Quickie: The Goal
Here we are, nearly forty years after the first publication of Goldratt’s “The Goal“. How many organisations (percentage of all organisations) today have a clearly defined, consensual, well-communicated and well-understood GOAL?
Where does your organisation stand on this?
Think Different
And why is having a single clear goal such a difficult thing?
Here it is a conjecture: I see 2 big factors: 1. Reaching consensus as to what is THE goal is difficult, many organizations settle for 100 goals which can cover everybody’s preference. 2. An unambiguous goal makes it more difficult to play political games and to manipulate other’s perception of your competence. Many power players attribute their own success to those same moves, and changing the game makes them uncomfortable, hence they don’t.
Yes. Prioritising the mission aka the goal over personal interests is rare indeed.
How do you think organizations and teams can serve “the folks that matter” in this context? I mean, knowing that some employees, specially those with more formal power, will be prioritizing their own interests over those of the customers, users, stakeholders…? Should we incorporate their priorities knowing they are also folks that matter? Will it help to make the trade-offs visible and explicit?
Would you say that folks are, by and large, predisposed towards reciprocity?
Yes, absolutely.
Would you be willing to consider how that answer plays into your earlier question?
I am willing, though I am still unclear about how to use reciprocity to balance general and personal goals, at the same time as engaging the people that feel they cannot thrive in a more transparent environment. I feel this last part is the most difficult for me to understand.
Maybe check out Rosenberg and Nonviolent Communication?