Are You Like Captain Kirk or Mr Spock (And What Does That Mean?)
Do you relate more to Capt Kirk or Mr Spock from Star Trek? What does that say about your leadership and decision-making?
With the latest runner from the Star Trek stable dashing onto the screens (Star Trek Into Darkness) we are once again exposed to a famous universe and a much-loved movie relationship; that of Captain Kirk and Mr Spock. As well as providing a lot of fun, Star Trek ventures provide an opportunity to reflect upon current affairs from a different angle. They also make us think about what makes us human as well as how we make choices.
Science fiction frees us to think differently
The great thing about good science fiction is that it encourages divergent thinking. By creating alternative realities, that do not conform to the rules we live by, we are able to think differently. We can also address sensitive subjects by removing them from our present reality. When done well, science fiction brings a philosophical distance where we can look at modern-day issues through a different lens. In that way, we can challenge our assumptions. We can visit the future and think about the advantages and disadvantages of scientific advances. Whether that is technological development, for example in ‘I, Robot’, or mind-altering drugs such as in ‘A Scanner Darkly’. We can consider what life might be like if history had turned out differently and explore parallel universes as done in ‘Watchman’.
The original Star Trek series was always very much about social commentary. It looked at the big questions such as imperialism, globalisation, and racism and addressed them while trying to give a glimpse of a better future. The films took up this mantle and the latest outing explores issues such as terrorism. Although, this conversation takes place on a rollercoaster ride of action and can be lost amid the explosions!
But as well as these political and social issues there is an interesting psychological study at the heart of the Star Trek universe. This is reflected in the characters of Captain James T. Kirk and Mr Spock. Captain Kirk is a hotheaded passionate leader who follows his heart and his gut. His approach to diplomatic liaisons or tricky tactical situations is to make quick decisions and if in doubt, to punch his way out of a situation. Mr Spock is the cold face of reason and logic; the counterpoint to Kirk in almost every way. The tension of the relationship poses questions such as who is right? Who makes the best decisions? Who is the best leader?
In some ways, the assumption or conclusion (whichever way you look at it) in the Star Trek universe is that to be truly logical is somewhat alien. In comedy terms, Spock is the ultimate straight man. The humour in Star Trek is frequently displayed in Spock’s inability to think something is funny or to be engaged emotionally. Kirk on the other hand shows us that to be human is to be passionate. He can be somewhat irrational but that this human trait can be a strength as much as a weakness. If leaders have no passion – and therefore no sense of conviction behind their actions – then do we value their decisions? After all, the choices we tend to respect (if we are affected by the decision) are ones that elevate people. And we have to be emotional, we have to care, to make those sorts of choices.
So the Star Trek example of Kirk and Spock is something we should all remember. Logic is very important but it is our emotions that differentiate us as human. Our motivation, values and intuition are critical parts of our decision-making; ones that can be an advantage if they are understood and held in balance. This is true even if we are applying a logical decision-making process; we can never separate ourselves from our passions.
If you want the right answers you have to start with the right questions
About The Right Questions
The Right Questions is for people who want greater clarity, purpose and success. There is a wealth of resources to boost your effectiveness in achieving goals, your leadership of yourself and others, and your decision-making.
Wherever you are on your journey, I hope that you find information on this site to help you on the next leg of your quest. Even if that is just the inspiration to take one small step in the right direction, then that is a success. If you can take pleasure in learning and travelling as you go, then so much the better.
I love to serve people, helping them unlock their potential, empowering them as leaders, and assisting them in achieving their goals. Please get in touch and let me know how I can support you!
“Happiness is a positive cash flow.” Fred Adler – Venture capitalist
I may not be a millionaire but in many senses, I am rich. This is because for much of my life I have had the pleasure of not having to worry month by month about the balance in my current account. When billions of people are worrying about whether they will have a decent meal today or if they will have a roof over their head tonight then it is good to be thankful for such mercies.
But I did not start out flush with cash and there have been times since where things have been a real struggle. At times every business pitch seems to fall flat, work is short and reserves are needed to keep afloat. At such times I have become very keenly interested in profit, loss and cash flow and therefore they should be things we have a handle on before we hit a challenge.
The day to day challenge of cash flow
In a previous post, we looked at cost and resourcing in the context of a given task or project. When thinking in project terms, the finances are focused on a finite amount that we are wanting to raise and control. When thinking about a business there may well be projects that we want to achieve, but the day-to-day of the business is defined by profit and loss and – perhaps even more importantly – by cash flow. So I just want to highlight some crucial things to remember before we move on.
Cash flow is important as it determines the rate of return and affects liquidity. As Dragon’s Den star Peter Jones points out:
“There’s nothing more important than cash – cash flow issues are one of the biggest causes of company failures.”[1]
Liquidity is especially important to the SME (small and medium-sized enterprise). This is because you may well have invoices on the way but if they don’t arrive in time (to pay off your own debts) then your company can go under. Then it does not matter how profitable you are on paper. This is why all companies need a reserve of some sort, to manage these cash-flow challenges.
The same goes for personal finances; after all a household is effectively a small-sized business. You have certain a certain income and outgoings. Each month you need to make sure more comes in than goes out. If you achieve this then the amount left over is profit. This is the bit you get to choose how to use; to save or invest, could be considered profit. If you spend more than you earn then quickly you will get into debt. As debts compound it can become impossible to pay them off and then your household or business goes bust. It is very simple.
