At Growth By Design, we believe intentional choices lead to impactful growth, whether you're shaping a thriving organization or a meaningful life. Here, we provide the practical information, tools, and frameworks to get you there. Today we’re exploring the third phase of the human behavior change continuum, preparation, to better understand what is truly necessary in order for us to change a behavior and sustain it over time. 

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Preparation is the bridge between intention and action. Here, you are ready to change soon (often within the next month) and may have already taken small early steps.

What Preparation Really Is

In preparation, you intend to take action shortly and might have already tested the waters (bought running shoes, opened a budget spreadsheet, scheduled a strategy session). You are motivated but still vulnerable to derailment if your plans remain vague. This is the ideal stage for goal-setting frameworks and planning tools, if they are used wisely.

Why Preparation Is the Sweet Spot for Goal Design

Research on goal setting by behavior scientists Edwin Locke and Gary Latham has consistently shown that specific and challenging goals (compared with vague “do your best” goals) lead to higher performance, partly because they sharpen focus and enable better feedback. However, these benefits emerge most clearly when people are ready and committed, which aligns with the preparation stage (hi pre-contemplation & contemplation!). This is also where implementation intentions (i.e., “if-then” plans) become powerful.

What the Science Says About Implementation Intentions and Goal Attainment

Meta-analytic findings show that people with implementation intentions were significantly more likely to follow through on their goals than those with mere goal intentions. Implementation intentions translate “I intend to achieve X” into “If situation Y occurs, then I will do Z.”Here, you’re linking a specific cue (when/where) to a specific action. When you automate the initiation of behavior, you reduce your reliance on willpower in the moment.

A Couple Practical Steps You Can Take Today (If You’re in Preparation)

In this stage, your focus is on designing a clear, realistic, and resilient plan.

• Write one specific, challenging, but realistic goal
  • Example: “Increase my weekly deep work time from 3 hours to 8 hours by March 31.”
• Break it into 3–5 sub-goals
  • E.g., “Block 90 minutes of deep work on calendar M/W/F,” “Turn off notifications during these blocks.”
  • NOTE: Each sub-goal should be observable and measurable. If someone else couldn’t execute the plan, you won’t be able to either.
• Create implementation intentions
  • “If it is 9:00 a.m. on Monday, then I will start my 90-minute deep work block with my phone in another room.”
  • “If I feel the urge to check email, then I will write down the urge and keep working for 5 minutes first.”
• Plan for obstacles in advance
  • List your top three likely obstacles (unexpected meetings, fatigue, self-doubt).
  • For each, create an if-then: “If my 9 a.m. block gets booked, then I will move it to 3 p.m. the same day.”

How Leaders Can Use Preparation in Teams

In organizations, preparation is where strategy meetings, OKRs, and role clarity live.

• Translate vision into behavior
  • Instead of “We will be more people-centric,” define behaviors: “Managers will hold monthly 1:1s focused on development, not just tasks.”
• Co-create implementation intentions
  • As a team: “If a project slips by more than 2 days, then we will flag it in the next standup and re-prioritize.”
• Align structures with goals
  • Adjust workloads, meeting cadences, and metrics to support the plan rather than compete with it.

If you are in preparation, your January work is to write plans so clear that, by February, your future self mostly has to execute, not re-decide.

Onward and upward!
Katie