My System for Growth
By: Robert Dougherty
We are all learning. As a growth minded person, I am constantly looking for ways to improve and perfect my system. I have built a structure that I follow in order to make progress and attack the things I want most in life. My system has 5 parts:
- Start with why – “What’s life about?”
- Resources / Capabilities / Core Competencies
- Minto Pyramid
- OKRs
- Dip Identification
Start with Why
Simon Sinek came out with a book called start with Why. I won’t review it here, but basically it said that when you communicate you should center yourself around why you want something not just how or what.
My Why: To lead an inspiring life so that one day when my children face an impossible task they say – “Dad did it, so I can too!”.
To get to this why I used the 7 Whys process and I update this ~1/month.
Why: To make more money and have more time to spend on the things and people that I care deeply about.
Why: So, I don’t have to worry and so I don’t have to watch my loved ones suffer.
Why: Because the older people around me are generally unhappy with their lives and by extension I am worried I will end up that way.
Why: Because they regret not going all out. As a child I watched my father have it all and then loose it and I never want my kids to experience that.
Why: Because a child should have their dad and because life should be fun and employing. The world is unfair and I want to do what I can to change that.
Why: Because I love my kids and care about people. I want to live in a world where there is a 0% chance my children have to live through anything close to what I did.
Why: Because my purpose is to life a life and provide for those around me. I am the person who does the right thing and is the example for others for what is possible.
Why: So that they can live a life they want to live.
Resources / Capabilities / Core Competencies
Once I have what I want and the direction I want to head, I build a look into where I am. I break this down into 5 areas of life:
- Health
- Wealth
- Relationships
- Charity
- Experiences
This enables me to take an objective look at where I am and understand the things I need to improve.
Health: 190lbs, 5 pull ups, 7: 56-mile time, no major allergies or issues, no drug use, minimal alcohol consumption, good ability to deal with stress.
Wealth: $165k/year salary, $20k/year bonus, $12k/year side income from government contracting, investment fund with 2 businesses under LOI ($320k/year opportunity to increase income), $150k in student loan debt, $45k in personal debt, $3k in credit card debt, $35k in 401k, and $10k in savings
Skills: Private Equity, Consulting, Pricing, Strategy, Business, Entrepreneurship, Tech, Agile, Project Management, BD, Government Contracting, Investing, Acquisitions
Relationships: Married (11 years), 3 kids 1 on the way, many close family relationships, a couple of distant friend relationships
Charity: No notable charitable initiatives, history of starting a non-profit and volunteering
Experiences: Visited 4 countries this year. Really into spartan races. Occasional open mat in jujitsu, and deep enjoyment of outdoors and travel.
Minto Pyramid
For years I stopped at the above. I knew what I wanted and where I was but couldn’t figure out what to do next. After being a consultant for a decade, I understand the importance of structure. There is a communication technique I use called the Minto pyramid to structure my thoughts in a way I can take action.
It starts with a hook that tells you what we are talking about, focuses on 1 key point and then separates it into 3 areas. From there I can dive deeper into each area and close with a strong action statement.
Hook: I want to live an exciting full life that inspires others and creates a positive environment for myself and my kids.
Key Focus: To do this I have a 3-point plan of attack which involves improving my fitness, amassing resources, and spending time doing things I love.
Point 1: Improving Fitness
Why: By improving my fitness, I will live longer, be able to do more, and have more energy to attack life with
What: To me improving my fitness means doing inspire athletic challenges, losing weight, gaining strength and speed
Target: Next step is to run a Spartan Sprint in under 50 mins which should result in top 10% of the Open in October
Point 2: Amassing Resources
Why: By having more money and more time I can have a bigger impact on those around me as well as fund the other goals I have in life
What: Build a fund that purchases businesses from owners that are looking to preserve their legacy, Create a community that helps entrepreneurs start their businesses, and continue to hone and enhance my skills through consulting activities
Target: $300k/year in income monthly run rate by the end of the year ($25k/month)
Point 3: Spending time doing things I love
Why: To inspire others, I need to be able to be inspired. I want to spend as much of my life with the people I care about doing things that are exciting, fun, and adventurous
What: Travel more, do more outdoorsy things, get into rock climbing, and jujitsu
Target: Travel to 2 places internationally next year (Canada and Bali), compete in a jujitsu tournament, and climb the flatirons in CO
OKRs
Once you have your thoughts organized, it’s time to take action. For me it is hard to get started. I like to read, and I read a book called “Measure What Matters” by John Doer (a fellow Rice Alumni). His OKRs Framework was a game changer for me in action taking perspective. It enabled me to focus on the things that will push the ball forward.
Here is how it works. You pick a feedback period. For me 1 day or 1 week is the most effective. As you get better at it the time frame goes to monthly or quarterly. I take the objectives from above and distill them into an OKRS – Objective and Key Results. This framework is based on the idea that your goals should be measured and evaluated. Everything should be thought of in the as measured by (a.m.b.) perspective, here are mine:
Objective 1: Run a 50 min Spartan Sprint
a.m.b.
