A Quantum Voyage

Do you know?

Here we are, knee deep in a recession which is leading many to depression. Many of us don't know for sure how we got to this place. We're unsure which of our many decisions contributed to where we are right now. Maybe it doesn't matter, except as lessons learned. Our possible futures are really more important, as we can use our past to help us create a different kind of future. What we do with our possibilities depends on how much we believe in ourselves; how high our self-image is; and how willing we are to embrace some change.

“Without a system of goals, our only motivation is survival”. When I coined this phrase back in 1977, I didn't realize just how powerful is was. It was just something that came to me, a realization based on the transition that I was going through at the time. Its impact was brought home to me a few years later when a job candidate told me that the only reason she walked in the door of our somewhat tacky office was because she saw that phrase on a sign in our storefront window. That candidate went on to become a partner and very successful in her own right.

Several of our clients were able to exit their businesses by selling them to outsiders. They tell us that having a system of goals, both personal and business made this possible. Our clients who continue using our goal setting technology long after we've finished our consulting gig tell us that it is the difference between just accepting what they think will happen, and getting what they want. “A goal is what you want, not what you think you'll get”. Another of my epiphany type realizations. Instead of being a victim of your results, you become the beneficiary of your efforts to achieve your desired results.

Creating a system of goals, personal and/or business is no mean feat. It takes commitment, time, effort, thought, risk, and patience. Patience with yourself and with the process.

Now is the time to think about your possible futures. While you're in line at the unemployment office, or waiting for the person who will be interviewing you for a position. While you're watching a sporting event or catching a missed episode of your favorite soap. During your lunch break at your job, or while you're reading a book. Carry pen/pencil and paper with you and when an idea hits you, write it down! More good ideas have been lost on the way from the brain to paper than make the trip. From ideas and dreams come goals. From goals come successes, no matter how they're measured.

I'd be glad to share the entire goal setting process right here, however, you probably wouldn't take the time to read all 50 or so pages. There are many resources available that can help us get the job done and the Internet has made them easily accessible. Effective goal setting isn't taught in our schools and universities. Rather, we're told to set goals, but not how. The how is critically important.

When you experience and understand the value of this goal setting technology and what it can do for you, you “won't leave home without it”!

Richard S. Lewine is President of Quantum Voyage, Inc.; creator of GoalTrak^TM; principal at RSL Consulting Group; and co-founder of Pinnacle Power. He is based in Montgomeryville, PA and may be contacted at rslewine@rslgo.com

Don't Waste Your Money on Training!

So said the MD of a 100 plus company in the south east.

His view was that he employed people with relevant supporting skills and with the exception of meeting the legal niceties the rest was down to the line manager and learning on the job. He had previously spent money on training, but had not noticed any real difference in the performance of his staff, with or without off the job training.

The company survived, but not without an injection of new blood and a root and branch review of the way the company operated. There was not just a lack of people development, all the company’s initiatives were top down, change was always prescriptive and employees were expected to cope come what may. Not only were employees unhappy but they were a vastly underused resource, they never volunteered and their potential for creativity was lost.
 
Of course training and development is never an optional extra, well directed, they serve both, the on-going effectiveness and wellbeing of organisations; and they help future managers to arrive in post oven ready.

The key phrase is well directed, sadly a lot of training is not well directed, the expected results are not clearly specified and post training impact is not objectively measured.

The Benefit of Training is to make a gain or, to avoid a loss and the company and the employee should both benefit.

A few sad facts:

• 22% of skills are below standard.
• Typically, this costs a business of 50 employees, £165,000 per year
• UK productivity is 13% below that of other major economies
• In Britain £4.5b is spent on training each year by employers, but this may not be used effectively
• In 2001 50% of the $56.8b training budget in the USA had not been used one year later and was unlikely to ever be used!

To make training pay, there are a few questions that it is well worth having the answers to.

• What is the need?
• When will the need arise?
• If the need is met will it serve the strategic needs of the organisation?
• Will there be an adequate return on investment?

