In 2009, CVS settled a case with the Department of Health and Human Services.

The whole thing had started with bad press.

Media reports showed CVS pill bottles tossed into an open dumpster.

Those bottles contain names, addresses, and medication information for CVS customers.

In other words, patients.

That was a huge violation of federal law, something known to us Americans as HIPAA.

The government charged that CVS had, quote, failed to implement reasonable and appropriate procedures for handling personal information about consumers and employees in violation of federal law, in quote.

The fine was $2.5 million, but that was just the beginning.

The drugstore chain would also be subject to government audits every two years until 2029.

But here's the thing.

It turns out CVS did have privacy procedures in place, but they failed to implement them.

They had the plans, but they never executed them.

And that's what most missed goals are, a failure to execute.

We have the goals in place, we know what we want to accomplish, we even have a plan or a strategy in place, but we don't carry them out.

Thankfully, there's a solution to this problem.

According to one study, goal completion is three times more likely to occur if specific implementation intentions are stated ahead of time.

This isn't a plan, it's a plan to carry out a plan.

So just by writing down the actions you will take to reach your goal, you're three times more likely to achieve it.

There's a saying that's often attributed to Gandhi that also makes this point.

It's the action, not the fruit of the action that's important.

He goes on to say, you have to do the right thing.

If you do nothing, there will be no result.

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