In September of 2011, Scott Adams, creator of the comic Dilbert, posted an article about the importance of systems in business and life. Apparently the article was timeless because in the past week alone I’ve heard the following quote from the post mentioned by at least 5 separate individuals: “losers have goals and winners have systems”.

Perhaps it was mentioned because it’s accurate. While you need to start with a goal in mind, implementing systems is critical to achieving success. The post ended with a great anecdote of a CEO who explained how he achieved his position. According to the post, “his career system involved a continuous search for a better job.” While I’m not quite sure whether this led the individual toward personal
gratification (versus a better title), it clearly helped him achieve an objective.

Looking back on my past experiences, there were numerous times where I had goals and incomplete systems for getting there. However one thing that was consistent in my system at the time was “if you don’t know what you are doing, just publish another blog post”. This happened to work out. What systems have you implemented to ensure success?