Key Results:
a. Exercise everyday
b. 20 pull ups unassisted
c. 24 min 3 mile
d. 1700 calories daily
e. 120 g of protein daily
Objective 2: Increase monthly income to $300k/year or $25k/month
a.m.b.
Key Results:
a. Spend 2 hours per day on growing my income and gaining time back in my day
b. Execute on the Letter of Intents that I have signed and get them funded prior to Aug. 1st
c. Hire a coach
d. Post 100 blog posts by the end of July
e. Create online course and community
Objective 1: Travel to 2 countries next year and climb the flatirons
a.m.b.
Key Results:
a. Planned trips and purchased tickets prior to Mar 1 of next year
a. Colorado
b. Bali
c. Madrid
d. Canada
b. Schedule Rock Climbing Lessons
c. Schedule Rock Climbing Trip
Dip Identification
Once you achieve your objectives and key results it becomes hard to not act. However, you are inevitably going to hit a point where you just don’t want to do it anymore. Where the cost becomes high, and the reward doesn’t come for months if not years. The easiest way out is to quit, but to quit too late can be crippling and kill years of progress.
There are two questions you must ask yourself where am I on the curve and am I willing to forfeit all the progress I have made in this one thing? And two, what type of dip am I facing. Now a dip is a period of suffering you will have to endure as described in Seth Godin’s book “The Dip”. For me it was always easiest to name the fear at the beginning to determine if the pain would be worth it. Success in any endeavor requires an higher level of pain an suffering that many just won’t endure.
While I really enjoyed Seth’s book, I have found that the Dips described there apply to an organization, but for entrepreneurs and young professionals there are personal dips that are more relevant.
Types of Dips:
- Money: How much will this cost?
- Time: How long will it take and what commitment do I have to give?
- Ego: How will this make me feel about myself?
- Reputation: How will this impact my reputation?
- Relational: How will this impact my relationships?
- Exhaustion: How will this impact my energy?
- Variety: How will this impact my day to day and enjoyment?
- Health: How will this affect my health and well being?
- Mental: How with this challenge my thinking?
The answer to each of these questions doesn’t have to be positive, in fact the more of a commitment the better. The more you sacrifice the more reward you will get in the future. The key is to ask yourself whether it is worth it or not to you to start. If it isn’t then quit before you get too deep. If it is then push forward and when you face one of the Dips you planned for don’t quit, push through. If you face something you haven’t accounted for and changes the equation, then that’s how you know it’s time to pivot.
My Dips
- Money:
o Spartan Goal: I will need to spend $100 on the race and continue my gym memberships. Additionally, I need to spend money on protein shakes ($150)
o Income Goal: I must find a way to raise hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars to fund my acquisitions. I will have to put up tens of thousands in deal fees and business expenses before I see a return.
o Adventure Goal: I will have to spend ~$20k to do the things I want to do correctly
- Time:
o Spartan Goal: I will need to exercise daily and sacrifice 1-2 hours per day to accomplish this
o Income Goal: I will need to work an extra 10-20 hours per week to accomplish this
o Adventure Goal: I will need to schedule the time off and take it (3-4 weeks)
- Ego:
o Spartan Goal: There will be moments where I am showing progress, everyone else is comfortable and things feel pointless. I will be in social situations where I have to talk about myself
o Income Goal: I will feel selfish that I am so money focused. I will feel like a bad family member because I am focused on the goal
o Adventure Goal: I will feel like my family is looking down on me and feels that I travel too much and that I am a spend thrift
- Reputation:
o Spartan Goal: I will be the guy you is trying to do something and not succeeding
o Income Goal: I will become the guy everyone feel like is to fancy
o Adventure Goal: I will be the guy that travels too much and can’t enjoy the things that are close
- Relational:
o Spartan Goal: I will have to keep up with my progress because people are watching and waiting for me to give up
o Income Goal: I will have to think through if people are family/friends or if they just want things from me
o Adventure Goal: I will loose vacation time with family that can’t afford or don’t want what I want and will need to pay for them if I want them there
- Exhaustion:
o Spartan Goal: I am going to be physically tired and exhausted most of the time
o Income Goal: I am going to have little sleep and will be mentally pushed
o Adventure Goal: I will be overwhelmed and stress at points
- Variety:
o Spartan Goal: I will need to be focused on one type of training for a long time
o Income Goal: I will need to double down my efforts on one thing and it will get mundane
o Adventure Goal: No impact to variety
- Health:
o Spartan Goal: I will be at risk of injury
o Income Goal: No impact
o Adventure Goal: I will be a risk of disease
- Mental:
o Spartan Goal: I will be at risk of injury
o Income Goal: No impact
o Adventure Goal: I will be a risk of disease
Considering these dips, I choose to commit to these goals. In spite of these dips, I choose to push when faced with any of these.
Conclusion
This is my system for growth and development. I hope that it works for you. The main thing is to have a system, not necessarily to use the one that I have made. As you think through the elements of your system consider how to set goals, plan activity, take action, and prepare for and address challenges.
