7 Proven Steps To Harness The Power Of Intention

This expert opinion by Peter Economy, also known as "The Leadership Guy," was originally published on Inc.com.

We’ve all been there—drowning in endless to-do lists, jumping from crisis to crisis, and somehow still feeling like nothing meaningful ever gets accomplished. After a business colleague experienced severe burnout three years ago, I discovered something from him that changed everything: the deliberate practice of intention.

Not just wishful thinking, but a structured approach that has the power to transform how you achieve your most ambitious goals. Here are seven steps to that approach.

1. Get Crystal Clear About What You Actually Want

Vague intentions lead nowhere. Instead of saying, “I want to grow my business” (which your mind can’t translate into specific action), declare, “I will sign three new enterprise clients by October 15, each worth at least $150,000 annually.” When you do that, your subconscious will know exactly what to work toward, and opportunities you hadn’t noticed before will suddenly appear everywhere.

What specific outcome are you really after? Write it down now in language so clear a 5-year-old would understand your goal.

2. Make Sure It Matters—Really Matters

Here’s an uncomfortable truth: We often chase goals that look good on paper but don’t resonate with our deeper values. Imagine pursuing a partnership that would boost your numbers but require compromising on quality standards you truly believe in. How would that make you feel? The internal conflict would likely drain your motivation.

If you instead redirected that energy toward growth strategies aligned with your company’s core principles, everything would flow more naturally. Does your intention light you up when you think about it? If not, it might be someone else’s goal you’re pursuing.

3. Ruthlessly Eliminate The Nonessential

Is your desk covered with dozens of “priority” projects? If so, consider asking yourself this question: If you could only accomplish one thing this quarter, what would create the most value? Getting clear on that will help you postpone or delegate or dump many of those low-payoff priorities that you’re now juggling. What’s the one intention that deserves your undivided attention right now?

4. Create Rituals That Keep You Connected

Intentions evaporate in the chaos of daily business without consistent reinforcement. Each day before lunch, engage in a three-question check-in. Ask: Am I moving toward my intention today? What’s working? What needs adjustment? The answers to these questions will help keep you aligned when urgent (but unimportant) matters threaten to hijack your day. What simple ritual could keep your intention front and center?

5. Make Your Environment Work For You, Not Against You.

Your surroundings either reinforce or undermine your intentions. For example, when you have client calls, arrange your office or workspace to support them. This could mean rearranging your office to create a comfortable conversation space, blocking out focus time on your calendar, and setting your phone to Do Not Disturb during client calls. These environmental tweaks will remove friction and make intention-aligned behaviors follow the path of least resistance. How could you reshape your physical or digital environment to support your intention?

6. Measure What Truly Matters

Traditional metrics often miss the mark. For example, if you’re committed to building a culture of innovation, you may find that tracking patent applications tells you nothing about whether people on your team actually felt safe sharing creative ideas.

Instead, you can create new measurements: participation in brainstorming sessions, implementation rate of employee suggestions, anonymous psychological safety scores, and so on. These intention-specific metrics reveal your true progress and highlight where you need to improve. What unique measurements would show progress toward your specific intention?

7. Find Your Intention Allies.

Shared intentions multiply results. A friend of mine formed a small mastermind group with three other entrepreneurs, all focused on sustainable growth strategies. They met every other week to share progress, troubleshoot obstacles, and hold one another accountable. The group’s combined wisdom helped my friend overcome challenges he couldn’t have navigated alone. Who could be your intention partners?

In today’s distracted world, the ability to set and maintain powerful intentions is a secret competitive advantage—and it can be yours too. Try these seven steps for just one critical priority, and you might be amazed at what becomes possible when you harness the full power of your intention.