Execution Is Strategy, One Step at a Time

When work starts to feel overwhelming or imposter syndrome shows up, I still struggle not to stare at the whole elephant in front of me. That’s usually when I slip into overthink-mode. You can almost here the axel wheels wailing as I wrap my thoughts around it. I literally say to a little acronym to myself: “MBS.”

MBS is my flavor of how to eat an elephant. It’s short for Mindful Baby Steps. It’s my reminder to “Don’t Believe Everything You Think”. To slow it down. And use that time to focus on the next small, intentional step. Maybe it’s a conversation. A quick decision. One question I’ve been avoiding. I’m not looking to solve the whole plan, just plan a small, intentional move in the right direction.

The win-win is that when you focus on what’s right in front of you, you often save time and actually get more impact for less mental (and emotional) calories. The more small, thoughtful moves you make, the more you’ll be appreciated as someone who has mastered the fine art of Execution is Strategy. I say this often. It comes from practicing MBS.

This is perhaps one of the most powerful, career-trajectory-changing tools you can learn to master.

(A 10-min WakingUp thanks to Tim Letscher for helping me discover the M in my BS).