Doing things right versus doing right things sounds virtually the same; however the truth is much different. A semantic flip flop of two words changes everything. Leaders in our ever-changing industry may win the battle, but will surely lose the war if they lead organizations in only doing things right. This is the fast path to mediocrity and obsolescence. Leaders who instead focus on doing right things will find a distinct strategic advantage.
   Prior to WWII, the Polish cavalry was the finest precision outfit of their day. They had the most focused and finely honed skills of any horseback unit around. They focused all their efforts in their strategy and tactics to doing things right. Unfortunately, they were completely annihilated in the first battle of WWII against the aggression of Adolph Hitler and the German tanks.
   Who is the most successful executive in the vinyl record industry? How about the Beta tape industry or (pick another obsolete industry...). It does not take much to see the importance of an overall strategy and how you fit in. It may seem a minor point of semantics to differentiate between doing the right things versus doing things right. In reality, there is a world of difference between the two. Too often we get trapped in the routine of our lives and focus all our efforts on doing things right. In this tunnel vision, we lose sight of the real question: Are we focused on the right things? In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Steven Covey illustrates this phenomenon as putting forth tremendous effort to climb the ladder of success only to find out you had it up against the wrong wall. If you needed a large hole dug, would you rather have a ditch digger with the best form and efficiency (things right), or would you rather have a person with a tractor designed to dig (right things)?

Advanced STACK™ Action Plan- Strategy and Tactics Applied

   Strategic planning is a process leaders use to envision the future and plan "right things". Through this, they develop the necessary sub-strategies to achieve that future, and implement each strategy according to a specific timetable. Organizations use strategic planning and it is applicable in your personal life too. It is an ongoing process. It is a systems approach to maneuvering yourself through a continually changing environment to fulfill your overall mission. Strategy is the overall planning and conduct of an operation with tactics being the securing of objectives within the overall strategy. Strategy is the larger framework or the map with tactics being the action points to achieve your goal. Once established, the individual components can then be developed to work within the structure of the larger strategy. This process is essential in your personal and business life as well. Without an overall framework for what you want to achieve in your life, you cannot determine or apply meaningful action steps. Most people wander through life as Newton's Third Law of Motion works in their lives. This law basically states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Most people are on a meandering walk without a clear destination until outside forces (action) change our path (reaction). We stay on this path until other outside force influence us and change our direction. A strategy for your life and your objectives is critical if you want to remain in control of your destiny rather than let it happen.
   STACK™ Strategy- Five Steps to an Outcome:

• S - Set your course
• T - Take immediate action
• A - Accept results simply as feedback
• C - Correct your course based on feedback
• K - Keep on Stacking the Logs! ­ This is the encouragement phrase my late father used to help motivate me to continue making progress until I achieved what I set out to achieve.

   The STACK™ Strategy for Success is a big picture issue and requires some thinking to determine what course you want to set. This is an operating strategy. It provides you with an understanding of what to do in sequence much like a computer operating system. In a computer's operating system, there may be many types of programs. Some of them are completely different from one another. The only real commonality or thread running through all of the programming is how it works as part of the operating software. Microsoft became the absolute giant company it did creating wealth and billions for the shareholders not because of the individual programs, but because of the operating software. Microsoft's recent legal battles stem from the fact that their operating system was so successful, so prevalent and in use in the marketplace, competing programs and companies were forced to adapt and use Microsoft's platform (if they were allowed).
   This framework of the STACK™ strategy is designed to allow the various goals and objectives in different areas of your life to work in conjunction and harmony with each other. Each goal you have can work within this operating system. None of us are the same and none of us are one dimensional. My definition of success may be different than yours. My priorities are most likely different than yours. There are many facets of our lives where it is important to have planned outcomes rather than just ending up somewhere. Your health, family, financial, social, educational, spiritual and other important components of your life need to be part of a deliberate structure if they are important to you. There is no value in attaining wealth as your sole purpose, yet have no one to share it with or be in such poor health as to diminish your enjoyment of the rewards. This is true in all areas of our lives as we need to strive for balance.
   Utilize this strategy to think about what you want for every area of your life and then as step #2 suggests, TAKE ACTION! The action you take will produce results from which you can determine if you are on track or if you need to vary your approach. If not, stay the course. If there needs to be one, make an adjustment to your action. Repeat the feedback process. If working, persist until you achieve your goal. If not, go back a step and repeat the process as many times necessary to achieve your objective. This is a simple concept, yet does take effort as we are constantly distracted and pulled by the momentum of our lives and the issues and events we must daily respond to. A captain of a sailing vessel en route to the intended destination is also affected by currents, weather, crew and other outside forces. The job of the captain is to manage and deal with the issues to get to the destination. You are the captain of your own vessel. Set Your Course. Take Action. Accept Results as Feedback. Correct Your Course Based on Feedback. Keep "Stacking the Logs!"