Start Stop Continue
I’m pretty aggressive with my goals. I have high aspirations and high expectations for myself. Nevertheless, I constantly fail to reach my goals as well as I would like, and some goals I never reach at all.
When I plan my goals, I tend to follow a lighthearted philosophy I learned when I was a teenager: if you shoot for the stars you’ll hit the moon. While this can be distressing at some level, it can also be a useful mindset for accomplishing big things. For example, when I shoot for the stars, I often get well past the moon, even if I never reach the stars that motivated me.
But having good or even aggressive goals is only half the battle. You also need a good process to reach those goals. “Start-stop-continue” is a simple time-tested approach to improving individual or team process [1]. Do the following exercise seriously, hold yourself accountable, and your process is guaranteed to improve. Don’t let its simplicity turn you off. It really can be this simple [2].
Exercise: Start-Stop-Continue
Make a table as shown below (or just use the table below). Leave room for a small number of items for each category (2 to 5).
Thoughtfully fill in the table. This could be done in as little as 15 minutes, but doesn’t need to take more than an hour.
Use the information in the table to guide your actions as you step toward your goal.
Regularly do a self-evaluation and make adjustments to your actions as needed. A weekly 10-minute self assessment is adequate and well worth the time.
Gathering Data
To gather the data for the left-hand side of the table (start stop continue side), do the following:
Pay attention to what your gut tells you; you know well what needs to start/stop/continue happening in your process. Write it down however simple or absurd it may be.
Pay attention to admired and/or effective people. What do you see them doing/not doing that you believe would improve your process, if adopted? Likewise, what do you see them doing that you are already doing? Pat yourself on the back for being like the person you admire.
Seek feedback from trusted people and pay attention to what they tell you about your process and its strengths and weaknesses.
Take stock of what you have previously done effectively relative to this goal. Make a commitment to keep doing those things.
The Whys
The right-hand side of the table asks you to state why you have chosen to start, stop, or continue an action. This is not a traditional part of the start-stop-continue process, but I believe that if you understand why you are choosing to do something, it is more likely to become a part of who you are, as opposed to simply doing something new because you saw someone else do it. For each of the items you have chosen to start, stop, or continue, try to articulate why you think it’s a good idea. A simple sentence will do.
Follow up and Iteration
Use this table as a working document. Fill it in, then let it guide your actions. A week later see how you did. After a few weeks of steady behavior, move items from the start category to the continue category (this is a notable accomplishment), and assess if you have new items to add to the start or stop categories.
An Interesting Note About the Structure
Notice that the start-stop-continue approach is focused 2/3 on positive actions (start and continue), and 1/3 on negative actions (stop). Also notice that these are structured positive-negative-positive. This structure is known to be one that promotes growth.
Steve Sage, my electric guitar teacher from decades ago, taught me about ending each portion of my training positively. He told me to never end a practice session in frustration or with a messed-up string of notes or cords, but instead to end practice session on successful riffs, or a clean run through a song. I learned that successful endings stayed in my mind and continued to work their magic by reinforcing my progress. Likewise, ending a start-stop-continue evaluation with a focus on what to continue doing will give you confidence to keep progressing.
Start Stop Continue in Team Settings
While this article centered largely on using start-stop-continue to improve your own process for reaching your personal goals, the process is also known to be effective at improving team process. To use this activity in a team setting, plan the activity in advance, giving team members a change to think about substantive responses to what the team should start, stop, and continue doing. Encourage team members to be honest about their feelings and constructive in their articulation of them. Above all, encourage the team and team leader to be open to feedback.
References:
[1] SKS Process (Stop/Keep-doing/Start), Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SKS_process, accessed 29 Jan 2021.
[2] T. DeLong, “Three Questions for Effective Feedback,” Harvard Business Review, 2011 https://hbr.org/2011/08/three-questions-for-effective-feedback, accessed 29 Jan 2021.
