This is a place for displaying some concepts of the Sherpa System.
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Execution Engine
Tracking a big list of projects is overwhelming – it constantly distracts you. Each unfinished task will nag at you, creating a series of mental pop-ups. This is called the Zeigarnik Effect. A good Execution Engine is a powerful tool for escaping this trap.
In over 20 years of helping CEOs execute their strategic vision, I’ve found the secret sauce for moving the needle on multiple projects. It’s called an Execution Engine.
An Execution Engine is like a Rube Goldberg machine for achieving your most important outcomes. The beautiful thing about it is that you don’t have to think about it. It spits out a Next Task, a meeting you set with yourself – you just show up and things get done.
“Time blocking” doesn’t work
Some people have a system of throwing all of their tasks on a calendar. This is called “time blocking,” and it doesn’t work. Here’s why.
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It doesn’t account for your energy, bandwidth, or the Storm you’re working in.
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Everything gets pushed off to Friday.
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It’s bait for the Urgency Trap.
The Execution Engine produces an easy-to-crank-out task like “Put numbers into Row 1 of the report.” They fall below your Resistance Radar, so they almost always happen.
The Execution Engine isn’t a piece of AI wizardry. It’s a process you learn from your guide and work through every week. The “machine” is a system where you input an objective into Column A which makes clear the necessary S.U.P.E.R. Project, and outputs the Next Task, which becomes a meeting with yourself – something you’re as unlikely to ignore as a meeting with someone else.
In climbing, we use a similar system for climbing big walls. We move past a safe point, set up a new safe point, then clean the equipment we’ve used and repeat until all rope lengths are done.
SOLUTIONS
Set up an Execution Engine to move your life objectives forward.
At the end of each week, look at your metrics. What got done and what didn’t?
This data will inform the Execution Engine for the following week.
“The Execution Engine turns my upcoming tasks into New Projects, and breaks them down into doable steps. The steps are then aligned with my priorities and put into my calendar. I show up, and things get done.”
– Todd Smith, Solopreneur
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