Episode 16- Book Review: The 12 Week Year (Pt. 1)

In this episode of From Idea to Done, we talk about a book we started recently titled "The Twelve Week Year" by Brian Moran. We discuss thinking about making goals in terms of 12 weeks rather than annually.

J/E: Hey Everyone, I'm Josh and I'm Erick

E: Today's Idea is work efficiency. This comes from a book you last week while traveling. What book are we talking about?

J: The 12 Week Year and the tagline is get more done in 12 weeks than others do in 12 months.

E: So what are some of the bigger ideas of this book?

J: discard annual thinking, In January, December looks a long way off. We begin the year with big goals, at the end of January we are slightly behind, at the end of march, we’re still behind, but not worried. We aren’t worried because we have plenty of time to catch up. 

The second big takeaway was periodization. It’s principals are focus, concentration, and overload on a specific skill or discipline. It began, as an athletic training technique to help increase performance. The athlete focused on one grouping of skill and then moved on to the next every 4-6 weeks.

E: You liked this so much, that you actually bought us all copies of the book. I don’t read a ton. I am more of a forget thinking and reading about ideas. Let’s take action! I did start to read it though because you are my boss and told me to read it. I have related to it. It had a quote that I really liked. It said an ounce of action is worth a ton of theory. Again, I am about taking action. What are we going to take away from this book to our team of co-nerds to help us go forward?

J: You start with a 12 week plan, 

E: Spoiler alert

J: It is in the title it isn’t a spoiler Erick. 

E: Fine, back to the takeaway.

J: Start with the end in mind. At the end of the 12 weeks, what do you want to have achieved? For example you may want to have a personal goal of losing 10 pounds, and a business goal of closing $100,000 in new business.

E: We have all made new years resolutions. What is the difference?

J: The difference is it is 12 weeks and not a year. You need to check off 85% of the checklist items on your list, and you will be wildly successful. The way you do it by make them specific and measurable, state the want in a positive over negative statement, ensure they are realistic, assign accountability, and be time-bound.

E: I’d like to have a follow up episode. Aired soon, explaining how we used this book to help us actually move the needle. By my calculations it’s Friday afternoon, and I have worked 12 weeks already this year. Is it time to go home after this?

J: well i hope you’ve worked more than 12 weeks already this year….

E: Fair enough on to editing... until 5.

J: Thank you for listening to this episode, the first in our mega series. If you know a startup that could use our random advice and thoughts have them subscribe and leave a review on iTunes.