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Leadership and Management · 2 min read

Eight Part Success Strategy

Use this eight-step success strategy to set goals, plan, act and fine-tune with a feedback loop. Learn how leaders drive continuous improvement every day.

Chris Farmer, Founder of Corporate Coach Group

“Success works as a simple cycle: set a clear goal, write a plan, act with order, track good and bad results, fix what fails, build on what works, then run the loop again until you hit the goal and set a new one.”

Chris Farmer — Founder, Corporate Coach Group

Eight Part Success Strategy

Eight Part Success Strategy

Success is not an event.

Success is a process.

The process of being successful may best be understood by looking at this diagram.

If you study it carefully you will see it consists of eight main ideas.

1. You need to decide the goal, purpose or vision, the achievement of which would constitute success, in your mind. This may be anything from "Earn a million pounds" to "Find peace of mind".

2. You need to formulate a detailed written plan that you think may be capable of achieving this goal.

3. You need to implement the plan in an organised and intelligent manner.

4. You need to listen out and observe the POSITIVE feedback results your current actions are producing.

5. You need to observe and measure the NEGATIVE feedback results your current actions are producing.

6. You need to analyse your negative feedback and think of ways to improve and adapt your plan, in order to improve the feedback results your actions are creating.

7. You need to analyse what is going well and see if you could improve it, and make it even better.

8. You need to keep repeating the process until you achieve your original goal, and then you should set a new, higher level, goal.

Using the formula to inspire others.

This model suggests eight leadership questions that need to be continually asked by you and answered by your team.

1. What is the vision, the goal, the purpose of this organisation?

2. How detailed are our plans which are designed to help us achieve our purpose?

3. How are we currently organised to effectively implement our plan?

4. By what means are we measuring our feedback results?

5. What positive feedback are we currently getting from our stakeholders?

6. What negative feedback are we currently getting from our stakeholders?

7. In relation to the negative feedback, what adaptive changes do we need to make to our current plan of action, that will get us back on track and take us to our goals?

8. In relation to positive feedback, what further adaptive changes might we consider in pursuit of continuous improvement?

Memorise and ask these questions to your team and expect good answers in return.

By doing this every day, you will cause them to be more successful, and that would be good for everyone.

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Eight Part Success Strategy

The Eight Part Success Strategy is a business leadership framework. It starts when you fix a clear goal, shape a full written plan, and act in an ordered way. You then measure good and bad feedback, change what fails, build on what works, and repeat the cycle until the goal is won and a higher one is set.

CG4D Definition

Context: Business leadership
Genus: Framework

  • Starts with a clear, fixed goal
  • Demands a detailed written plan
  • Measures both good and bad feedback during action
  • Repeats the change-and-act loop until the goal is met and a higher goal is set

Article Summary

Success works as a simple cycle: set a clear goal, write a plan, act with order, track good and bad results, fix what fails, build on what works, then run the loop again until you hit the goal and set a new one.

Chris Farmer, Founder of Corporate Coach Group

Written by Chris Farmer

Founder & Lead Trainer, Corporate Coach Group

Chris Farmer is the founder of the Corporate Coach Group and has over 25 years experience designing and delivering leadership and management training across both the public and private sectors. His programmes are structured, practical and built around real-world performance. Read more about Chris and the story of how the Corporate Coach Group was founded.

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Key Statistics

A 2024 Harvard Business Review study finds teams that write clear, shared goals lift output by 21% within six months.

Gallup’s 2024 State of the Global Workplace report shows staff who get weekly feedback are three times more likely to feel engaged at work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about this topic

Define the goal, write a plan, act with order, track positive results, measure negative results, fix weak points, enhance wins, repeat and raise the bar.
A written goal turns a wish into a clear target, guides planning, and lets you and others check progress with ease.
Check feedback each week, so you spot trends early, fix faults fast, and keep the feedback loop tight.
Study the cause, adjust the plan, test the new action, and watch results; treat each fault as data for improvement.
Raise the goal once you meet the current one and the process runs smoothly; this keeps momentum and continuous improvement.
Yes; share the steps, ask the eight leadership questions daily, and let joint feedback shape the team’s actions and culture.
Repeating embeds a habit of review, correction and growth, so the success strategy drives steady gains instead of one-off wins.

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