Depression
• Joint and muscle pain
• Restless sleep
• Headache
• Feeling bloated

5. STOP Listening to Destructive Criticism

• Bad behaviors can be changed – even yours!
• Avoid letting yourself be compared with others who have successfully experienced weight loss or lifestyle change.
• Find “anchors”, those people who believes in you and will encourage you.
• Be less concerned about the vehicle you use than you are about the destination.

6. STOP Expecting Immediate Success

• The process of change can begin within minutes and hours from the time you decide.
• Fitness involves a great deal more than just what’s revealed on the bathroom scales.
• The body can be retrained and in the process our health regained.

7. STOP Whining

• Attitude determines our altitude. People who are convinced they cannot accomplish something will find their attitude to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
• Adopting the can-do spirit, surrounding yourself with positive reinforcement and encouraging friends is essential to success.

8. STOP Making Exceptions

• Your purpose is to realize that you don’t need to eat any of it to feel satisfied.
• Training – repeating actions over and over until your actions are “reactions” that are predictable. That marks a new habit!

9. STOP Storing Provisions for Failure

We do more to plan for failure than we do to plan for success. You will ultimately accomplish what you prepare for. As you prepare for success, you will succeed. But if you plan to fail – even it it’s not a conscious decision to do so – you will inevitably fail.

10. STOP Fuelling with Contaminated Food

• An engine’s ability to run at optimum performance is directly linked to the quality of fuel that it is fed.
• No matter where you are, it is crucial to make the best food choices for your body.

11. STOP Allowing Food to Be a Reward

• My previous failures were in large part the result of a lifetime of conditioning myself for failure and not having any idea how to be conditioned for success and fitness!
• Focus on the STOPs we must make to change the very conditioning that has caused us a lifetime of chronic failure.

12.  STOP Neglecting Your Spiritual Health

• See yourself in a larger context and realize that you are not alone in your goal.
• You have to be accountable because someone is always watching.
• Do it not because you are worthless but because you are worth improving.

My take

This book is gold! From waking you up to the realities of unhealthy lifestyle to teaching lessons we can apply not just in becoming fit but also in business and other relationships, its motivating, inspiring and for someone who have been out of shape for as long as I can remember, this is also very challenging.

It’s actually a bargain find for me and I had to idea what I was buying when I stopped at the thrift bookshop at a mall to get some smaller bills and change for my commute. It stood there priced at below $2 and I just took it to keep me busy and somehow productive as I was about to get stuck on traffic.

Gov. Huckabee’s approach is practical and relatable enough to get people to action and take ownership not just of their bodies but more importantly, their future as well. If you’re on a journey to wellness and you’re feeling stuck in a rut, this will definitely be a good motivation and guide on trying again and harder this time. J

Where can you get a copy?

It’s still available in Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

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* Huckabee, M. (2006). Quit digging your grave with a knife and fork: A 12-stop program to end bad habits and begin a healthy lifestyle. New York, NY: Center Street.