Keep our nose to the grindstone

Grind

You have more knowledge about your social environment than ever before. But are you using that “know how” to out win your trivial? If not, you fail to exploit your potential. –Dr. V. V. Rao

Nothing can be achieved if you do not have defined goals. These goals have to be short term and long term. The goals must be SMARTER and broadly aligned to your dream, strategy, habits, practices and techniques: Specific (Significant, Stretching, Simple), Measurable (Meaningful, Motivational, Manageable), Attainable (Appropriate, Achievable, Agreed, Assignable), Relevant (Result-Based, Resourced, Resonant, Realistic), Timely (Time-oriented, Timetabled, Time limited, Tangible), Evaluate (Ethical, Excitable, Enjoyable, Engaging, Ecological) and Reevaluate (Reassess, Revisit, Rewarding)

Review and assess the goals daily, weekly, monthly and yearly depending on the type of the goal, necessity and requirement. Define unit of measurements, compare the goals with your results, also with bench marks of the world records and achievements. When you first sit down to write your professional goal’s statement, you may think it would be easy. You must be an extremely goal oriented person, with your entire life till now being spent focusing on ‘what is next’. So, how difficult could it be to simply write down those goals? When you begin writing, however, you may discover it is going to be a little more difficult than you anticipated. You may realize that it may be possible to have too many goals. Your list may be too long and confusing with some goals very specific, while others very vague. So you may have to re-evaluate your list and discover that your goals can actually be divided into three predictable categories: immediate goals, short-term goals, and long-term goals and further you could pose the following questions to formulate your goals in a SMATER way. 

Is the objective acceptable to you? Is the objective adaptable to unforeseen changes in the environment? Does the objective clearly state what will be achieved and when it will be achieved? Is the objective achievable? Can it be reached? Is the objective’s target high enough to challenge, yet realistic and achievable? Does the goal/objective fit with the mission / purpose and with other important long-term objectives? Have you really understood what you are trying to accomplish and achieve by setting the specific long-term objective? Why do some teams fail while others excel? What are the differences that lead to success? The following four points summarize 20 years of research by [H J Leavitt and Lipman-blumen, ‘Extreme Teams,’ Fast Company Nov’1999]

Work matters: Job satisfaction does not necessarily translate into successful teams. Employees can be quite happy and yet very unproductive. What is more important is what individuals find in their work. This creates intrinsic motivation that results in both satisfaction and productivity.

Titles do not matter: Great teams ignore hierarchies. The focus is on getting the work done, not who has the most prestigious title. Titles create expectations rather than team work.

People bond in the heart of battle: There is a mistaken notion that building relationships through social interaction makes great teams. Rather, working together through crisis and challenges is what brings people together.

Team take care of their own. Teamwork does not exclude individualism; teams make it safe to be an individualist. Individual contributions are brought together in a synergised. ‘Group think’ only hinders creativity.

One more example of why execution is the job of you: A farmer had an old age dog. One day his old dog fell into a dry well. At first, the farmer was at a loss as to what to do. I suppose the dog also was at a loss. Then the farmer said to himself, ‘It is an old dog. Why do I not put an end to its misery? He could either starve to death, or I can bury the dog and cover up the well at the same time?’ so the farmer started shoveling the dirt into the well. At first, the dog barked furiously, and the farmer felt sad but has had no real choice. Then there was absolute silence. Guessing that the dog was now under the dirt, the farmer looked down. The dog was wagging his tail and looking up at the farmer. He realized that each time he pushed the dirt into the well the dog would just shake it off and get on top of the pile. The dog eventually ‘rode’ the pile of new dirt to the top.