As an individual, this could mean being declared bankrupt or as an organisation going into administration or liquidation. Either way, it will be a huge hurdle in you fulfilling what you set out to achieve. So, it is best to reduce the risk of this happening. Do this by planning as carefully as possible and keeping on top of your accounts.
Keeping your accounts and balancing the books
At the most simple level, you may just need a ledger or spreadsheet with three columns: one for money in, one for money out, and one to work out what’s leftover. This gives you a snapshot of your finances at any one time. If you then produce a table predicting this information over a period of weeks or months, then you have the making of a cash flow forecast.
The issues of profit, loss and cash flow are perhaps most important when starting out in a new business. It can often take several years for a company to really become profitable and for finances to stabilise. It is therefore those first few years where the business is most vulnerable.
The Business Case and forecasting cash flow
Part of the business case and business plan at the beginning will be forecasting the finances over this critical time. If you want to attract finance or get a business loan then any investor will want to examine these figures. It is part of their risk management; they want to get their money back, with interest. You need to be profitable for them to be profitable.
It can be tempting to be overly optimistic about your finances in the beginning stages of a business. Therefore I recommend you produce several models for your cash flow: a best case, most likely case and worst-case scenario. Work out the most stripped-down version of what you need to operate and the investment required, as well as your preferred initial equity.
I am not going to go into more detail on book-keeping here as it is outside the remit of this post. There are plenty of good resources on accounting that you can look at. Software packages such as Microsoft Excel and Apple’s Numbers provide spreadsheet templates. These can be used for household and business budgets as well as cash flow forecasts. I have also suggested some useful links below where you can get more information.
The most important thing is to have a method that works for you where you can track you’re finances. And remember, cashflow is at least as important as profit, especially if you are a small enterprise!
If you want the right answers you have to start with the right questions
About The Right Questions
The Right Questions is for people who want greater clarity, purpose and success. There is a wealth of resources to boost your effectiveness in achieving goals, your leadership of yourself and others, and your decision-making.
Wherever you are on your journey, I hope that you find information on this site to help you on the next leg of your quest. Even if that is just the inspiration to take one small step in the right direction, then that is a success. If you can take pleasure in learning and travelling as you go, then so much the better.
I love to serve people, helping them unlock their potential, empowering them as leaders, and assisting them in achieving their goals. Please get in touch and let me know how I can support you!
Project planning is all out working out your plan in time and space. In The Right Questions Framework, the ‘When’ question relates to the ‘How’ of tasks and resources. As well as mapping these against time the ‘when’ also revisits the concept of priorities, first looked at under ‘why’. Putting this all together brings us to the concept of programming. There are various ways to graphically show a time-based plan but the Gantt Chart is probably the best known and most frequently used.
Programming
I was part of the initial project management team working on the construction of ‘The Shard’, the new tower above London Bridge station, which is the tallest building in Western Europe. It goes without saying that it is massive and complex; too big to contemplate in all its detail. What’s more, it is unique, there is not another building quite like it anywhere in the world. Considering this, how could someone possibly decide how long it was going to take to build? The key, as we looked at it under the ‘How’ question, was to break the whole plan down into manageable pieces. It is hard to estimate how long it will take to build a 330m tower, but you can start by working out how long it will take to construct one pillar or fit one window.
We can do the same for our goals. We are already mostly there as under ‘How’ we broke down our dreams into goals and our goals into tasks. It should be easier to assess the time for one task and if we need even greater accuracy we can break the task down into steps and work out the duration for those.
By doing this we are building up a programme (a plan with timings) to achieve our vision. We have identified goals, worked out the necessary tasks and resources and now given time to each step. Through this process, the dream starts to become more tangible. Once again, don’t worry if you can’t work out everything – the important thing is to know the next few steps in enough detail to start to act.
Critical path analysis and keeping things simple
If you work out all of the activities that you need to achieve and the duration of each task then you will have a fully functioning programme; the sort of thing a project manager will create. When you put all your activities into sequence the quickest route through the plan becomes the ‘critical path’ and gives you the shortest duration to achieve your aim.
Remember: a programme can include as little or as much detail as you need. The important thing is that the programme helps you to plan and helps you track your progress towards a goal. My advice is to start simple and if you can’t fit it legibly on one A4 page, or it starts being hard to understand, simplify it.
Gantt Chart Example
Earlier when we looked at tasks and milestones we looked at the example of building a shed. Let’s use the same example to make a simple programme. We can start by estimating the duration for each activity:
Work out what type and size of shed you need and where it will go. We will need to go out and do some measuring so let’s assume 1 hour.
Select the best shed to suit your purpose. This might require some time researching on the internet so let’s give ourselves 2 hours.
Purchase the shed. I am planning to do this online, so once I have decided on the right shed, it should only take me only a few minutes. It is a good idea to always give ourselves 30 minutes, even for a simple task, so I am going to assign a half-hour here.
The shed is delivered. This is a milestone so I will not give it a duration. But, there is likely to be a time lag between purchasing and delivery and I will assume it will be 48 hours between payment and receiving the goods.
Prepare the ground. I will need to level the ground and my garden is on a slope so this is likely to take some time. I will initially give myself 4 hours. This could take longer, especially if foundations are required. So I might have to re-calculate this after inspecting the ground and the shed I have chosen.
Erect the walls. I am going to allow myself 2 hours for this task. This job will probably require the help of another person. I will have to ask someone to help soon to prevent my project from being delayed.
Construct the roof and make it waterproof. Again I will estimate around 2 hours for this.
