After completing a recent setting goals class with men in a local prison, some important points came to light that we sometimes miss in our Process Improvement projects.
These were:
- The importance of short term goals versus longer term ones
- Goals that support an overall objective should be tied together
- The interdependencies of goals
- Prioritization when too many goals are set, or they are too lofty.
Someone once told me that “there needs to be a short term in order for there to be a long term”. This is particularly true for business operations, but I like short term goals as they build a track record of achievement and keep you focused every day on making something come out differently.
Also linking these goals together into groups that meet an overall objective is very important. It also separates goals that are not symbiotic and puts them on another track.
Probably one of the most important areas that came out in this program was the interdependent nature of many goals. In the program described above the importance of getting housing, a job, safe environment, money and hope all played into each other for a successful re-entry into society.
So goes it with Business Process Improvement, where many goals are also very interdependent on each other to meet an over efficiency or quality objective.
