Have a documented Strategic Objective, Guiding Principles, and Working Procedures. Use them and improve them.
The entire message of the book Work the System boils down to 3 basic documents you need to make and use:
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Strategic Objective (the Declaration of Independence)
A single-page document describing the overall direction you want to take in your professional and personal life (see: What is a Strategy)
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Guiding Principles - the Bill of Rights
These are guidelines for decision making.
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Working Procedures- the laws themselves
These are a collection of protocols that detail how your life systems operate. These are your Standard Processes. 95% of them will follow a 1-2-3 step format. The other 5% may be narratives. These should be accessible by a layperson, unambiguous, and adhered to without deviation. IF there needs to be a deviation, the procedure itself should be altered, on the spot without fanfare. Make improvements and codify them into widely implemented best practices.
