We are a force of one in a team of many.
So much has been written about goal setting and how critical it is for organizations and individuals to set goals, yet rarely are we clear on how to implement the goal process. As I discussed before, visualization is critical in goal planning.
The process is easier than you think. Build on your strengths, both personally and professionally. You are then able to project how things will look in the future based on those same strengths. It is not necessary to abandon your current delivery system, but, merely expand upon it. Based on your current planning and goal-setting methods, you can project what the environment will look like in the future.
People will then surround themselves with colleagues who can replace their current duties so that they are free to obtain future success. You will be surprised by how people attach themselves to your vision and dream. If people are not going to believe in the dream and vision now, they certainly are not going to follow the goal-setting process in the future. If they have a chance to debate and discuss the vision in multiple year intervals, then, as the system begins to evolve, they have more of a comfort level with the entire process. People will be more willing to take risks and support your entrepreneurial spirit because they were involved in the goal planning process. If they see leaders planning well into the future, they feel compelled as individuals to plan for their own future. What you create as you build your structure into the future are groups of people on the same developmental wave length. Everyone works toward a common goal. In time, the goal-setting process is no longer six months or three years; it can take generations.
I have found few individuals can really plan for the future and build their own perpetuation plans. Many talk of it, but few can truly deliver a solid functional plan. It is always difficult to give up something you have mastered. Part of the planning process and part of the goal-setting environment is to decide early on who those individuals will be that you will need to surround yourself with to accomplish your tasks. At our organization, we have colleagues who are driven and dedicated. Even though they may lack the overall picture of the entire company, they focus on their particular area of expertise. Without them, the delivery system would fail, but with them change and creativity is common and cherished. Many people are surprised when they fail at goals or fail to achieve their level of goal-setting processes because there are some external or internal reasons that caused the process to break down. They relied solely on their ability and instinct which may be sufficient in a short-term goal process, but inappropriate for the long-term. Certainly as we get older, we realize that we need to have creative talent around us in order to support our long-range planning process. If not, it’s no different than being on a construction site and having the most high- powered equipment tunnel trench after trench. The tunneling process goes very quickly, but when you stop the machinery and turn around, you notice that no one has been laying pipe and back-filling the ditch. Therefore, we realize planning and goal setting go hand in hand.
We are planning not only as individuals but as entire corporations.
Let us know your thoughts…
