Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and goalajieving. This
Speaker 1: is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul Fellavledo.
Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to the Seven Minute Leadership Podcast.
Speaker 2: It's episode five twenty two. Today we're talking about one
Speaker 2: of the most powerful and practical leadership tools out there,
Speaker 2: how to reverse engineer a long term goal. It's one
Speaker 2: of those skills that separates dreamers from doers. Everyone can
Speaker 2: dream big, but very few can break down that big
Speaker 2: dream into small, actionable steps that actually get them there.
Speaker 2: So let's talk about how to do it the simple way.
Speaker 2: No buzzwords, no corporate nonsense, just a process that works.
Speaker 2: When people tell me about their big goals, they often
Speaker 2: say things like someday I want to be the chief,
Speaker 2: or I want to start my own business, or I
Speaker 2: want to run a marathon. And I always ask one
Speaker 2: question back to them. I say, Okay, what's the last
Speaker 2: thing that happens right before you reach that goal? And
Speaker 2: that's the magic question, because if you can answer it,
Speaker 2: you've just started the process of reverse engineering. So let's
Speaker 2: walk through all of these steps together. Step one, start
Speaker 2: at the finish line, you have to be able to
Speaker 2: see it clearly in your mind. Don't just say I
Speaker 2: want to be successful. That's too blurry. Say something specific,
Speaker 2: like I want to be a CEO by twenty thirty,
Speaker 2: or I want to launch a business that replaces my
Speaker 2: income in five years, or I want to finish my
Speaker 2: degree by the time my kid graduates high school. When
Speaker 2: you can picture it clearly, your brain has something to
Speaker 2: aim at. If you can't see it, you can't hit it.
Speaker 2: Step two, ask what happens right before that. Let's say
Speaker 2: your goal is to be a CEO. What would have
Speaker 2: to be true right before that happens. Maybe you're already
Speaker 2: a mid level manager with a proven track record. Maybe
Speaker 2: you've built trust with executives. Maybe you've led a few
Speaker 2: successful projects, so that becomes your new target the stage
Speaker 2: right before the finish line. Step three, keep asking that
Speaker 2: same question backwards. What would happen before that? Maybe before
Speaker 2: being a manager, you have to be a supervisor. Before that,
Speaker 2: you have to develop leadership skills. Before that, you have
Speaker 2: to master your current role. And before that, maybe you
Speaker 2: need to take a class, get certified, or volunteer for
Speaker 2: extra responsibility. Every time you ask that question what happens
Speaker 2: right before that you move one step closer to today,
Speaker 2: and when you finally arrive at today, you'll see that
Speaker 2: the very first action you can take right now to
Speaker 2: get started. That's how you turn something big and overwhelming
Speaker 2: into something that feels possible. Step four turn those stages
Speaker 2: into a timeline. Now you know the order of things
Speaker 2: because you ask all the questions backwards. So give each
Speaker 2: step a rough timeframe. For example, year one, master your
Speaker 2: current role and build credibility. Year two, start leading small projects.
Speaker 2: Year three, earn a promotion. Year four, lead larger teams.
Speaker 2: In year five, step into that director or CEO role.
Speaker 2: When you reverse engineer, you're not guessing anymore, you're planning.
Speaker 2: Step five build habits that match the roadmap. If your
Speaker 2: goal is five years away, you need daily habits that
Speaker 2: support it. Ask yourself, what can I do this week
Speaker 2: that moves me one inch closer? Because that's how long
Speaker 2: term goals are really achieved, not by massive bursts of effort,
Speaker 2: but by consistent, small, steady moves that stack up over time.
Speaker 2: And here's the truth, progress is progress no matter the pace.
Speaker 2: Even slow steps still count if they're in the right
Speaker 2: Step six check your heading every few months, look at
Speaker 2: your roadmap and ask am I still on course? Because
Speaker 2: life changes, priorities shift, and sometimes you have to adjust
Speaker 2: the route. Think of it like being a pilot. You
Speaker 2: might drift off course, but small corrections keep you headed
Speaker 2: toward your destination. Reverse engineering gives you a compass, not
Speaker 2: a cage. You can adjust without losing sight of where
Speaker 2: you're headed. In step seven, celebrate checkpoints. Don't wait five
Speaker 2: years to feel proud. Celebrate every milestone you hit, every promotion, certification, skill,
Speaker 2: or small victory. That momentum is what keeps you moving.
Speaker 2: So now let's bring it all together. If someone asks
Speaker 2: you to explain reverse engineering a goal in one sentence,
Speaker 2: here's how you say it. Start at your destination or goal,
Speaker 2: ask what happens right before it, and keep working backward
Speaker 2: until you find the first step that you can take today.
Speaker 2: That's it, simple, clear, powerful. Most people never hit their
Speaker 2: big goals because they're only looking forward and not backward.
Speaker 2: They stare at the mountain and get overwhelmed. But when
Speaker 2: you reverse engineer, you build a staircase up the mountain,
Speaker 2: one step at a time. So here's your challenge for today.
Speaker 2: Take one long term goal, personal or professional. Spend seven
Speaker 2: intentional minutes mapping it backwards, draw it on paper, write
Speaker 2: down each what happens before that step, or ask the
Speaker 2: questions backwards until you land at today. Then circle that
Speaker 2: first action step and do it. It doesn't matter how
Speaker 2: small it is, just move because movement creates momentum and
Speaker 2: momentum creates results. This has been the seven minute Leadership Podcast,
Speaker 2: and I thank you for listening.
Speaker 1: For more, Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot
Speaker 1: com