One day, I suddenly realized that not all of my goals were commitments. That epiphany led me to examine what the difference is between a goal and a commitment. As I reflected more, I realized that I favored goals that I was committed to, and I accomplished most of them. Goals that I was not as committed to were the ones that I pushed when I ran out of time or energy.
There were also times when I was thrashing around among too many goals, and they all fell off the wagon regardless of my feelings of commitment! Those feelings just transformed into anger or guilt.
I decided to really commit to the goals I chose and not accept any more. Yup—I let a few ships burn while I committed to getting a tight list of things done. My motivation and sense of ownership also naturally increased along with my dedication to completing the work.
I realized that to fulfill my commitments, I needed to have conviction and courage. Conviction is the belief that the goals and priorities we commit to are truly important. I needed to deeply understand the why behind my commitments. Then, I had to have courage to do the hard things—to say NO to competing priorities and work, to say no to colleagues who were asking for something else, and maybe even to say no to customers when appropriate.
This breakthrough really changed my ability to achieve the goals I had set, and therefore to get the results that I wanted. My simple formula is as follows:
You're Committed, Now What?
Commitment, conviction, and courage are foundational to achieving your goals. Once you have a strong sense of ownership, it’s time to start executing. But do you have the right tools to actually execute the commitments you have made?
AI is now a key element in helping me do this; it has become my friend and my advisor. This is why our team created Rhythm Intelligence. Setting SMART goals and consistently executing them may seem like common skills, but unfortunately, these are not always common practices.
Here’s how AI can help you get the work you’ve committed to done—easier, better, and faster.
You have likely heard the term SMART goal. This is a goal that is:
The Rhythm process gives you a simple way to write SMART goals. If you give your goal thoughtful Red Yellow Green Success Criteria, name it, and assign a due date to it, your goal is already SMART!
Rhythm Intelligence makes writing SMART goals a common practice. Start with what you want to achieve, then hit the Rhythm Intelligence button—it will generate various SMART goal versions of your goal for you. Your wish or desire is transformed into a specific goal that is ready for execution. The objective is clear not only to you, but also to the teams you will be working with cross-functionally.
Then, once you have decided on the right title, you can again use Rhythm Intelligence to generate Red Yellow Green Success Criteria for you to play with. I say play with because I want you to think about creating SMART goals with more fun, more joy, and more play. You can accept what Rhythm Intelligence suggests or you can edit it. I've always found it easier to edit than to create something from a blank page.
A well-written goal with specific Success Criteria is a good start, but you need to dig deeper before you begin executing. What will it really take to get this project done? Think about your time, your commitment to other projects and priorities, your resources, and your key milestones.
I use Rhythm Intelligence as my friend, my advisor, and an additional brain in the room to converse with. You can have discussions about who the project should involve and in what capacity. This helps with resource planning as you map out the quarter ahead.
Rhythm Intelligence is also able to automate data entry for you. With a right-click, you can convert text from your conversation into a Rhythm Task or Priority.
Mapping out the specifics of execution will help you and your team align on the who, what, when, and how so that there are no surprises later on.
Most companies have status meetings weekly. We don't! I believe that your weekly meeting needs to be about assessing how you are achieving your commitments and the progress you are making on your milestones. If you need to go ahead and adjust the execution plan, do it. I love Mike Tyson's quote: "Everyone has a strategy until I punch them in the mouth." Well, I have never met an execution plan that did not get punched in the mouth!
It is not about whether you will or will not hit a speed bump or an obstacle. It's really about what you will do when you hit that speed bump or obstacle. How fast are you going to recover? What adjustment can you make when your execution plan gets punched in the mouth?
I have used Rhythm Intelligence to support my execution during the 13 weeks of a quarter in a variety of ways:
As with any AI tool, Rhythm Intelligence works best when you engage with it deeply. Do not stop after the first question or prompt. Ask more questions, provide more context, and even express doubt about its assumptions! This will push the tool to present more information that is better tailored to your needs. This is part of my daily practice with AI, and it has paid off in much richer output.
Don’t stop with writing SMART goals, getting unstuck, or aligning with your team. Ask it to write project plans, draft communications, suggest best practices for tracking metrics…whatever you need to execute better and faster!
You already have creative ideas and subject matter expertise, but sometimes that knowledge needs to be sparked, expanded upon, re-formatted, or challenged. You do not have to wait for a colleague’s input. Consider Rhythm Intelligence another brain in the room that is always at your disposal!
Visualize yourself at the end of this quarter. Imagine you have fulfilled all of your commitments.
How do you feel?
Proud? Inspired? Ready to take on the next big challenge?
This will not happen unless you commit to and execute your priorities, and do it repeatedly. Let us help you! Use Rhythm Intelligence to take your goals and make them SMART. Then, have the conviction and courage to fulfill your commitments.
Invite Rhythm Intelligence to be your execution companion week after week. Commit to not having status meetings anymore; change them to weekly adjustment meetings. Make the right adjustments and adapt to new challenges!
If you are ready to fulfill your commitments, try Rhythm Intelligence for yourself.