objectives Archives - Dennis E. Gilbert

26
Jul 21
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A Strategic Plan Means You Won’t Get Lost In Tactics

Tags : firefighting objectives strategic plan strategy tactics

Do you have a strategic plan? Are you really just pushing through each moment of each day by responding to situations with tactical approaches?

In the workplace, tactics sometimes become a form of organizational firefighting. Whatever the emergency is, people jump in to solve the problem.

Jumping in to solve the problem is important, it is also valuable. Does it connect to strategy?

A quick reaction might be, “Of course it does.” Yet, does it really, or is it taking away from the strategic focus?

Solving a customer problem might be considered a tactical approach that is consistent with strategy.

The strategy is, delight the customer, the tactic is, solve the problem.

However, delighting the customer should be a strategic focus that means you don’t have to resolve a breakdown in order to provide delight.

Strategic Plan

A good strategic plan includes goals and objectives. The goals and objectives are pursued relentlessly through tactics.

Tactics may need to be adjusted, but it is not as common to throw away the strategic plan and start over.

The confusion seems to set in when the focus of the why seems to get overrun by the how.

Delighting customers through never ending problem solving is not a good strategy. It is a tactic, overrun with the mechanics of how.

Tactics often become reactionary. They are thrown in motion because something unexpected popped up. In some cases, people and organizations pride themselves on tactical firefights.

The ability to be responsive and solve problems is important. In some industries, that is the service model. For everyone else, allowing tactical firefights to consume your day probably means you need to take another look at your strategy.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

28
May 21
-

Achieving Objectives Happens When You Commit

Tags : accomplishments commitment goals objectives

Are you good at achieving objectives? Do you have goals or metrics used to measure progress?

When you say you want to take a trip to visit another country, read a book that has been sitting on your shelf, or complete the degree you started right after high school, do you start your sentence with, “Someday.”

Someday I…

want plant a vegetable garden.

want to start exercising again.

hope to get a new car.

There is a problem with someday. It doesn’t lock you in. You haven’t really committed, and as a result, there is a good chance, you’ll never achieve it.

Something else will always get in your way. Something that seems urgent, more important at the moment, or maybe your budget just doesn’t seem to allow it.

Career minded people often find themselves vaguely committing. They vaguely commit to more education, vaguely commit to a book, or vaguely commit to pursuing a posted job opportunity.

Time slips by and perhaps none of it happens.

Achieving Objectives

The truth for everyone is that three years from now, or ten years from now you are going to arrive someplace? A place in time, a milestone, a point on your journey. The question to ask yourself is, Where?

Where will you arrive, what will that look like, how will things be different.

Achieving your objectives starts with commitment. You need to set a date. You may even need to pick a place, a venue, or a destination.

Sometimes when there is a deadline, things seem to stick. The commitment is there, there isn’t any more room for procrastination, delays, or waiting.

The bigger the objective, the more checkpoints that may be required. Have you budgeted appropriately? Have you studied as you should have? Will you take that first big leap that starts the process?

Never starting is one of the first places people stop.

The clock is ticking. Without commitment you won’t get very far.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

26
Apr 21
-

Project Push and Pull Should Work For You

Tags : goals objectives project management pull push

Have you jumped in with both feet? Are you working from a project push or is it more of a project pull?

Distance runners tend to like the wind pushing from behind. Facing it, and running directly towards it is an opposite force and one the burdens the runner.

It is true for throwing our kicking the football, it is true for gas mileage, and it is especially true for the project you are working on right now.

Much easier, is having the wind at your back.

When the customer requirements are supported and embraced, and it is a known dynamic, the wind is at your back. If something else is driving it, such as a new government regulation the wind may be blowing directly at your forward motion.

Project Push and Pull

Getting the people on board. The designers, the engineers, the widget makers and the sales force all matter. The team members involved in keeping your project moving are more engaged when they are pulled into the process.

If you try to shove a naysayer, you typically get more resistance. It’s the donkey sitting down with its hoofs dug in, trying to stop any motion in the direction you are pushing.

On the other hand, when there is something attractive, a point of interest, or a recognition of something that lies ahead people will typically be eager to get there. They are pulled or compelled to push themselves for the opportunity.

