12
Identify Your Key Constraints
Between you and your goals, there is always at least one major constraint to overcome. What ever you have to do, there is always a limiting factor—the thing that determines how quickly and well you get it done. What ever your goal or objective, study the task, identify the limiting factor, and focus all your energies on alleviating the bottleneck.
NOTES
1. What is your most important goal in life today? If you achieved one goal that would have the greatest positive effect on your life, what would it be? What single career accomplishment would have the best effect on your professional life? Write that goal in the circle.
2. Now, think about the things that keep you from achieving that goal. What constraints—internal or external—set the speed at which you accomplish this goal? Where are the choke points?
3. Identify your key constraint in each area, then focus on removing it.
BUSINESS AND CAREER: What is your single most important goal in your business life?
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
a. What is the key INTERNAL constraint that determines how fast you can achieve this goal?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
b. What can you do more of or less of, start or stop, to relieve or ELIMINATE this constraint?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
c. What is the key EXTERNAL constraint that determines how fast you can achieve this goal?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
d. What can you do more of or less of, start or stop to relieve or ELIMINATE this constraint?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
FAMILY AND RELATIONSHIPS: What is your single most important goal with your family?
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
a. What is the key INTERNAL constraint that determines how fast you can achieve this goal?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
b. What can you do more of or less of, start or stop, to relieve or ELIMINATE this constraint?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
c. What is the key EXTERNAL constraint that determines how fast you can achieve this goal?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
d. What can you do more of or less of, start or stop, to relieve or ELIMINATE this constraint?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
MONEY AND INVESTMENTS: What is your single most important goal regarding your money and investments?
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
a. What is the key INTERNAL constraint that determines how fast you can achieve this goal?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
b. What can you do more of or less of, start or stop, to relieve or ELIMINATE this constraint?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
c. What is the key EXTERNAL constraint that determines how fast you can achieve this goal?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
d. What can you do more of or less of, start or stop, to relieve or ELIMINATE this constraint?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
HEALTH AND FITNESS: What is your single most important health goal?
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
a. What is the key INTERNAL constraint that determines how fast you can achieve this goal?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
b. What can you do more of or less of, start or stop, to relieve or ELIMINATE this constraint?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
c. What is the key EXTERNAL constraint that determines how fast you can achieve this goal?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
d. What can you do more of or less of, start or stop, to relieve or ELIMINATE this constraint?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
What one action are you going to take as a result of your answers to this constraint analysis?
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
For Shane, the biggest choke point in her life seemed to be time in general—she needed to go to work each day, she needed to put time into class and course work, and her business needed her. But her business, it turned out, didn’t always need her to be the one working to grow. Shane decided to take some of the proceeds from her weekly farmers market sales to hire an assistant—a person to work the counter at the farmers market and to deal with some admin work during the week. With the time that freed up, Shane looked into traveling to some trade shows, and spent time she used to spend actually selling chocolate visiting with different retailers in town. In no time, she was selling her wares in dozens of stores.