Christine Heckart, CMO of NetApp, shared some valuable insights with us at the BMA meeting yesterday.  These ranged from high level concepts to practical advice on how to lead, manage, and get results and get differentiated in a world where everyone is trying to claim they are the one. One of Christine’s insight was:

THINK BIG, start small, move fast!

So how do we apply this in our daily productivity effort? I would like to take this approach and translate it to some of the tips and techniques that I have been practicing with business professionals from all walks of life and seeing some breakthrough results.

THINK BIG

Stop for a few minutes, and imagine what success “would” look like! It helps to have a time period in mind. Usually, I ask my participants to select 3 months or 6 months (after all we live in a rapidly changing work environment). Describe success vividly. See it. Hear it. Feel it. Unlimit yourself. Once you are excited about the vision of success that you create it, write it down, and refine it.

Now, the real work starts. Translate this vision of success into 3 to 5 key results. Keep refining these results until they are specific. Then start the brainstorming process. Ask yourself: “How do I get there?” Expand on this until you have narrowed it down to specific activities that are likely to get you there. Start to schedule these on your calendar to bring them to life . Without Thinking Big, we stay busy with the small stuff. But without flushing out the details and getting them onto the calendar, we stay at wishful thinking!

Stay tuned for the “start small” and then the “move fast” tips and insights. For now, THINK BIG! And share with us your thoughts!

Founder and principal of People-OntheGo, has more than fifteen years of experience in the software industry. Pierre has founded several companies including a financial software company in 1987 (Computer Trends, Inc.), an e-CRM company in 1995 (Imparto Software Corporation), raised several multi-million dollar funding rounds, and completed two successful acquisitions. In the last few years, Pierre's interest centered around bridging the gap between technology and people. He founded People-OntheGo to help corporate users manage e-mail and digital communication tools more effectively, and Digital-OntheGo to help organizations take full advantage of the new advances in digital video and web distribution, both part of the OntheGo Technologies L.L.C. Pierre holds a Master's degree in Engineering from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Michigan), and has completed several Executive Education programs at the Stanford Graduate School of Management (Stanford, California).

Pierre Khawand

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