How can you be sure that you have genuine and timely answers to these questions? All too often training and development requirements are generated as a reaction to perceived bad performance and locking the door after the horse has bolted is bad news. Training requirements are also often generated as a response to a trend or a fad; there have been more reincarnations of fundamental training ideas than there are grains of sand. Some training is sold like clothes, fashions are created each year to generate products that superficially look different, but serve the same basic needs.

Some things stay the same; organisations still need a vision, a mission and a strategy to generate the strategic objectives from which managers derive their goals.

A lot of organisations don’t have a goal setting culture and even in those organisations that do have one; goals are not systematically tracked so that feedback is regular, and not ad-hoc.

On average:

• People who have written goals are 25% more effective that those who don’t.
• People who track goals are 25% more effective that those who don’t.
• People who have written goals and track them are 65% more effective.

Collaborative goal setting, in which goals through the organisation are aligned to its strategic goals and tracked, does not just deliver great results, it systematically identifies any resource shortcomings and needs. It objectively determines training and development needs and provides the basis on which the return on investment can be calculated.                                                        -DKL

David Knowles-Leak runs a performance management company. He works with www.goaltrak.co.uk who provide an organisation wide strategic goals and management system for generating and managing results. He can be contacted on 01628 400 665 and at davidkl@linkmanagementgroup.com

Eye on the Ball

An article by Fred Collopy appears in the most recent issue of Business Week. Dr. Collopy is a Professor of Information Services at Case Western. In his article he discusses the “problem with problems”. The time honored process of problem definition by its very nature, eschews alternative approaches to resolution.

“A somewhat subtler problem with the defacto emphasis on problems is the long  term effect it has on how managers think about our jobs.”

Our position is that, simply put, keeping our eye on the ball, keeping focused on the goals rather than the obstacles, will deliver better results. Dr. Collopy goes on to characterize the preoccupation with problem solving as “Deficit Thinking” and suggests that we'd do better focusing on what is right with our organization and our strengths. In this way, we would tend to look for opportunities rather than fixing what may not be broken.

Clearly defined goals insist that the individual or group who owns the goal consistently keep their eye on the outcomes and the benefits of goal accomplishment. In this way, we're constantly looking for new or different ways to move forward. We want the “pot of gold at the end of the rainbow”. The tension that exists btween where we are and where we want to be exerts positive pressure, motivation, to take the steps necessary to get what we want. Overcoming obstacles becomes just part of the process.

In our experience, we've found that people with opportunity seeking attitudes tend to out perform people with problem oriented attitudes. They are generally more open to new ideas and methods which they then apply to their situations. Their outcomes are usually better and this creates a positive self-fulfilling prophecy arena for themselves in which to function.

Strategy is a Funny Thing

Jack Welch, former Chairman of GE, articulated one of the most famous strategies in business. Paraphrased, it said, “We'll be number 1 or 2 in a line of business, or we'll get out of that business.”

Powerful stuff. There aren't many people with the guts to make that kind of strategic commitment. And that's what that statement is; a commitment to an organization's long term position in a given arena. A clear guideline for all those involved, that their performance and behavior must take into account this future state.

When we listen to our colleagues, clients and prospects use the term “strategic planning”, we wonder what they really mean, because when pressed for an explanation, they usually say that they're working on “next year's goals”. This is not strategic planning. In fact, from our perspective, there is no such thing as strategic planning. One can only formulate strategy. Executable goals bring a strategy to fruition. Executable goals and planning how to achieve them can incrementally lead to the point where a strategy has become the reality. A strategy is too big, too amorphous to get a human head around in the executable sense.

It has been said that poor execution will sink the best strategy. Trying to execute directly on a strategy just can't get the desired results. Generally, it gets poor results and many unintended consequences. Creating a system of organizational goals can get the desired results. One can make plans to achieve goals. Goals are the most powerful tool for human achievement. Goal setting is a technology and an art. It takes into account the realities of the moment and the possible futures.

