Ĺ had just retired
Ĺ had just been left by our partner, or – if we do not have a partner – now actually had a partner
Ĺ had become blind or deaf Ĺ had just had our third child Left–Right Method
Write down a question. Then answer it yourself by writing down that answer with your other hand, the one with which you usually do not write. Do not worry about the quality of the handwriting. Subsequently ask further questions with your writing hand – ‘What about that?’, ‘What do you mean?’ – and give yourself answers with your non-writing hand, and so on. Other questions might be:
Ĺ How could this be done better?
Ĺ How could this be made more pleasant?
Ĺ How could we learn more from it?
Comments
Ĺ These techniques are applicable in organizations, but also in our private lives, each time problems occur in determining ‘what’ – goals – and ‘how’ – strategy, approach and tactics.
Goals can be set too high as well as too low. In the first case, they are not realistic and are impossible to achieve. In the second case, their outcomes are too small and they are not particularly motivating. For example, losing 20 grams of body weight over a week can hardly be called a motivating goal. Both cases provide easy excuses to abandon the goal altogether. Therefore the following questions apply:
Ĺ ‘To what degree have we set our goal too high? What adjustments are needed?’
Ĺ ‘To what degree have we set our goal too low? What adjustments are needed?’
In practice, it does not work out well when we describe our goals in terms of what we do not want, or put differently: in terms of what we want to prevent, decrease, reduce, counteract or avoid. For that reason, state your goals in positive terms, not in negative terms. There are two reasons for this. A negation of an activity only gives information about what we are not going to do and no clues about what we actuallyaregoing to do: ‘I am not going to swim’ leaves totally open what Idoplan to do. This makes such a negation too unspecific to be part of an objective. The other reason is that words such as ‘no’ and ‘not’ do not work well in this context. ‘Do not think of a house’ and ‘no red’ make you think of a house and red. In a similar way, an unskilled skater is irresistibly attracted to the only hole in an otherwise unblemished ice rink, while a steep abyss has a strong draw for people with acrophobia, fear of heights. Therefore, always describe goals in terms of what you do want to accomplish. For example, goal setting should not be concerned with reducing limits but with extending freedom; not with fighting illnesses but with promoting health; and so on.
Ĺ ‘To what degree have we formulated our goal in a way that it is against something? If needed, rephrase the goal in positive words.’
When setting a goal, do it so that you make yourself not dependent on other people or circumstances, on which you cannot count and which you essentially cannot influence. In that case, it becomes impossible to take responsibility for accomplishing your goal. So we must devise ways to be less dependent on uncontrollable people and circumstances. To what degree can we influence those other people after all? To what degree can we adjust our objective? In this way we prevent building in excuses for letting go of our goals.
Ĺ ‘To what degree does reaching our goal depend on other people whom we cannot influ- ence? What can we do about this?’
Ĺ ‘To what degree does reaching our goal depends on circumstances that we cannot control.
What can we do about it?’
To accomplish a goal, we must also knowwhenwe have accomplished that goal. This means that we need specific and concrete criteria from which we can ‘read’ whether, or to what degree, the goal has been attained. In that way we take away the possibility of hiding behind the vagueness of the objective when its accomplishment has failed.
Ĺ ‘To what degree does our goal encompass concrete criteria to measure whether, or to what degree, we have reached our goal? What concrete results are we trying to achieve?
If necessary, reformulate the goal so that it does encompass such criteria.’
Another issue is the point in time at which we want to have accomplished our goal. By taking in a time scale that sets deadlines for the goal and sub-goals, it becomes impossible, in the
case of failure, to excuse ourselves by referring to a possible future in which everything will come together after all.
Ĺ ‘To what degree does our goal encompass a time scale with sub-goals and deadlines? If necessary, reformulate the goal so that it does encompass a time scale with sub-goals and deadlines.’
Another important criterion for goals is whether they have undesired side effects. For example, quite a number of big dams have been built to generate electricity without anyone paying attention to their possible environmental effects, which afterwards turned out to be disastrous. Examine what kinds of undesired side effects your goals might have. To this end, it is useful to look at the case from the perspectives of the other parties who are – directly or indirectly – involved: what might they be worried about in this respect? Actually ask them this.
Ĺ ‘What undesired side effects can successful goal attainment bring? What adjustments does that require?’
To make our goals our own and to make them into a guideline for our future actions, it is furthermore important to word our goals as concisely and as simply as possible. This enables us to let the goals sink in by self-suggestion, so that they will do their job as if by themselves (see earlier in this chapter).
Ĺ ‘How do we phrase our goal as concisely and simply as possible?’
Lastly, we subject our objective to a last, radical test. Imagine that a miracle has happened and suddenly our goal has already been accomplished. All our wishes are fulfilled and the state of affairs is exactly as we have described it in our specified and adjusted objective.
Imagine that as vividly as possible.
Ĺ ‘Suppose a miracle has happened and suddenly our goal has already been achieved. How does that feel? What indications does that give us about the desirability to go on? What adjustments are needed?’
Goals
Ĺ To practice clarifying and accentuating a goal and making it more accessible.
Ĺ To have a more realistic, clear and accessible image of your goal.
Procedure
Read the introduction. You can do this exercise on your own, but also in pairs and small groups. In pairs and small groups, one of the participants introduces the exercise and gives the instructions, but participates in it themselves as well. Essentially it is a pen-and-paper exercise that is discussed afterwards, or reflected on in the case of doing it on your own.
First, the participants write down a description of, for example, a change they want to accomplish in the organization. When everybody is ready with that, the one who is leading
the exercise reads the first question aloud. When everybody has finished, the next question is read, and so on. Afterwards, both the new insights and the method are discussed. The questions are as follows:
Ĺ ‘Does the goal sufficiently fit in with who you are? If not, how could you adjust the goal in such a way that it does fit?’
Ĺ ‘Does the goal sufficiently fit in with what the people who are most important in your life want? What must happen to realize such a fit?’
Ĺ ‘To what degree have you set your goal too high? What adjustments are needed?’
Ĺ ‘To what degree have you set your goal too low? What adjustments are needed?’
Ĺ ‘To what degree have you formulated your goal in a way that is against something?
Rephrase your goal, if needed, in positive words after all.’
Ĺ ‘To what degree does reaching your goal depend on others whom you cannot influence?
What can you do about that?’
Ĺ ‘To what degree does reaching your goal depend on circumstances that you cannot control? What can you do about that?’
Ĺ ‘To what degree does your goal encompass concrete criteria to measure whether, or to what degree, you have reached your goal? What concrete results are you trying to achieve? If necessary, reformulate your goal so that it does encompass such criteria.’
Ĺ ‘To what degree does your goal encompass a time scale with sub-goals and deadlines for your goal and sub-goals? If necessary, reformulate your goal so that it does encompass a time scale with sub-goals and deadlines.’
Ĺ ‘What undesired side effects can successful goal attainment bring? What adjustments does that require?’
Ĺ ‘How do you phrase your goal as concisely and simply as possible?’
Ĺ ‘Suppose a miracle happens and suddenly your goal has already been achieved. How does that feel? What indications does that give you about the desirability to go on? What adjustments are needed?’
Comments
Ĺ This testing of goals on a series of criteria such as the above-mentioned ones is usual in many organizations. The returns are obvious: manageable goals that are not easily abandoned because they turn out to be unreachable or offer too many loopholes.
Ĺ Often a somewhat shorter series of criteria is used, the so-called SMART criteria:specific, measurable,acceptable,result oriented andtime bound.