Fit the door and windows. This could be a fiddly job so once again I am going to give myself 2 hours here
Furnish the shed ready for use. This will likely require popping to the shops again so I am going to give myself 3 hours for this.
Start using the shed. This is a milestone so I won’t give it a duration.
Now we can create a pictorial representation of the programme. This is known as a Gantt Chart (named after Henry Gantt, the man who developed the idea). Putting all the activities into the correct order, I have created a Gantt Chart. You can see the first version in Figure 1:
You will notice that as I start to fit the tasks into normal working hours, some activities roll forward. Now they take place over several days. I can now see that I won’t be able to start using the shed until the 5th day.
Prioritising
“Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back.” Harvey MacKay
Time is limited so therefore within the plan we need to prioritise. There is never enough time to do everything. Therefore, we need to be able to decide which things to forgo. Our values point us towards our priorities and that helps us make the right decisions, especially when under pressure.
We have to know the tasks that are vital to success but this is not always straightforward to ascertain. Therefore, we may need to go through a process of elimination until we can perceive the essential elements.
Which things can be done concurrently? Which tasks could you delay or rearrange? What could you delegate or even dispense with altogether? By asking these sorts of questions you get down to the bare bones of what are the vital actions. You may well find that you can refine your programme after asking these questions.
For example, looking at our shed project again I can see that I don’t need to wait for the shed to arrive in order to prepare the ground. I can save myself some time by starting this task while I am waiting for the shed to be delivered as you can see in Figure 2:
You can see that by getting on with the groundwork concurrently I have reduced the total duration of the project by a day. Therefore, I will now be able to start using the shed on day 4.
Cash Flow and Budgeting
After adding the duration to the tasks the next thing to do is to add the resources needed for each activity. This is the next layer of the programme and can be added to your table or spreadsheet.
In this way, we can establish not just the cost of any task but also the yearly, monthly, weekly or daily cost of a goal or activity. In other words, we create a cash flow forecast or budget.
After doing all this you should be able to link the dream you have right through to the very next step you need to take. Hopefully, you will also know exactly how long it will take and how much it will cost. You can now put that step in your diary and you are on your way!
Project Management Programming Software
The Gantt Charts for this post was created using Merlin Project Management Software. Merlin 2 is the best project management programming software that I have used for the Mac and if you want to find out more or try a demo then click here.
Merlin is very similar to Microsoft Project, the main software I have used on PC. This is something of the industry standard for project management software, although perhaps not the best.
If you want the right answers you have to start with the right questions
About The Right Questions
The Right Questions is for people who want greater clarity, purpose and success. There is a wealth of resources to boost your effectiveness in achieving goals, your leadership of yourself and others, and your decision-making.
Wherever you are on your journey, I hope that you find information on this site to help you on the next leg of your quest. Even if that is just the inspiration to take one small step in the right direction, then that is a success. If you can take pleasure in learning and travelling as you go, then so much the better.
I love to serve people, helping them unlock their potential, empowering them as leaders, and assisting them in achieving their goals. Please get in touch and let me know how I can support you!
Once people understand their roles they next need to know how they interact with other people. Everyone needs to be clear about the lines of communication and decision-making authority. Authority, accountability, reporting and other leadership and management functions all need to be reflected in the organisational structure.
The structure of a team, organisation or company can take many forms. For example, ‘flat’, ‘hierarchical’, or ‘matrix’ are all descriptions of structures. But, there is no single correct structure for every team or circumstance. The type of structure that a team should employ depends on the nature of the task and the nature of the people within the team.
Take a fresh look at what organisational structure you need
You may need to start with a blank piece of paper. Ask some questions related to your task, team and the individuals in that team. For example:
Who needs to communicate with whom to make effective decisions?
Which people have to work closely together to fulfil their responsibilities?
How are individuals kept accountable for what they are doing?
Who needs to be empowered to make decisions?
Who is responsible for their management and supporting their personal development?
What things need to happen for your team to be able to achieve its goal?
Does your present structure support that aim?
The larger the organisation the harder it is to answer all these questions in one go. So, you can start by looking at the individual team level first. Work out how they need to function, and then look at how each team needs to operate and interact.
It might be helpful to do this graphically. One method I find helpful is using names on post-it notes, arranged on a whiteboard so that I can experiment. In this way, you can see how people are best grouped. You can add the different decision and communication lines that are needed in coloured pens and see what works. Get the team involved in the process too. They are likely to have the most detail about how they need to work effectively. It can be a lively team-building exercise in itself!
Form should follow function
A structure should support communication and decision-making in the most effective way possible. You need to be organised so that you can achieve the specific goal your team is pursuing. This means that the structure is likely to need to change over time. Organisational growth, replacement staff, new goals or different stages within a project can all spell a need for a change in structure. Don’t shy away from moving things around. But there is a delicate balance to achieve. Too much change can cause instability and will make team members anxious. Too little change, on the other hand, will hamper your progress. In my experience, small businesses and start-ups have to watch out more for the former, while large institutions have to be aware of the latter.
On some tasks, it may be that the roles within a team need to change within the course of a day. That is particularly true within smaller organisations where people have to share more responsibilities. If people are comfortable with their roles, and the responsibilities of others, then they can deal with this change. Very strict, traditional, hierarchical structures can make this sort of fluidity a lot harder.
Most teams won’t have to deal with this speed of change all the time. But the lesson is – as with every other tool in planning – to remain flexible. And remember, the structure is not the end in itself: it is just a tool to achieve our end. Achieving our dream or mission is the most important thing. So, if our structure is hindering us then we need to adapt it and improve it.