Peter Drucker said that when making decisions, one must do it with the absolute knowledge that the information being used will probably be obsolete before the outcome of the decision is reached. That's the risk inherent in taking the action required to achieve goals that will support a strategic commitment. It is also why one can not execute directly on a genuine strategy. The time line is too long and the unknowns are myriad.

In our over 30 years of consulting experience, we have learned that small and mid-size organizations can get along without explicit strategy, but not without explicit goals. Goals make it possible to know how the organization is doing compared to what it wanted to do during any given period. Without them, people in organizations concentrate on “activity” and eventually become enslaved by it. (I believe Robert Heinlein said that). Real appraisal of performance can happen when there are goals. Without them, appraisal sessions tend to become a bully pulpit for the manager.

Strategy is a wonderful concept, to be embraced at the right time in an organization's development. The time is always right for goals.

Do Something!

Our clients are wondering, as are many of us, "what's next?"  "How are we to behave under these difficult circumstances?" One thing is certain; if we do nothing, nothing will happen. That is, without action there can be no results. If we sit around wringing our hands, lamenting the "lousy economy, sick credit situation and housing slump", it will just get worse. The old adage, "don't get mad, get even," seems to apply here.

There is no panacea, no one answer, however, we can do something. And, as cliche as it may sound, goal setting can come to our aid.

Our role as consultants is to help our clients improve organizational performance. The people in the organization are the engine that drives that performance. It follows then, that improving the performance of the people will have a direct impact on the performance of the organization as a whole. Just how can we generate and recognize improved organizational performance?  And how can we use goal setting to help us?

Let's start with something I learned early in my consulting career: "Without a system of goals, our only motivation is survival." A system of organizational goals includes both the organization's goals and the people's goals. Together, they are the "system". One without the other will yield less than optimal results. . . or no results. We all know this. I submit to you, however, that knowing is not doing. Peter Drucker said, "Decisions are only good intentions until they degenerate into work".  Interesting use of the word "degenerate". Simple examples may include, "we're going to increase sales" or, "let's reduce waste" or, "we need a higher return on our investments".

Until these three "decisions" are converted, or degenerate into executable goals that are specific, measurable, tangible, realistic and controllable, they are "just good intentions". There is no denying that it is hard work, mostly mental and emotional work, to create meaningful goals. In an organizational setting, the process is most effective when it is collaborative, meaning that differing points of view must be taken into account. This may lead to confrontation. Many people avoid confrontation because they equate it with negative conflict. With the confrontation of issues there can be resolution. With resolution consensus can be reached. Without at least consensus, if not agreement, forget it. The outcome of the process will likely be vague. This is the painful truth about effective, collaborative goal setting.

What does all this verbiage have to do with "getting even"? Everything! If you can set some short term, realistic goals, say 6 to 12 months, you can get results that will produce results for yourselves, your suppliers, your customers and your people. No guarantees! The alternative of doing nothing, however, does carry a guarantee. . . no results!

-RSL

Time for an update. . .

In November of 2007 we gave you an introduction to the birth of GoalTrak^TM. One year later, here's where we are:

          We have 20 client organizations signed on to GT in either the Enterprise or Mentor version.  About 2/3rds of them are actively using the system to enhance performance. The rest of them have apparently fallen victim to what David Byrd of LMI, Inc., in his book “The Tripping Point  in Leadership,” calls “apathy”.

          Last week we launched our newly designed website (www.goaltrak.com). User experience was the driving force behind this effort. Easy to navigate, timely topics, valuable information and attractive. . . “sticky” as the cognoscenti describe it. Visitors spend more than 10 seconds viewing the information.

          We've added several new Consulting Partners, those folks that offer GT as part of their portfolio of solutions to the nagging challenges of managing an organization. We're looking for more.   More people who understand that people and their performance make the difference. And that appreciate the value that GT brings to the table.

