The Steps & Stops Strategy
Your Goals don't need more motivation. they need a method.
Three phases. Visible progress. Sustainable momentum.
The Steps & Stops Strategy is a three-phase system for achieving any goal: Dream, Define, Deliver. It breaks down the journey from idea to reality into manageable actions or those forces that move you forward (Steps) and identifies the obstacles that may slow you down along the way (Stops). Whether you’re launching a business, improving a process, or tackling a personal challenge, this method gives you a clear path forward—without burnout or guesswork.
Dream: Envision What Success Can Be
This is where you set your heading. Not by looking backward at what's worked before, not by accepting current constraints as limits, but by pointing true north and asking: what's actually possible? Dream is expansive thinking—brainstorming without gatekeepers, role-modeling to see new possibilities, and vision-building to anchor your direction. You're not solving problems yet. You're setting the compass.
Steps
Brainstorming
Expansive thinking that breaks free from constraints. Structured ideation creates space where new possibilities emerge and you imagine beyond what you've already tried.
Role Modeling
Learning from the success strategies of others. Observing and adapting proven behaviors shortcuts trial-and-error and expands what's possible for you.
Vision Building
Crafting a compelling vision grounded in your "why." A clear vision provides both direction and motivation to pull you forward.
Stops
Limiting Beliefs
Mental constructs from past experiences that constrain what feels possible. Identifying and challenging them opens new possibilities.
Fear & Imposter Syndrome
Emotional responses creating doubt about capability. Confronting them directly is essential to dreaming boldly.
Scarcity Mindset
Believing resources and opportunities are limited. Shifting to abundance thinking opens pathways to growth and partnership.
Define: Develop the Plan, Select the Resources
Your vision is clear. Now it needs precision. This phase is where each piece must align with the others—like the teeth of a gear, each dependent on the next. You'll identify the metrics that matter, set goals rooted in your values, and build a roadmap with actual milestones and resource allocation. Define turns abstract vision into mechanical clarity, creating structure that actually works.
Steps
Strategic Metrics
Identifying measurable indicators that directly influence outcomes. They ensure effort aligns with destination, not just activity.
Goal Setting
Translating vision into specific, time-bound objectives aligned with values. Goals provide clarity that transforms dreams into actionable steps.
Roadmap Planning
Building a guide from where you are to destination, with milestones and timelines. A roadmap bridges strategy and execution into manageable steps.
Stops
Ambiguity
Unclear objectives and insufficient information creating decision paralysis. Structured questioning and goal-setting moves you from stuck to directed.
Analysis Paralysis
Overthinking and indecision preventing action. Trading perfectionism for progress breaks the standstill.
Incongruity
A gap between core values and goals. Alignment between values and ambitions is essential for lasting satisfaction.
Deliver: The Fire and Action to Make it Real
This is where sustained effort meets persistent action. You have direction and a plan. Now you need fuel—the daily habits, energy management, identity shifts, and iterative frameworks that keep the fire burning through obstacles. Deliver demands you show up consistently, adapt when conditions change, and maintain momentum even when motivation fades. You're not just working toward your goal. You're building the resilience to sustain it.
Steps
Agile
An iterative approach that prioritizes flexibility and continuous improvement. Feedback loops keep you moving forward when conditions change.
Energy Management
Aligning demanding work with your natural peaks of focus. Working with your biology maximizes productivity and sustainability.
Habits
Building daily routines that compound toward goals. Small, consistent actions eliminate the need for constant motivation.
Stops
Procrastination
Emotionally driven delay rooted in fear and perfectionism. Address the fear beneath the delay, not just time management.
Fear of Failure
Anxiety that efforts won't succeed. Reframing failure as feedback transforms it from threat into learning.
Inertia / Momentum
Resistance following initial success. Continuous improvement and new goals maintain forward motion.
Real-World Applications
Career Transition or Personal Reinvention
You know you want something different—a new role, a skill shift, a life change—but the path from “I know what I want” to “I’m actually doing this” feels unclear. Steps & Stops gives you a structured method: dream without constraints, define what success actually looks like (and costs), then deliver through habit and energy management. You move from aspiration to action without the overwhelm.
Launching or Pivoting a Business
You have an idea (or a better one than last time), but your past attempts stalled somewhere between planning and execution. This framework prevents that. You’ll identify which Stops sabotaged you before—whether it’s analysis paralysis in the Define phase or procrastination in Deliver—and build strategies to overcome them this time. You get from concept to sustainable execution.
Leading a Team Through Organizational Change
As a leader, you need your team to move from understanding the new direction to actually embedding it in daily work. Steps & Stops provides a shared language for both vision-setting and the real work of change. Teams can use it to overcome collective resistance, align on metrics that matter, and build the habits and identity shifts that make change stick.