If you want the right answers you have to start with the right questions
About The Right Questions
The Right Questions is for people who want greater clarity, purpose and success. There is a wealth of resources to boost your effectiveness in achieving goals, your leadership of yourself and others, and your decision-making.
Wherever you are on your journey, I hope that you find information on this site to help you on the next leg of your quest. Even if that is just the inspiration to take one small step in the right direction, then that is a success. If you can take pleasure in learning and travelling as you go, then so much the better.
I love to serve people, helping them unlock their potential, empowering them as leaders, and assisting them in achieving their goals. Please get in touch and let me know how I can support you!
We do not always think in terms of risk but there is risk in every decision we make. The risk is always balanced against the opportunity to some degree or another. Risk assessment, risk management and risk strategies are processes we can add to our decision-making process. We need some way to consider and manage risk. This is because our decisions and planning are continually influenced by our attitude to risk.
“Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks.” Herodotus
High anxiety
One summer I was mountaineering in the French Alps with a group of friends. We had just spent a few days bagging some routes when someone had the idea of tackling a nearby climb. It was not one we originally planned to do as it was a higher grade than we were generally comfortable with.
That season there had been very little snow and the ridges were more exposed and icy than usual. So, as this route was following a ridge, I argued that it would be in bad condition. It was likely to be even harder than the guidebook suggested. The weather was also set to change for the worse, so as far as I could see, the risks outweighed the opportunity.
I thought my logic was sound but the person who had proposed the climb was very persuasive. He managed to get the other two members of the group to agree with him. They wanted to give the climb a go. It was three against one, and I knew they needed four people to attempt the route. Therefore the pressure was on for me to accept the majority decision. But I genuinely believed it was not a safe option. It was a tough conversation. I then made myself very unpopular when I refused to do the climb. It was a stand-off. They needed a fourth climber and therefore all we could do as a group was head back down the valley.
A good call
Fortunately for them, the other three found another willing climber. I meanwhile, by now feeling somewhat sheepish, decided to go trekking for a couple of days. As I was on my own I decided to stay below the snow line and try and avoid the bad weather.
I spent most of the next few days feeling guilty about being stubborn but when I returned I found that my decision had been justified. The weather had deteriorated and the route proved to be in poor condition, as I had predicted. After a few hours of struggling in dangerous conditions, my old climbing partners were forced to make an emergency descent. The deteriorating weather meant they also had to make a hasty retreat back down the valley.
It turned out that they were the lucky ones; that weekend ten people lost their lives in the Mont Blanc area as high winds whipped people off icy ridges.
Life is full of decisions and intuitively we are assessing risks all the time, even if they are not as obvious as the ones in the previous example. As we pursue our dreams we will be frequently faced with various options of ways to achieve our aims. In order to navigate our course, we have to assess the factors, consider the risks, and make decisions as to the best way to go. Sometimes to help answer the question ‘which way should I go?’ it is prudent to consider ‘which way shouldn’t I go?’ and this particular question is all about risk.
If a venture is suddenly deemed too risky, it is the surest thing that will stop us from acting; no matter how attractive the option first seemed. Therefore, risks need to be identified, assessed, mitigated and managed, so that we are in the best possible place to make our decisions.
Capacity for risk varies between people and situations so it is important to remember that this is an ongoing process of identification and management. At the same time, we don’t want to become defensive, timid or risk-averse. Achieving bold visions means taking risks; we just need to make sure we have counted the cost before we commit ourselves.
You don’t want to start a venture by looking at risk. If you do, the problems could easily become paralysed before you even start. But, if you plan without considering the risk, you could quickly become disillusioned or make a serious mistake that could be hard to recover from. Therefore it is at the point when one has a clear idea of what we need to achieve, and are considering different options to achieve that goal, that we look at risks.
“Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.” General George S Patton
How to manage risk
Unnecessary risks can be avoided by careful planning and this process is part of your risk management process. Your approach to risk – which risks you tolerate and those you treat – becomes your risk management strategy.
This exercise is a helpful aid to decision-making, but remember, that one should never make a decision out of fear. Some risks will be big – you just need to know whether that danger is acceptable to achieve your aim. Effective risk management helps us to achieve our mission, but with the risks considered and reduced as much as possible, not at the exclusion of risk entirely. Remember, it is more important to do the right thing than the safe thing.
As you go into the process of identifying and evaluating the risks I recommend, that if you are part of a larger team, that you go through the following exercise first as an individual and then as a collective. This avoids group-think and other related biases.
Once you all have some ideas you are likely to find that as a team you will have a healthy (frequently robust) discussion about how to categorise risks. This is due to people’s different viewpoints; do not worry, this is a productive process. Diversity of thought will help you all evaluate risks more effectively and help you learn more about how the team thinks and operates. This inclusive process will also allow people to express any fears, find solutions and commit to the final plan.
Risk Management Process
Here is a simple risk process. If you follow this exercise you will be able to identify the key risks you face and create a basic risk management strategy:
Play devil’s advocate for a moment: give yourself 5 minutes to try and think of as many things as you can that could put a stop to your venture and list all these threats.
On a scale of 1 to 5 give each risk a score of how probable it is to occur (5 being the most likely).
Now do something similar, scoring 1 to 5 for the severity of the impact of each of the risks. In this case, a ‘1’ might be a minor inconvenience whereas a ‘5’ would be a show-stopper.