A project in motion, with a team that is being pulled, attracted, and compelled to reach the objective gets an enormous boost when the wind is blowing at their backs. The opposition is less, there is not as much resistance, and their motivation is strong.

The key then, is gaining the benefit of attraction which creates the pull and then supplementing it with a little bit of a push.

Paddling with the current is always easier.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

24
Feb 21
-

Job Objectives and How You Measure

Tags : human performance measurements objectives subjectivity

Doing a great job matters to most workplace professionals. How is on-the-job performance really measured? What are the job objectives and is there subjectivity in the measurement?

Since the pandemic, metrics and measurements have become even more important. Many workplace leaders have been forced to lead in ways that they never imagined. Remote work teams, hybrid teams, and virtual methods of correspondence are at an all-time high.

Health and well-being set aside for a moment, it’s the perfect storm for tech savvy leaders who wanted this game for more than a decade.

For everyone else, it’s been a culture shift, a pivot, and a learning curve.

If you’re a workplace leader or in some form responsible for collective outcomes as a result of human interaction, how are you measuring performance?

It should start with good objectives.

Job Objectives

Objectives should be considered part of the tactics that pursue the strategy. They should be specific, measurable, and meaningful. They may be evaluated as good objectives by passing a S.M.A.R.T. test.

One problem that often arises is that many objectives are hard to evaluate by numbers alone. If the goal is ten, and the result is eleven, things seem pretty good, however, numbers alone don’t always tell the story.

Nearly every sector needs to recognize there is more. There is more when it comes to quality, customer service, and collaboration. Are those items being evaluated in your performance criteria?

How would you evaluate attitude, integrity, or innovation? Is it able to be proven with a number?

How You Measure

It may be assumed that a salesperson who achieves or surpasses a monthly sales goal has a good attitude. Yet, it is only an assumption, not necessarily a fact.

Metrics and measurements are an effective way to lead. They are effective even when you can’t be there in person to check things out for yourself. Keep in mind, however, they don’t tell the whole story.

Subjectivity is likely a part of most human performance measurement. If it is part of yours be cautious of how subjectivity impacts the work that gets done.

Is customer satisfaction a metric? Is it subjective?

Metrics are great a tool and provide part of the picture. Consideration for designing objectives that include subjectivity often helps individuals align with what really matters.

Do great work.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

03
Sep 20
-

Problem Statements Create More Clarity

Tags : clarity goals objectives problems root cause

The biggest problem with problems is a lack of clarity. The unknowns cause hesitation, confusion, and weaken commitment. Are you using problem statements?

People often attempt to define problems by reporting a symptom.

I can’t connect to the internet.

I have to lose some weight.

My car won’t start.

All of these sound like problems, yet they are not getting to the root cause. When we aren’t at the root, the next move is unclear, and often the problem doesn’t get solved.

What is worse, is that an assumed solution to a symptom allows the problem to happen again. Over and over.

Symptom statements differ from problem statements. And, yes, we may often use a symptom statement to lead us to the problem.

It’s important to recognize that there are differences.

Problem Statements and Clarity

When you lack clarity with the problem definition, the goal is unlikely to be achieved.

You can’t fix it or achieve it if you don’t appropriately define it.

You probably won’t increase sales by stating that sales numbers are too low. Stating that you want or need a new job won’t make one magically appear.

Many people get stuck, they become stalled and are very frustrated because the change they seek is not happening. It may all be the result of not being clear about the problem.

When you start forward motion with a good problem statement and you are able to identify and label the root cause, you’re on your way.

Are you growing tired of lingering problems?

Perhaps you aren’t clear about what they are.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Tag Archives: objectives

Jul 21

-

A Strategic Plan Means You Won’t Get Lost In Tactics

Strategic Plan

May 21

-

Achieving Objectives Happens When You Commit

Achieving Objectives

Apr 21

-

Project Push and Pull Should Work For You

Project Push and Pull

Feb 21

-

Job Objectives and How You Measure

Job Objectives

How You Measure

Sep 20

-

Problem Statements Create More Clarity

Problem Statements and Clarity

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