Mundane self-scoring offer immediate feedback even to CEOs

Self scoring

Without effective monitoring and measurement, our performance is like driving at night without the headlights on - you know you are moving, but you cannot tell where you are headed. Self check list will help you track performance and periodically evaluate your future direction with respect to key performance indicators and key success factors too.

“Monitor, Measure and Mundane Improvement - The rule of Success” – Dr. V. V. Rao

Ashok Soota believes that ‘Self awareness begins with assessment and that capacity needs to be refined overtime’ consciously and reflectively. You need to self assess to be self-aware and sometimes the picture needs to be held through the eyes of others’ and ‘self awareness requires deep reflection in silence of the mind. The reflection presents itself only when the water is calm.’

CEOs typically spend 10 to 12 hours a day when they need to chalk out a clear agenda for each meeting, set tight calendars and also schedule meeting at dinner and lunch. Delegation, planning, setting priorities, work on the vital issues, self evaluation, time management and effective task management are some of the definite skills they master. Maintain logs of what was done and what needs to be done from short term to long term perspective and setting achievable goals are the cream of skills being practiced by most of the CEOs.

1. We do not know what we do not know.
2. We cannot do what we do not know.
3. We will not know until we measure and evaluate.
4. We do not measure and evaluate what we do not value.
5. We do not value what we do not measure and evaluate.

Benjamin Franklin recounted how he identified thirteen virtues he wanted to cultivate then made his own measurement chart with those virtues plotted against the days of the week. Each day, he’d score himself on whether he lived up to his goals.

You must have a similar scoring chart—a kind of calendar with all your measures, in which you can give yourself a √ (good) or an X (bad)

We’re much more likely to make progress on goals that are broken into concrete and measurable actions, with some kind of accountability. This approach makes it easier to take action, plus it makes progress more obvious—which acts as positive reinforcement.

So has keeping a score chart will help to stick to your goals? Absolutely!

Even without making a scientific score, just feeling the list of your goals a few times a day helps keep them active in your thoughts.

Another most important factors for not completing the task which is in your hand is that you do not have clear boundaries such as you do not have clarity on what is the scope, deadlines, targets, efforts required or why we are doing it. Eventually, all these lead to an incomplete mind set with unknown and undefined boundaries. Such unknown and undefined boundaries bring unknown rules and unknown rules bring less clarity on constraints, doable actions and resources.

Keep setting new goals: Boundary will force us to write down our goals and thus achieve more.

Analyze your behavior: You may analyze your time management; you may analyze your interpersonal skills and may analyze your performance.

Remove time wasters: You start thinking in that direction of what are the time wasters in your professional and personal arena.

Travel with purpose: This boundary will provide an indication at each time you travel with a self evaluating question, ‘Is this tour useful and is there any definite purpose?’

All the above boundaries create opportunity to make rules and create an environment for betterment.