A goal-setting system that compounds: the 5 A's framework

Executive overview

New Year goals fail not from lack of ambition but from missing the system around them. The 5 A's framework — Alignment, Awarenesses, Accountabilities, Activities, Assets — runs on a 90-day cycle and is designed to compound over time.

Run the full cycle every quarter. Re-enrol yourself and your team each time.

Goals only compound when alignment, awarenesses, accountabilities, activities, and assets work as one connected system — not in isolation.

Alignment: getting pulled toward the goal

• Choose your end state first: lifestyle business (fun, freedom, flexibility; 5–10 people) or performance business (scalable, sellable, larger team).
• Study people who already have that end state — understand headcount, revenue model, systems, and timeline in detail.
• If the roadmap doesn't feel energising, identify what would change that: faster pace, different partners, clearer rewards.
• Align your spouse, co-founders, and close team — explain the journey, the sacrifices, and what they gain.
• People not aligned to your goals will subconsciously hold you back.
• Re-enrol your team every 90 days; assume alignment expires.

Awarenesses: surfacing what could derail you

• Awarenesses are insecurities, blind spots, and concerns that surface once you commit to a goal.
• Keep a rolling awareness list — capture everything that bubbles up rather than suppressing it.
• Use shared awareness lists at team and leadership level; make raising an awareness culturally safe.
• Teach the language: "Can I raise an awareness?" removes the risk of speaking up.
• Teams that suppress awarenesses keep repeating the same problems without understanding why.

Accountabilities: assigning the big problems

• Translate the top awarenesses into 2–4 major things that must be solved in the next 90 days.
• Apply the "Who Not How" principle: find the person who can solve each problem rather than doing it alone.
• Every breakthrough — fitness, business, creative — involves someone else holding you accountable.
• Each person on the team must know which accountability is theirs.

Activities: the weekly repetition that moves the needle

• Identify the weekly activities that actually drive results for each role.
• Monday morning meeting: each person declares their 3–6 most important tasks for the week; the team gives feedback.
• Friday afternoon debrief: check off what got done; carry forward anything incomplete.
• Quarterly reset: revisit alignment, surface new awarenesses, set the next 90-day accountabilities, confirm the 3–6 big quarterly priorities.

Assets: investing to make progress easier

• Three options for every asset: buy (acquire what exists), develop (build from scratch), improve (refresh what you have).
• Each quarter, list 15–30 possible asset investments across the business and personal life.
• Prioritise by return: a $10k investment in lead-generation assets can outperform a $1M property investment.
• Hold an asset investment meeting to decide where capital creates the most leverage.
• The book 24 Assets and its free assessment at 24assets.com map which assets to build next.