Setting 90-day goals will set your business free. It brings clarity and purpose to team effort in reaching the goals of the business. However, it can be hard to break those goals down into daily tasks.
In this episode, best-selling author of the ‘Habit Switch’, Romney Nelson, discusses why people find it difficult to develop good daily habits. He explains what people can do to overcome the challenges of implementing new habits.
Romney discusses a resource available for you to use – ‘The 90 Day Business Goal Tracker’. It helps you break down your 90-day goals into daily actionable tasks. It can be used both as a planner and reflective journal. This combination helps identify what is working well and what is stopping you from reaching your goals. Romney co-authored ‘The 90 Business Goal Tracker’ with me, a MIT Graduate and Certified EOS Implementer.
Transcript
Murray Smith: Romney Nelson, welcome to Gripping Business Tales.
Romney Nelson: Thanks, Murray. I appreciate being here.
Murray: Bit of a unique setup today—we’re not doing this over Zoom; we’re actually in person, which is rare in the COVID environment. As with all interviews, we start with two questions. Romney, could you share one personal success and one professional success you’ve had recently?
Romney: Sure. Personally, I’d say launching my latest book, The Habit Switch, has been a highlight. We’ll probably talk more about it later, but it’s the best longer-form book I’ve released.
Professionally, it would have to be starting my own business, The Life Graduate Publishing Group. I’d spent years helping others build their empires, and now I’ve taken the leap to build my own. I’m really passionate about it—I could do it 24/7 and still love it.
Murray: You might fall into that 24/7 trap! Fortunately, you’ve written a book on habits, so you’ve got some tools. Let’s talk about how you started Life Graduate—what led to that?
Romney: It was a combination of things. I’d been working with another organisation and decided to go out on my own, running school programs—my background is in teaching. The programs focused on things like financial literacy, public speaking, goal setting, habit development, and writing CVs—stuff students didn’t usually get.
Things were gaining momentum, but when COVID hit, all my school bookings were cancelled. I had to pivot quickly. I’d already published a book called Daily Goal Tracker, a journal that helps people set goals and track habits. I was lucky to get a testimonial from Brian Tracy—he’s a legend in motivation and goal setting. That gave me a boost of confidence to expand my focus into habit development, and I wrote The Habit Switch.
It launched in February 2020 and became an Amazon bestseller by April. That really accelerated things for me.
Murray: Good on you, Rom. You spend a lot of time helping people build better habits. Why do people need help with that—shouldn’t it come naturally?
Romney: Good question. I don’t think people realise the impact habits have—or they focus on the wrong ones. There’s a science to building good habits, but most people try to implement change too fast.
Let’s take sit-ups as an example. Say someone wants to get to 100 a day. They start with 4 sets of 25, then do that again the next day, and they get sore—sore back, sore neck—and after a week or so they give up.
But the right way? Start with just 3 or 4 sit-ups. Gradually build up. Think long term—aim to be doing sit-ups for the next five years, not just the next 10 days. It’s about small, incremental improvements. That applies to anything: journaling, eating well, exercising.
One good habit can lead to another—it’s called “habit stacking.” You reduce resistance and build momentum gradually.
Murray: That’s very relevant to the business world too. In EOS, we set 10-year targets and break them down to three-year, one-year, and then 90-day “Rocks”. Let’s focus on that 90-day view. What’s your take on it?
Romney: I love it. Ninety days gives you clear focus. It’s long enough to make real progress but short enough to stay accountable. I use a method I call “The Goal Loop,” which starts with crystal clear 90-day goals.
They should be simple enough for a 10-year-old to understand—no vague jargon. Then you develop incremental habits that support those goals. And you celebrate progress.
Having a 90-day window lets teams stay aligned. Everyone knows what’s important, and you can break things down into daily micro-actions that keep you on track.
Murray: Speaking of those micro-actions, one issue I see is that people set great 90-day goals but struggle to break them down into daily tasks. Going back to your analogy—what are the one or two “sit-ups” they need to do each day?
Romney: That’s where people often get stuck. They might set a goal and understand the habit needed—but they don’t take action. Without daily action, the result won’t come.
A lot of business failure comes down to a lack of planning. If teams don’t know what they’re working towards each quarter, progress stalls.
That’s actually why we created a new resource together—to help bridge that gap.
Murray: Yes, a tool to combine EOS and your work with habits and goal-setting. Tell us about it.
Romney: It’s called the 90 Day Business Goal Tracker. We designed it to help teams stay accountable, aligned, and focused.
It includes guidance on goal setting, habit development, time management—everything needed to break 90-day Rocks into daily action.
Unlike digital tools, this is a physical resource. There’s strong evidence that writing things down daily increases effectiveness. Seeing it every day keeps it top of mind.
It also includes weekly reviews and a full 90-day reflection. Teams can share it with managers, track what worked, what didn’t, and improve for the next quarter. It becomes a working document—and even helps track KPIs over time.
Murray: It really was born from seeing the same problem from two angles—you from the personal discipline side, and me from the EOS perspective. This gives people a clear way to say: “If I want to be here in 90 days, what do I need to do today?”
It also helps with prioritisation—knowing what must get done despite other distractions.
Romney: Exactly. It’s about making progress visible and measurable. Reflection is key too—looking back to see what’s worked.
That builds confidence and motivation. Most people don’t track their progress, so they underestimate how much they’ve achieved.
The tracker includes “block-out periods” during the day for focused work and space for identifying your number one priority. With so many distractions, those moments of focus really matter.
It also helps in remote work environments—teams can share their pages to show what they’ve done, even if they’re not in the same room.
Murray: Where can people find the 90 Day Business Goal Tracker?
Romney: It’ll be on Amazon globally, and also available through online platforms like Booktopia, Book Depository, The Nile, and Barnes & Noble.
We’re passionate about creating resources that actually make a difference—to workplace accountability, goal achievement, and ultimately business success.
Murray: And if someone wants to connect with you or learn more about your other books?
Romney: Visit my website. You can also find my Author Central page on Amazon—just search “Romney Nelson.” And if you Google me, The Habit Switch and other books will pop up.
Murray: Fantastic. Thanks, Romney. It’s been great working on this resource together and seeing how it can help people engage more fully with EOS. Looking forward to what comes next.
Romney: Thanks, Murray. It’s been a pleasure.
“It will revolutionise the way you set your business goals.”