From Dream to Action: Breaking Goals into Clear Monthly Steps

14 September 2024
Kalinga Mane, Agumbe, Karnataka

High achievers are doers and just not dreamers, and the people who set definitive action with absolute resolution. One thing that sets them apart is listing down detailed, achievable steps to achieve goals. That mostly implies having clear monthly milestones that need to be hit. This not only provides clarity but also turns grand aspirations into achievable results.

In this blog post, we take a deep look at breaking a goal into monthly steps, with the help of practical examples, anecdotes, and lessons from Indian wisdom.

1. Deconstruct the process to achieve your goal

“To begin, begin.” – William Wordsworth

Writing down all aspects related to one’s goal can be daunting, as high performers who know the value of writing everything down relative to their goals will attest. This simple act of penning a dream to paper changes something abstract into something concrete.

An example from my own experience is an entrepreneur looking to successfully start a tech company. At the outset, this goal seemed pretty gargantuan. But when I wrote down every task possible — that is, market research, product development, assembling a team, securing funding, and marketing strategies — all of a sudden, this amorphous goal seemed more structured. As each step was set out, it became easier to see how the pieces went together.

In the Panchatantra story “The Hare and the Lion,” a clever hare uses a step-by-step strategy to outwit a powerful lion that had been terrorizing the forest animals. Instead of rushing into danger, the hare carefully planned and broke down the problem, ultimately defeating the lion through strategy, not strength. This highlights how methodical thinking and breaking down large goals into manageable steps can help us tackle challenges that seem too overwhelming at first.

2. Cut it Down to Twelve Clear Steps

“Strategy is about what you choose not to do.” — Michael Porter

Once all the steps are written down, the next one is prioritizing. High performers understand that not everything has equal priority and that not everything can be done simultaneously. The goal now becomes focus on twelve clear, prioritized steps—one for each month.

Let’s go back to our example of a tech start-up. All such possible steps, once listed, the entrepreneur within me pruned it down to just twelve key actions. For example:

• January: Carry out market research.
• February: Product concept development.
• March: Prototype construction.
• April: Securing initial funding.
• May: Form the nucleus team.
• June: Launch of Beta testing.
• And so forth.

In Indian philosophy, this concept resonates with the Bhagavad Gita’s teachings on karma—focusing on the task at hand without getting overwhelmed by the end goal. Prioritizing tasks ensures that you work steadily towards your goal without losing sight of what matters most at each step. It’s about doing the right thing at the right time.

3. Set a Clear Objective for Each Month

“What gets measured gets managed.” — Peter Drucker

The next step in the process is to define specifically the result for each month. High achievers chunk their big goal down to monthly landmarks with specific and measurable results for each. For example, instead of writing a goal that says “to conduct market research,” we can write, “Identify my top three competitors in the niche and understand the strengths and weaknesses they have in the month of January.” This kind of clarity helps us stay focused on the goal and measure our progress.

This, in turn, is reflected in the Ramayana, where everything from strategy to the rescue of Sita by Lord Rama was perfectly planned. For example, each step of his journey was outlined from securing alliances to collecting intelligence on Ravana’s forces. This proved successful by chunking the colossal task of waging war into smaller strategic steps with defined results at each stage.

An anecdote from the world of cricket also points at this approach. The legendary Indian cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar, was known for breaking his centuries down into smaller milestones. Instead of trying to achieve the elusive 100, he tried to achieve those goals for every set of 10 runs such that focus was sharpened and brought within the realms of achievement. That helped him break world records, one step at a time.

Conclusion: The Power of Monthly Milestones

Breaking your goals down into monthly steps makes large goals seem achievable, and at the same time it keeps momentum and motivation high. Writing down all the steps, then paring them down to the twelve critical actions while setting clear outcomes for each month, is what allows high performers to stay in sharp focus.

As would be reiterated by Swami Vivekananda, “Persist, pursue, and progress until the peak is perfected.” High performers understand that consistency and clarity are how to work your goals successfully. The enormity of the goal does not scare them away. Rather, they dissect the journey into measurable, bite-sized steps since it is only after you manage the steps that the goal takes care of itself.

These principles, applied to the bird’s eye with Arjuna-like focus, prioritizing like Lord Rama, and setting clear outcomes like Sachin Tendulkar, will help anyone turn their great dreams into real accomplishments, one month at a time.

Learn more about Goal Setting and other tips for becoming a Top Performer at: ORL Leadership Summit 2024.

Dr. Prahlada N.B
MBBS (JJMMC), MS (PGIMER, Chandigarh). 
MBA (BITS, Pilani), MHA, 
Executive Programme in Strategic Management (IIM, Lucknow)
Senior Management Programme in Healthcare Management (IIM, Kozhikode)
Postgraduate Certificate in Technology Leadership and Innovation (MIT, USA)
Advanced Certificate in AI for Digital Health and Imaging Program (IISc, Bengaluru). 

Senior Professor and former Head, 
Department of ENT-Head & Neck Surgery, Skull Base Surgery, Cochlear Implant Surgery. 
Basaveshwara Medical College & Hospital, Chitradurga, Karnataka, India. 

My Vision: I don’t want to be a genius.  I want to be a person with a bundle of experience. 

My Mission: Help others achieve their life’s objectives in my presence or absence!