Talking doesn't cook the rice. Chinese Proverb
Attention
- Planning isn't predicting the future. No one can guess.
- Planning isn't about making a list of wishes or dreams to accomplish. It may be a preliminary step, but it doesn't help you organize tomorrow morning's activities.
- Planning is not something exclusive to developed countries.
It is for countries, organizations, and individuals who want to take charge of their destiny without blaming others (people or events) for their own failures. - Planning is consciously deciding what I want to be and do and determining the means to achieve it.
There are 5 steps to plan effectively:
1. Define the purpose and guiding values.
2. Identify desired outcomes
3. Throwing out ideas
4. Organize
5. Identify the next step.
Define the purpose and guiding values.
He Purpose It has to do with intentions, with what you want to achieve. because.
Why do we have to do this? What is the purpose of this task? (This meeting, this procedure, this purchase, etc.)
Why is it important to think about why?
- Because it enables success
- Because it provides criteria for decision-making
- Because it motivates the team
- Because it provides focus
- Because it makes it easier for everyone to have an opinion
- Because it aligns resources
George Santayana says:
Fanaticism consists of redoubling efforts when the objective has been lost.
The Guiding Values They relate to the framework within which the action or plan is executed. They are the major principles at play that serve as the context for the work. They express the ethical and value context (what is valued) within which the activity or project will operate.
It's difficult to think about Guiding Values because what we consciously express typically reflects more of what "should" be—that is, what is appropriate to say, what we know we should do. Practice, however, is often very different.
Let's take an example: If we ask a manager whose job it is to write a financial report if lying is one of their guiding values, they will most likely say no! It is not right to lie. Due to social pressure, the "should" be instilled in them by their upbringing or culture, or simply out of modesty, there is a high probability that they will answer no! You should never lie! However, when you look at the report, you see that it hides or changes information, manipulates or omits data. In short, they are lying to management or the corporation about, for example, the number of employees, actual costs, actual inventory, etc.
What happened? This manager's guiding values are, in practice, very different from what this same manager declares as theoretical working values and principles. There is a clear discrepancy between the declared values and the values in practice.
Why are we interested in this? It's quite simple. There's no chance of a project being truly successful in the long term if it isn't consistent with the guiding values. This is a long topic and beyond the scope of this article, but imagine if I have to prepare the financial report and I assume that the company's reality must be reflected in that report, a conflict will surely arise with this manager, who is known for lying. When he sees my report, he'll surely disagree. And why? Because the criteria that would be used to evaluate the "quality" of the report weren't clear. For me, a correct report is one that is truthful, and for this manager, a "correct" report is one that covers up the inefficiencies of the general manager's management. This is just an example…
The problem is that this lie will lead to another lie, and thus a spiral begins that ultimately undermines the organization. This small conflict will result in a series of internal inconsistencies that, sooner or later, will derail any attempt to make this process more effective and, ultimately, the organization itself. The reason for the failure? A failure to adhere to guiding values. It has nothing to do with skills or willingness or lack of willingness to do the job.
Often these principles act unconsciously, and the point of clarifying and making them explicit is to help in the execution of the work.
If we go back to the financial report example we might think about:
Make it easy to read.
Let it be truthful
Let it be short
Use language accessible to non-experts
Let it be visual (and not an Excel in Arial 4…)
etc
One always think within the boundaries of their own guiding values, whether conscious or not.
If I delegate the work to others and don't clarify the guiding values, what will happen is that when they deliver the results to me, I'll evaluate them according to these principles and values I didn't clarify. This can lead to disappointment, wasted time, and eventually conflict.
– But this report is not visual.
+ Visual?
– You didn't tell me it was.
+ Well, but it's very difficult to read like this...
Remember: One always acts within the boundaries of one's own guiding values. Whether we are conscious of them or not.And if they are betrayed, it will always result in a lack of productivity and stress.
David Allen says that one way to understand what guiding values are in practice is to complete the following statement:
I would give others complete freedom of action as long as they…
If they what?, What criteria?, Be explicit.
In summary
The first step to effective planning is therefore to clarify the purpose and guiding values.
Purpose sets direction and guiding values determine the criteria for evaluating correct behaviors.
- Have you sufficiently clarified the fundamental purpose of this project? Be more specific…
- Have you communicated this to each of the collaborators who should be aware? I said to everyone, not just some...
- Have you agreed on the standards and behaviors you must adhere to for success? Please be explicit…
- How will you know if they're outside the guiding values and/or established purpose? Be more specific…
We continue in the next one.