          We're currently in discussion with a sizable mid-west school district to bring the GT's technology/art of goal setting to high school students. The primary focus is to be career planning with mentors and students collaborating in the effort.

          Our clients continue to send us innovative suggestions for enhancing the usability and value of GT. We continue to listen and implement those that make good business sense for users and for us. Some of the changes we've made have come from our own experience. Yes, we use the  system to set and track our own progress!

The more users we get on the system, the clearer it becomes that investing the time upfront to really think about what you are trying to achieve, saves a lot of grief down the road. Written goals have always been the difference between consistent success and occasional success. Now, it's even easier to get the job done. . . with GoalTrak^TM EV and GoalTrak^TM CV.

Goal Setting or Project Management?

While this question does arise, for the most part, our client organization leaders and managers, those who actually run businesses and manage organizations, understand the difference.

We have had people tell us for years that our 4 day Organizational Goals sessions are strategic planning sessions. From our perspective, they are quite different. Strategy is about guidelines; goals are about execution. The perceptions, backgrounds, experience and knowledge base of the people involved determine their interpretation of the subject, hence their response. The same applies to Project Management and goal setting.

The reaction of a professional project planner to GoalTrak as a project management tool is the reality . . . they are different tools for distinctly different purposes. Goals are higher level objects in the hierarchy of achievement. Each solution to an obstacle or challenge identified in the goal setting process becomes a project that requires planning and execution. Without the goal, there is no need for the project.

At the individual, human level, that project becomes a short term or mini goal. Cleaning out the garage is an example of this. There is some higher purpose for expending the time and energy to do the cleaning. Similarly, a real estate developer has a goal to develop a residential subdivision or an industrial/office park. He hires or partners with contractors to physically get the job done. That's his solution to the obstacle of not having his own construction crews. The contractor manages the solution or "project".

We could spend a lot more time on this issue, however, several of my clients tried using a project management tool to build and track their goals. It didn't work and they came back to GoalTrak. The ability of the senior management groups to have instant access to actual progress on goal achievement was not available in the project management system.

Add to this the need for objective performance appraisals and you have the underlying, fundamental purpose of GoalTrak or any other paper or electronic goals system. . . "What do you want, how much of it do you want, and when do you want it"? Projects are the factories that produce the products, goals.

-RSL

The Picture is Crooked

We have just returned from three days in Chicago, attending the “Best of OD Summit”, a learning conference for organization development professionals. There were bout 700 attendees, both external consulting organizations and internal, corporate OD specialists. We were there as exhibitors, demonstrating GoalTrakEV as a tool for these people to use in their efforts to help their clients excel.

From our perspective as vendors the conference was a success. We had a good flow of people coming to our booth who were seriously interested in GoalTrakEV. Many asked us to follow up after the conference. As a learning venue, the attendees we spoke to said that they got what they came for; meeting with colleagues, learning new and enhanced methods of practicing their profession, and of course, eating, drinking and enjoying what the Windy City has to offer.

There was, however, a disturbing undercurrent. A high percentage, (about 50%  by our unscientific count), of these OD professionals told us that even though they are asked by upper management to improve the overall human performance of their clients' organizations, both internal and external consultants said they were stonewalled in their efforts by these same people.

These professionals are educated and trained to facilitate the enhancement of organizational collaboration, communication, recruitment, management development, interdepartmental cooperation, strategy formulation, succession planning and a host of other critical disciplines. They are paid well to implement their skills with the potential outcome of improved overall organizational efficacy, reflected in higher profits and more satisfied customers for their clients. Why then, this top level resistance?

We don't have the answers. Our experience in our OD consulting practice has been similar, though our percentage of success is higher. For the most part, when we've been engaged for an extended period, say, 18 to 24 months, the organizational changes tend to remain intact. Perhaps our somewhat off-center approach of using goal setting as the catalyst for change is the reason we get these results. We'd like to think so.