For each risk multiply the probability score and the impact score so you get a score of 1-25 for each risk. You can now rank all the risks in a table.
Start at the top with the biggest risks and think about how you can avoid, prevent, limit the damage or otherwise manage the risk. This is called mitigation. Write down the plan for each risk and after the mitigation measures have been applied score the risk again for likelihood and impact to see how it has improved and whether it is acceptable to you (and/or your team).
Now consider whether the opportunities outweigh the risks for the course of action you have chosen. If you are unsure, you can go back and look at the risks in more detail for another course of action that you generated previously.
Once you have identified the most important risks make someone responsible for the management of each risk. They do not carry all the risk (or blame if it goes wrong) but they do have responsibility for tracking the risk on behalf of the team.
Record and review your risks
There are lots of ways you can record the information you get from this process. Most businesses have spreadsheets to capture the key operational or project risks. Find what works for you but my advice is to keep it simple. If the document is too big and complicated people won’t read it.
The other thing is to keep it up to date. Make sure you review the risks on a regular basis. The situation changes; new risks emerge, other risks fade. Make sure you are tracking them.
But don’t get obsessed or paralysed by risk. After all, who dares wins!
If you want the right answers you have to start with the right questions
About The Right Questions
The Right Questions is for people who want greater clarity, purpose and success. There is a wealth of resources to boost your effectiveness in achieving goals, your leadership of yourself and others, and your decision-making.
Wherever you are on your journey, I hope that you find information on this site to help you on the next leg of your quest. Even if that is just the inspiration to take one small step in the right direction, then that is a success. If you can take pleasure in learning and travelling as you go, then so much the better.
I love to serve people, helping them unlock their potential, empowering them as leaders, and assisting them in achieving their goals. Please get in touch and let me know how I can support you!
Why You Should Know The OODA Loop Decision-Making Cycle
Colonel John Boyd, a strategist with the USAF was a fighter pilot who studied decision-making in dogfights. He actually worked at the ‘Top Gun’ school of Tom Cruise fame. He proposed that as a situation evolves we have to observe the changes and orient ourselves to new information. We can then decide on the best course and take action. In other words, decisions are made in a recurring loop of:
Observe,
Orient,
Decide and
Act.
This is the OODA loop.
Sometimes this process is relatively slow and objective and we can pause to consider what we do. At other times the information and situation may be changing so fast that things become subjective. Then we have to work on instinct. This relates to the System 1 (fast) and System 2 (slow) thinking popularised by Daniel Kahneman.
Because the cycle takes place, no matter how fast the situation is unfolding, the specifics of how we orientate ourselves is of key importance. As Boyd notes:
“The second O, orientation – as the repository of our genetic heritage, cultural tradition, and previous experiences – is the most important part of the O-O-D-A loop since it shapes the way we observe, the way we decide, the way we act.”
It stands to reason that as we try and orientate ourselves it is useful to have others providing input. This is because external insight broadens the scope of the ‘repository’ of genetics, culture and experience. So, if time allows, get more quality data from others. When there is no time it is the depth of experience of the person making the decision that really counts. This allows for good intuitive decision-making (see Blink by Malcolm Gladwell).
How to apply the OODA loop
Boyd developed his ideas in a military context. His aim was to help speed up the decision cycle of USAF pilots so that they could get inside the enemy’s decision cycle. To win a dogfight a pilot needs to make better and faster decisions than the adversary. Also, maintaining the initiative creates opportunities that can be further exploited. The same thinking is applied to business and outsmarting the competition in the marketplace.
At first, this may not seem to have a direct application to our situation. But, in our case, the enemy is often ourselves. Equally, it could be our situation or any other challenge we face. We often do not make time to assess a situation and therefore we can fail to orientate ourselves properly. It follows that we then become reactive rather than proactive in response to our circumstances.
A foundation for decision-making
The great thing about this model is how simple it is. Boyd identified the bare essential elements of decision-making. Therefore, the OODA loop is really useful in helping us understand other decision-making tools and frameworks.
‘The Right Questions’ framework is designed in the same way. It follows the same simple cycle but expands the process so that it can be easily used for strategic planning as well as quick decision making.
If you want the right answers you have to start with the right questions
About The Right Questions
The Right Questions is for people who want greater clarity, purpose and success. There is a wealth of resources to boost your effectiveness in achieving goals, your leadership of yourself and others, and your decision-making.
Wherever you are on your journey, I hope that you find information on this site to help you on the next leg of your quest. Even if that is just the inspiration to take one small step in the right direction, then that is a success. If you can take pleasure in learning and travelling as you go, then so much the better.
I love to serve people, helping them unlock their potential, empowering them as leaders, and assisting them in achieving their goals. Please get in touch and let me know how I can support you!
The Seven Most Important Questions You Should Ask When Considering a Career Change
Work is a reality of life. The vast majority of people will spend a large portion of their life earning money in some job or another. The average person spends more than 90,000 hours at work in their lifetime (Psychology Today) so it makes sense that we should be doing something that gives us satisfaction as well as paying the bills. Getting the right job is therefore one of the big life goals and when we choose our profession or change our career we want to get it right.
“I think my job interview to be a bug sorter went well. I boxed all the right ticks.”
Where are you and what are you doing in your dreams?
