Stop, Start, Continue, Change

Now that you have gotten over the fact that your New Year’s resolution weren’t worth the piece of paper you wrote them on. It is time to start working on a real plan.

I want to introduce you to a simple system to focus yourself on what you need to do in order to be more successful in 2013. Do not confuse the simplicity with ineffectiveness. THE STOP, START, CHANGE, CONTINUE (SSCC) model is an easy way to identify actionable steps to make improvements to almost anything. It can be done by an individual or in groups. It can be done to identify steps to increase personal happiness, affect improvements with relationships, improve business processes and even provide feedback to employees. It can be used to brainstorm possibilities and then narrow the field to viable alternatives for implementation.

When using the SSCC model, try to generate a good number and a wide variety of types of ideas. Ways to improve both of the number and quality of the alternatives may include:

• Write them all down
• Be your own Devil’s advocate
• Don’t edit. Wait to evaluate later.
• Involve others (staff)

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This model can be applied to almost anything that could be improved… in business, executive or life situations.

Here is a great structure for working on this. After a list of ideas and potential actions has been generated, they need to be evaluated. A quick list of items to consider includes:

• Who will be impacted?
• How much benefit will this action bring?
• How hard will this action be to implement?
• Are there resource constraints? Money? People?
• How quickly will I see results – and does that matter?
• Is there anyone who needs to agree to this action before it is implemented?

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