Some of you might have never heard of this method. We’ve been using something similar (but without the catchy title!) for years, in concert with using the Adizes system to monitor where our clients currently are. I ran across this new terminology and spread the news among my fellow adjuvants. Just so you know, we didn’t coin the phraseology, James Ashford did.
Goals- What/Where do you want to be when you grow up?
Obviously, we can’t help you accomplish what you want if you can’t verbalize it, if you can’t help us put down on paper what it is we all plan to do. We – but especially you- need to know where you want to go, what you want to be. Sometimes this means talking for hours, others know exactly what they want.
And, while we are talking about working with business executives (solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, executive management), we still need to know where the individual wants to go and be. When it comes to solopreneurs and entrepreneurs, it’s usually clear that they are in business to live the life they want- even if they are “folks on a mission to change the world”.
Executive managers, even though they formally report to a board, also have personal goals. One of the folks with whom we worked hoped to develop his reputation so that he could set up a world-class management institute that would keep him engaged in his sunset years. Another wanted to be able to serve on corporate boards. So, we all have personal, as well as business, goals.
And, as is true for most people defining goals, we use time frames of one quarter, one year, 3 to 5 years, and then the ultimate goal they plan to achieve. Knowing what a great week or great month is a critical thought. A great year for one’s self, one’s family, and one business- what would that look like? The same works for the medium term (3 to 5 years), as well as for the ultimate dream goal. And, yes, money is a big part of that equation. We then work with both the personal and professional goals, making sure the steps mesh, that the pieces fit together well- because success is only defined as reaching those goals.
Location- Exactly where are you right this moment?
Knowing where we want to go is great- but that is but one point- and to go somewhere we need direction, we need velocity. Which means we have to address location. Where are we right now? What makes now different from what later looks like.
This also sets the financial costs for achieving that 90 day, 1 year, 3 year goal. (Not to mention the ultimate prize.) And, knowing who we are, you know we won’t let those costs be ethereal. We want to quantify them by revenue demands, staffing needs, and how the capital demands will be met. And, comparing them to the current situation. (This often means the development of a new sort of accounting system, the development of KPI [key performance indicators], etc.)
(We take into account the business they are in, the current stage of growth for their entity, current revenue and bottom line, staffing, how many transactions and invoices are involved, whether the directors are adequate for the plan, and how good their records are right now.)
Obstacles- What’s stopping you from getting there?
This is pretty clear. No one has a clear, effort-less method to getting to their goals. We need to ascertain what resources need to be put to getting to the goals. Those resources can be time, money, folks, corporate memory, and technology. This is where our financial, managerial, and technology expertise puts us head and shoulders over most of our pseudo-competitors.
Speed- How fast do we want to get there?
Most folks will tell you that their path is dictated by their ambitions. But, that’s not quite right. Too many of us (yes, that includes us!) are blinded by the constraints that are blocking are path. We might not have recognized how much money that effort is really going to take, how much staff development we need to let our folks handle the increased demands of their position, etc. Which is why we spend so much effort determining what are the obstacles- so that the short-mid- and long-term goals can be met on the time scale we have all laid out.
And, sometimes, that means you may want us to serve as your CFO, your COO, your CRO, or even your CEO- so we can let your team keep the ‘ship of state’ moving forward as we train and educate them and you how to ‘act as if’. It’s our experience, expertise, and ‘can-do’ attitude we share with you (not for free, of course) to make your goals and dreams a reality.
Othertimes, we can work with everyone (here comes that ‘adjuvancy’ definition again [folks that ensure that the people and the resources are working well together, able to achieve the mission of the enterprise]) to get them moving towards the newly defined goals.
Solution: What is the optimum plan?
Now that we know where we are, where we want to be, what’s stopping us from getting there, and how fast we plan to alter the situation, it’s time to codify a plan, a solution that will define what has to be done when. And, to be honest, this does not mean a plethora of solutions- but the optimum plan that will get you- the client- to where you want to be over the time frame you stipulate.
And, you can be assured that we are choosing the plan you need, not the one we may want. Because these are your goals and dreams- not ours. We know where we are, where we’ve been, and where we want to go. Taking you on as a client already met our short-term and mid-term goals, which is why we are here. But, getting our next client- one we hope you recommend to us- means we need to meet YOUR needs, not ours.
And, yes, the overall costs may mean some iteration is needed. If you are a solopreneur and want to have a $ 250 KK business in 3 years, we may have to pick you up off the floor when you see the price tag. Even if you are able to do it yourself. (Honestly- if you could have done it yourself, you probably would never have called us in the first place….) So, we may need to manipulate some of the initial and mid-term goals. To keep the revenue demands within the parameters of your personal (or family or angel or even venture capital) resources.
When do you want to start?