So you are sitting at your desk, staring out the window; what are you dreaming about? Where do you picture yourself? Our daydreams can be a good indication of our yearnings, they can give insight into places we want to go and the people we want to be. What would you do if money and time were no object? What would you do if you had your time over again? Who would you most like to be like? What do you love doing, even if you are not being paid to do it? When have you had the greatest job satisfaction? Who would you most like to work with? Start making notes about what you want to do and this becomes a picture of where you want to end up, a personal vision statement. Then you can start to consider if you can make it a practical reality.
One very important thing to explore is your motivation for changing career. Why do you want a different job? Is there some compelling reason or are you just bored? Are you looking for something that aligns with your values or do you just think the grass is greener in another company or position? It is important to remember that there is an aspect of work that is always going to be just that, work, no matter how much you love what you do. No job or business is without its challenges and pitfalls so don’t expect a job change to magically transform all your problems, you may well find you take the problems with you.
As you start to refine your search to a specific job or company have a look and see whether your ideals and values are aligned with that business. Many people forget to do this and then wonder why they feel unhappy in their work, even when the job description seems to be just right for them. On balance, you are probably going to be happier in a place where people share the same values as you, than just somewhere with the right job title.
“If a man loves the labour of his trade, apart from any question of success or fame, the gods have called him.” Robert Louis Stevenson.
What is your dream job?
Once you have an idea of where you want to end up you can start to be more specific about the work, job, career or vocation you need to get you there. Look at the answers to the questions about your dreams and why you want to change careers and then put a job title or description to those notes. This is an important step in turning dreams into reality. You are defining success, giving yourself a definitive mission. Once you have something to aim for you are much more likely to hit the target.
Once you know the job you want then you start to need making a plan to get the job. You know where you are going, now take stock of where you are. Update your CV (curriculum vitae) or resume and see how suited it is to the job you want. Would you hire a person with your resume for the position you want? How could you tailor your CV to better suit the career you want? Are there gaps in your training, qualifications or experience that you could fill?
For information on the sorts of skills employers are looking for click here: Core competencies
Who do you know who can help?
It is a commonly used phrase that ‘it is not what you know but who you know’ that is important and this is frequently true in the job market. A large proportion of jobs – and arguably the best ones – are landed through networking rather than classified adds and job listings. Who do you know in the industry you want to work in? If you don’t know anyone directly then are there any friends or friends? Now is the time to use social media to your advantage. LinkedIn is particularly good for finding people and if you don’t know them directly you can join a group relevant to the industry you are pursuing and meet up with people there. Don’t ask people for a job; ask them for advice. No one is going to be offended if you ask them for advice. I have had plenty of coffees where I have either been giving or receiving information about certain jobs. These conversations may not lead directly to a job but they will help to answer questions and perhaps lead to other contacts.
Most of the time the best time to quit your job is when you have another one lined up. I always advise people not to jump ship until they have sorted out some further work. This is because it is very hard to follow your dreams if you are constantly worried about how to pay day to day bills. A good redundancy package can soften the landing but I know plenty of people who have still been scrabbling around for work as the money disappears. You may not have the choice, you may have unemployment thrust upon you. If that is the case then try to make the best use of your new found freedom to prepare for the job you want. Get an extra qualification or look at voluntary work placements that can help you further your experience (if paid ones are not available).
If you are looking for a specific position or opening you may have to wait anyway. The more specific the thing you want to do, the fewer the openings there are likely to be. Use your time to line yourself up as best you can but the wait will be more comfortable if you have an income.
If you want to read more about the importance of timing click here: When: Timing
Which way should you take to achieve your goal?
There are multiple paths you can choose from to get to your objective. It is worth thinking through the alternative ways that you could achieve a goal as significant as a career change. When changing career you may not be able to step directly into your dream job. There may be one or more intermediate jumps you need to go through, especially if you are changing the sector or industry you are working in. It is like using stepping stones to cross a river; there may be various options, and you may have to even make a sideways step at times, but you can still make progress towards your goal if you keep focussed on where you want to end up.
If you want to read more about exploring options and brainstorming different courses of actions click here: Which: Options
If you want further advice on career change I would recommend that you read “What colour is your parachute?” by Richard N. Bolles. You can click on title link above or the picture below to buy a copy from Amazon.
If you want the right answers you have to start with the right questions
About The Right Questions
The Right Questions is for people who want greater clarity, purpose and success. There is a wealth of resources to boost your effectiveness in achieving goals, your leadership of yourself and others, and your decision-making.
Wherever you are on your journey, I hope that you find information on this site to help you on the next leg of your quest. Even if that is just the inspiration to take one small step in the right direction, then that is a success. If you can take pleasure in learning and travelling as you go, then so much the better.
I love to serve people, helping them unlock their potential, empowering them as leaders, and assisting them in achieving their goals. Please get in touch and let me know how I can support you!
Whether you are starting a new business, or looking for ways of developing an existing business, you will need to create and evaluate ideas for products and services that you might want to sell. For some people the challenge is coming up with the ideas, for others (and this is often the case with entrepreneurs) the problem can be knowing how to capture, sift and prioritise the many ideas. This post will outline a simple process to help you identify and work through your ideas from the moment of inspiration to the point of launching the business. Whether they are for a home based business, a small business or a new business case within a larger existing company the process is very similar and you can follow the same steps.
When is the best time to consider new ideas?
A business person should always be on the look out for inspiration and new business ideas but all ideas have to have some sort of context. They have to be checked against the big concepts, such as your values and direction, and good ideas will have to be tested by some sort of planning process.
The concept of looking at options comes up in the ‘which’ of The Right Questions approach. It is a pivotal question because once you have your situational analysis, having collected facts and considered big questions, then looking at options creates the transition to more detailed planning, as demonstrated in the diagram below.