In our view, goal setting is the most powerful tool for human achievement that is available to us as a species. Everything that we do as people is to either gain a benefit or avoid a loss. We are motivated by a potential satisfying outcome to perform the simplest activity such as brushing our teeth, to the difficult process of looking for a new job. Maybe these management folks have not clarified their goals. Without a system of goals, our only motivation is survival. They apparently are not willing to “pay the price” because they don't see the rewards. If that's the case, maintaining the status quo, staying in their comfort zone, will always prevail.

-RSL

Choosing to Evolve

So, what does one write about in this esoteric domain of organizational goal setting and development? It generally doesn't provide springboards like the sub-prime situation, or our most exciting primaries in decades. As we work with our clients, however, concepts take shape. New ways of looking at things generate new ways of articulating seemingly “of course” issues. Take using our untapped potential, for instance.

Our 30 years of consulting with myriad organizations of all sizes and shapes, made up of people with untold amounts of potential, has led us to codify the process of personal and professional development into a four step, open system, supported by the art of goal setting.

• Step 1. Choose: to be aware of who you are, where you are, to grow, to change, to be more, to tap your potential. This act of positive choice leads one to conscious thought about what could be and how to make it so. Starting with dreams and wishes, those who choose to evolve will set realistic goals to bring them to fruition.
• Step 2. Learn: about yourself, about new ideas, new concepts, new skills, new ways of doing things in your world and practicing them. Thinking alone, however, won't make it happen. Here's where goal setting begins to play a crucial role in developing capabilities. Crystallizing thinking to enable focus on the desired outcomes requires a clearly defined set of personal development goals that, when achieved, will bring you to the levels of competence needed to successfully implement new capabilities.
• Step 3. Apply: new skills, new ways of thinking, new attitudes, to all domains in your life, tapping your potential and getting more satisfying results. This provides new responses and feedback on your new behaviors and performance. When this feedback is integrated into your learnings, the learnings are enhanced, becoming part of the “new” you and supporting an evolutionary process manifested in your behavior. Goals become the vehicle of choice to determine the when, how much, where and why of application.
• Step 4. Evolve: to a higher level of self awareness with all the newness that you have learned, practiced and applied and on which you have received feedback; which brings you back again to making choices based on new, intrinsic values, developed as a result of steps 1 though 3. And the cycle repeats as long as you allow it to do so.

Goal setting is the most powerful tool available for human achievement. Whether you are reaching for personal, professional or organizational growth, it is the one tool that, when used consistently, works every time.

-RSL

Changing of the Guard

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear about a new CEO taking over the leadership of an organization? Job cuts? Restructuring? Move around the furniture?

Perhaps. Just in the past two months this event occurred with one of our client organizations. The first thing the new CEO did was to gather his leadership group for a day to clearly define the top level corporate goals for 2008. We were fortunate to be asked to facilitate the process. Rather than do the job twice, the CEO decided that as the goals were defined, they would be entered directly into GoalTrakEV, eliminating the error prone process of transferring them from paper or word processor to GoalTrak.

It was a sobering experience for all concerned. While the CEO was familiar with our goal setting process from many years of exposure, his predecessor had shortcut the system. He had to start from square one. We even had to formulate strategy on the fly; no mean feat! At the same time, the CEO and his people were learning how to use GoalTrakEV, as the previous CEO eschewed GoaltrakEV in favor of a home grown spread sheet system which, by the way, no one understood or used.

We still have two more groups of leaders with whom we must work, cascading the corporate level goals to the divisions and departments. They too, will be learning GoalTrakEV, along with the technology of goal setting, as many of them have not been exposed to the process. Our new CEO is paying the price for the short-sighted view of his predecessor.

The salient points here are, the new CEOs understanding of the value of real world goal setting; the advantages of using GoalTrakEV for creation and easy tracking of their system of goals; and the benefits of having each leader set up their Performance Appraisal criteria directly in the system. The CEO actually negotiated expectations with his people in this same session. Senior Leaders are off and running!

-RSL