Goal Achievement Micronetworks

How would you like to be 6 times more creative, 6 times more knowledgeable, 6 times more confident, and 6 times more successful? Would you like to have 6 times more contacts, 6 times more ideas and 6 times more support?

If you answered 'yes' to any of those questions, then you need to be part of a Goal Achievement Micronetwork (GAM for short).

What is a GAM?
A GAM is a group of 6 people dedicated to helping each other achieve their Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs). Working on your own, it's easy to lose motivation or to feel like a BHAG is just too big. But with 5 other success oriented people sharing a united purpose, anything feels possible and anything truly is possible.


How does it work?
We commit to meeting weekly for an _intense_ GAM session. For 90 minutes we abandon our concerns and focus on taking massive steps towards our BHAGs. The facilitator for the session leads the group through a process that unlocks solutions that we could never come up with alone. Each person is given equal time to present a goal, challenge or opportunity. Then they grab a notepad and pen and write madly as the other GAMers throw ideas, encouragement, strategies and contacts at them. When it's over, we walk out exhausted yet exhilarated, with renewed enthusiasm and a clear direction to follow.

The next day, we spring into action, researching the new ideas, implementing the new strategies, and calling the new contacts. At the session the next week, we proudly announce that we are now much closer to achieving our BHAGs. Pretty soon, the challenge becomes thinking of a new BHAG!


Benefits of a GAM:
- More ideas: quite often, there's a better way to do it. By having 5 other people look at your situation from the outside, quite often you'll find a better way. Other times, you'll have no idea how to go about even starting work on your BHAG. Chances are someone in the GAM has done it before or knows someone who's done it before.
- Expanded network: Let's say the average person knows 200 people. By joining a GAM, you suddenly have access to another 1000 people without having to put in thousands of hours of mingling. Next time you need someone to build a website, just ask your GAM and the perfect person will come up.
- Support: It's not easy thinking big. People don't deliver on their promises, problems come up and things generally don't go to plan. When this happens, the GAM is there for you. We've all been there before and we will support you and help you to see the challenges as an opportunity to do things better.
- Accountability: BHAGs don't become real until you tell others about them. By sharing a BHAG with the group, you start to feel a lot more accountable. The thought of rocking up to the next GAM meeting and having to admit that you haven't really done anything about your BHAG is VERY motivating. As human beings, we care a lot about what others think of us. A GAM allows you to use this force for good.
- Inspiration: Most people don't think big. When you surround yourself with people who think small, you think small. But if you can spend time with people, who are going places, you will get inspired and you will _go places_!

Who should join a GAM?
GAMs are not for everyone. To benefit from a GAM, you need to be:
- BHAG driven
- Willing to put other people's needs above your own
- Willing to commit to being part of the GAM

For some people, a pre-requisite to joining a GAM is to have a coach/mentor, who can help you overcome some limitations that are holding you back.

Which GAM should you join/create?
GAMs work best when they have a common purpose. Everyone has distinct BHAGs, but they're all heading in roughly the same direction. Diversity is fantastic when it provides new perspectives, but if people are working on completely opposite projects, they won't be able to help each other much. Choose a GAM with a mission statement that matches your own, and you will catapult yourself to success!

Principles:
Each GAM has a charter of commitments that all GAMers agree to in the first session. They include how often the group will meet and how long the GAM will remain together, as well as these fundamental GAM principles:
- Presence: 'Be there' physically and mentally for every GAM session
- Commitment: Commit to the GAM and you will be committing to your own success
- Reciprocity: Give first and you will soon get
- Play all out: Put all your passion and energy into the GAM
- Think big: Leave your doubts and self-imposed limitations behind
- Positive: Reframe everything - problems are opportunities in disguise
- Take action: Thoughts and words are great, but what counts is the implementation
- Leadership: everyone takes responsibility for the success of the GAM
- Have fun: BHAGs are serious but to achieve them, the process has to be fun! Enjoy the GAM sessions and look forward to the next one
- Record everything: Instead of relying on our memory, we write all the suggestions down

Structure of a GAM Session:
To maximise the benefits for all participants, GAM sessions have a defined structure. Each week, one GAMer acts as the facilitator and takes the group through the following process:
1. Presencing: an activity to focus everyone on the session ahead (3 minutes)
2. Wins: we share our successes and learnings since the last session. (7 minutes)
3. Goal advancement: Each person has 11 minutes to briefly present their goal and receive a barrage of suggestions from the group (70 minutes)
4. Action commitments: Each person commits to one action that they will perform before the next GAM (5 minutes)
5. What's hot: We share any great opportunities or resources that might benefit the group (5 minutes)

Hats:
There are key roles in every GAM meeting and to reinforce that, we wear special hats:
- Feathered cap: Each week, someone acts as the session leader and wears a Robin Hood-esque green, feathered cap. They are responsible for leading the group through the GAM structure and keeping the session to time. Everyone has a chance to play this role, so that by the end of the GAM's lifespan, they can go out and seed new GAMs.
- Black dunce cap: When it is your turn to present your goal to the GAM, you put on the black dunce cap. By wearing this cap, you acknowledge the superior wisdom of the group and keep your mouth shut unless asked a direct question. Your job is to write all of the suggestions down and not to evaluate them until after the GAM session.

Venue:
The GAM should have a regular venue. The ideal location will be a quiet room with a table to write on and enough room to jump around a little bit.

Activity details:
Presencing:
Script
"Close your eyes and take five deep 'Ha' breaths. Take a moment now to picture yourself out in the ocean. You are swimming towards an island and on that island are the five other people in this room. They are waving at you and shouting for you to come and join them. Feel yourself pushing against the water, swimming out to meet them. But then notice that there is some resistance. Something is holding you back. Around your ankles, you can feel a rope. Connected to that rope is a heavy box that you are dragging along with you. In that box are all your worries and concerns from the outside world. Look back to the island and notice that you are not making any progress. The box is holding you back. Reach into your pocket and pull out the knife of presence that you carry around with you always. Stop swimming for a moment: tread water and carefully cut the rope. Feel how light you are. Now you are free and can swim effortlessly to the island.....Feel yourself moving powerfully through the water....Now picture yourself reaching the sand. You walk out of the water and run to meet your friends. Notice your heart beat faster as you think about your united mission. You are all here for the same reason. You are all here to achieve your Big Hairy Audacious Goals. Open your eyes now and greet your friends as if you have not seen them for six years."
*everyone gets up and engages in collosal and semi-painful high fiving and bear hugging*

Wins:
Go around the circle and let everyone very briefly report back on the action they committed to in the last session. Keep celebrating successes and learnings for the remaining time. This is all about positivity, inspiration and thinking big.

Goal advancement:
Pass the black dunce cap to the GAMer who will present their goal. They should state the goal they want assistance or support with, making sure they use positive language. Then they remain silent unless asked a clarifying question and write down everything the group suggests, writing down their own thoughts when they pop up. The group bounces ideas off each
other, making sure to follow the principles of no-limit, positive thinking.

Use a timer to make sure everyone gets an equal amount of time. If they finish early, they can ask the other GAMers if anyone wants the extra time.

Action commitments:
Go around the circle and ask everyone to commit to one action they will take before the next session. Write them all down and keep it, so that everyone can report back next week.

What's hot:
Everyone shares any exciting new opportunities they have come across. This can tend to balloon out, so acts as the end of the formal proceedings. Anyone who needs to go can go and the others can stick around (or go out to dinner/drinks) to chat further.