Step 1: Generate new business ideas
We all come up with good ideas but we don’t all remember or action them. Therefore I recommend that you keep some sort of list. This can be a list on your phone, a document on your computer, lots of post-it notes on a wall or a note in a pad – whatever works for you. What matters is that you keep ideas so they can be assessed at some later date. Beware; when you start thinking of ideas and recording them you will find that the flow of ideas is likely to increase!
As well as any ideas you already have you may want to generate a bunch of new ideas. Set aside some time – it can be as little as five minutes – when you are not going to be distracted and then use the time to brainstorm as many ideas as you can. You will probably find it easier to create ideas if you think about a specific area of business or sector. For example brainstorming ideas specifically for a courier service or thinking about products thing you could create with a 3D printer is easier than just trying to come up with random unrelated business ideas. Make sure you capture your ideas as you go.
You may want to approach the brainstorming session with some other people in a workshop; this could be an existing team of colleagues or just a group of friends. Sometimes having people not related to the industry is helpful as they can think beyond the normal confines of the sector.
Lateral thinking techniques may also be useful in generating a larger and more varied list of ideas that you can capture. Using random words or pictures can help inspire new approaches to business ideas. You can find out more about creating new ideas here: options and lateral thinking.
Step 2: Sift and prioritise the business Ideas
For each idea you brainstorm a list of pros and cons (this should only take a minute or two for each option). This will help you take a more quantative approach to assessing your ideas and help you to prioritise them.
Step 3: Identify your top three business ideas
Decide on your top three ideas based upon these pros and cons. Don’t discard the others but put them aside for the time being.
Step 4: Write a short business case for each option
Create one-page business cases for each of the top three ideas. Try and address the following categories and questions:
Where? (Situation and Vision): What present situation and the problem that needs to be solved? What is the opportunity?
What? (Mission): What is the solution? What are the key elements? What would success look like?
Why? (Values and Priorities): What is the value proposition? Why is this idea unique? What is the USP? What are the benefits (financial and non-financial)?
Who? (Competition and Market): Who is the competition and what will differentiate you from your competitors? Who are the target customers? How big is the market?
How? (Planning, Strategy and Resources): What are the channels to market? What is the outline plan? What are the constraints you know about and the assumptions you have made? What are the next steps to launch the plan? What is the financial potential? What is the revenue model? What resources are necessary? What are the non-financial costs?
When? (Time): What are the outline timings and milestones? When would be the optimum time to launch?
Which? (Risk and Options): What are the risks? Is the idea feasible? If not what needs to change to make it possible? How do we test this concept? How will you validate the idea and improve on the concept in the short term?
Step 5: Test these business cases
Now take your three one-page business cases to someone you trust and try to sell your idea to them. Choose someone who will give you constructive criticism and use the resulting discussion to test and refine your options.
Step 6: Market test your idea
Before you do for a full launch of your new product or service do a small validation exercise to market test your business case. You should have identified some ideas for this in your one pager so you can put them into practise before writing a detailed business plan. This test might be as simple as stopping ten people in the street and asking them to buy something, or it could be putting up an advert on Google around relevant key words, or trialling a service for a limited period. Whatever approaches you choose, be certain that you test your assumptions about the size and appetite of the market. If people do not want to buy what you are offering then it is probably time to look at another option.
Step 7: Develop a business plan and then go for it
Take the best of the ideas and develop the business case into a more detailed plan. This does not need to be a huge document but it needs to have enough detail for you to turn your business case into action. If you want some hints on how to get going you can read this post on project planning.
You will now have created a business case, tested the market and created a plan. You are ready to launch!
If you want the right answers you have to start with the right questions
About The Right Questions
The Right Questions is for people who want greater clarity, purpose and success. There is a wealth of resources to boost your effectiveness in achieving goals, your leadership of yourself and others, and your decision-making.
Wherever you are on your journey, I hope that you find information on this site to help you on the next leg of your quest. Even if that is just the inspiration to take one small step in the right direction, then that is a success. If you can take pleasure in learning and travelling as you go, then so much the better.
I love to serve people, helping them unlock their potential, empowering them as leaders, and assisting them in achieving their goals. Please get in touch and let me know how I can support you!
When we set ourselves a goal, we want to stick to it. Equally, as a leader or manager, you have to effectively delegate tasks in order for your team to perform well and to achieve your aim.
But this is simpler in theory than in practice. Often a leader’s’ experience is that – even when you think you have delegated something effectively – you still encounter problems. People may keep coming back and bugging you with questions, or alternatively the task is not done on time, or the job is not completed to the right standard.
To help avoid these issues we can use the acronym ‘SMART’ when delegating work. SMART stands for:
Specific,
Measurable,
Attainable,
Relevant and
Time-bound.
This method is accredited to George T. Doran (who first described a version of the acronym in the November 1981 edition of Management Review) and since then the method has evolved to encompass various adaptations of the acronym including having an E (for evaluate) and an extra R (for re-evaluate) to create ‘SMARTER’ goals.
Let’s look at each one in more detail.
What a SMART or SMARTER task actually means
S – Specific
When you give someone a goal it needs to be specific. It needs to be clearly defined and unambiguous. Whether it is a large mission or a smaller task you need to express what success looks like.
Specific is the most useful word here but you could also substitute ‘significant’ or ‘stretching’ in here if you want to make a task more aspirational (such as a ‘BHAG’ – Big Hairy Audacious Goal – promoted by Jim Collins in Good to Great) or use it as a reminder to keep things ‘simple’ or ‘sustainable’.
M – Measurable
Next, the task needs to be measureable. In other words, it needs to be possible to track the progress of completion of the goal. If the task is a big one you might need to break it down into separate activities and set milestones to help monitor progress.
Having specified the goal and broken it down to measure it you have the fundamentals of a plan.
A – Attainable
It is good for goals to stretch us but the ‘A’ here makes us ensure that the task is attainable. We can be bold but the task needs to be achievable. A task can stretch a person or a team (this is healthy) but if you are asking the impossible of someone, it will quickly become de-motivational. As a leader, you set goals to help people grow, not to set them up for failure.
Therefore by asking this question we also consider whether the person in question is properly equipped and supported to achieve the task. If it is our goal then we need to reflect upon our readiness. As a manager, we should be checking that whoever we delegate to has the right training and resources to complete their work.
R – Relevant
The task needs to be relevant to the vision of the team or organisation. Ask yourself, does this piece of work take you a step closer to achieving your overall mission? It is in line with your values? If not you may need to redefine the task.
The work also needs to be relevant to the person you are delegating to. Are they the best person for the job? Is it part of their role and job description? Do they have the relevant skills and experience? Will they be developed by this task?
T – Time Dependent
Having to create a timeline makes you properly assess how long a piece of work should take. Considering time also makes you evaluate your priorities and any dependencies that one task may have upon another.
Deadlines also help to keep people accountable for finishing and stop a piece of work dragging on endlessly. The time element, as with everything else, should be set in agreement with the person you are delegating to so that you all ‘contract in’ to the parameters for the work.
E – Evaluate
Adding in the ‘E’ of ‘Evaluate’ is useful as it brings in the discipline of reviewing how well work has been done. It gives the opportunity for feedback; praise, constructive criticism and learning on behalf of the manager and worker.
For a larger goal you might want to consider these evaluation steps and plan them in along with your overall deadline. Make evaluation time dependent too.
R – Re-evaluate
Decision making and learning happen in a cycle. We recognise this by adding the re-evaluation step here. Re-evaluation is a continuation of the learning from the ‘Evaluate’ phase. Once you have identified lessons at the evaluation phase these should be incorporated in the next stage of the activity. This gives the opportunity to learn and improve as the task progresses.
For example, the first time around the deadline might not have been achieved or the person may have needed more support to achieve the goal. Once the task has been re-set and re-started then the results can be re-evaluated to identify improvement.
Set SMART goals and SMARTER tasks
Setting SMART goals helps us ensure that goals are actually achieved. It helps take the goal from an idea to a plan that we have committed to.
Equally the SMARTER approach provides a useful checklist and process by which both a manager and employee can agree upon the parameters for a task and be accountable for its outcome. Setting SMARTER tasks helps to build in the reviewing and learning from goals that if often forgotten or neglected.
So what is your next goal or task? Apply the SMART or model and make sure it happens!
If you want the right answers you have to start with the right questions
About The Right Questions
The Right Questions is for people who want greater clarity, purpose and success. There is a wealth of resources to boost your effectiveness in achieving goals, your leadership of yourself and others, and your decision-making.
Wherever you are on your journey, I hope that you find information on this site to help you on the next leg of your quest. Even if that is just the inspiration to take one small step in the right direction, then that is a success. If you can take pleasure in learning and travelling as you go, then so much the better.
I love to serve people, helping them unlock their potential, empowering them as leaders, and assisting them in achieving their goals. Please get in touch and let me know how I can support you!
Start with Why (How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action) is the title of Simon Sinek’s book, website and TED talk.
Simon Sinek focusses on the fact that for a team to operate effectively everyone needs to be motivated and to feel that they belong. This is the reason leaders need to start with the ‘why’, in other words the purpose, values and inspiration behind any business or project. People are more productive and engaged if they want to do something rather than because they have to do something.
For a customer or client the ‘why’ is also more compelling and alluring as Simon points out in his example about Apple computers. The ‘what’ would express:
“We make great computers. They are beautiful designed, simple to use and user-friendly. Want to buy one?”
Whereas the ‘why’ communicates:
“Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user-friendly. And we happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?”
The ‘why’ is therefore the reason and the belief. The ‘how’ and the ‘what’ are the results that confirm that you are holding fast to these values.
If you want to find out more I recommend that you check out his TED talk here:
If you like that and want more then you will love his book. Check it out by clicking on the link here:
You may notice that Simon Sinek has a slightly different approach to applying the words ‘why’, ‘how’ and ‘what’ to that in The Right Questions, which is of course totally fine! Actually you should see that when you get beyond the definitions the key lessons between the Start with Why methodology and The Right Questions are actually broadly the same and I would agree that overall our actions and decisions are based on our values therefore it is incredible important to understand our ‘why’ before we get into the planning and doing stages.
If you want the right answers you have to start with the right questions
About The Right Questions
The Right Questions is for people who want greater clarity, purpose and success. There is a wealth of resources to boost your effectiveness in achieving goals, your leadership of yourself and others, and your decision-making.
Wherever you are on your journey, I hope that you find information on this site to help you on the next leg of your quest. Even if that is just the inspiration to take one small step in the right direction, then that is a success. If you can take pleasure in learning and travelling as you go, then so much the better.
I love to serve people, helping them unlock their potential, empowering them as leaders, and assisting them in achieving their goals. Please get in touch and let me know how I can support you!