A “Mess” of Trouble is Heading our Way!

You probably have things in your organization that you know need to change, that you want to change, that you know absolutely must change, but – how do you get started?

Many experts agree that the first step in leading a change is to create a “sense of urgency” among those who need to help make that change happen.  But how do you do that?

One of my favorite recipes for creating a sense of urgency is an approach invented by Dr. Russell L. Ackoff, which Russ calls “Formulating the Mess.”

Russ says is that in order to get people to change, you need to need to very graphically show them what a “mess” they are going to be in during the future if they don’t change what they are doing now.  He recommends articulating a very clear future, which extrapolates current trends, and gives a specific picture of what the future will look like if change does not occur.  In fact, Russ says that “it is critical that the mess be presented in as realistic, as believable, and as shocking way as possible.”*

An example Russ gives is work he did with leaders of labor and management at an Alcoa plant in Tennessee who could not get others to understand that both sides in their contract dispute had to change their hard line positions.  They printed fake copies of the town newspaper, dated four years into the future, with the headline “Blount County to Lose Alcoa Plant and 2,300 Jobs.”  The lead article went on to explain the amount of money that the company would lose and the devastation to the local community economy.  Not seeing the date immediately, many people thought the paper was real.  The effort had its intended effect and both sides changed their demands.

I only wonder what might have happened if some leaders from the historic -- now defunct -- nonprofit, Hull House in Chicago, had done something similar years ago when their financial problems started.  Maybe they would have made the dramatic changes necessary and would still be around for the kind of people in need they had served since 1889.

Does your organization need to make significant change?  Show others the “mess” you will be in during the future if you don’t.

*Russell L. Ackoff, Re-Creating the Corporation, Oxford University Press, 1999.

For more ideas on how you can lead breakthroughs in your organization, follow this blog and check out my web site at www.SheehanNonprofitConsulting.com   You will find free resources you can download, including a Breakthrough Strategy Workbook that you can download at no cost.  You can also check out my book, Mission Impact:  Breakthrough Strategies for Nonprofits, and buy it if you are interested.  And you can follow Sheehan Nonprofit Consulting on Facebook.

Goal Setting Primer

This is a summary of all the important things you need to remember about goals, with links to my earlier blogs for more detail.  Tack this to your bulletin board as a reminder.

1.  Set Goals!  The mere act of setting even general goals helps direct attention to relevant activities.*  Keep your life and work more relevant by setting goals.

2.  Set Goals as Outcomes.  Focus on what you really want, the results – not the activities.

3.  SMRT.  Make sure that ALL your goals are Specific, Measurable, Relevant, Time-Bound.  The more specific the goals, the more explicitly performance is regulated.*

4.  SMART v. 1.0:  Attainable Goals, which you have an 80+% chance of accomplishing, are good to use if failing at it will have many negative consequences.

5.  SMART v. 2.0:  Aggressive Goals, which you have a 35% chance of accomplishing, will improve your performance.  Research shows that the more difficult the goal, the higher the level of performance.*  But you have to be willing to accept the possible risks of failure.

6.  SMART v. 3.0:  Almost Impossible Goals, which you have a 1% chance of accomplishing, will require you to design innovative ways of going about accomplishing your goal.  “Working harder” on the same process won’t do it.  You have an opportunity for Breakthrough Performance with Almost Impossible Goals.

7.  Almost Impossible Goals are based on the philosophy that “Great Leaders Have a Healthy Disregard for the Impossible.”  Many things that people once thought impossible have been accomplished.  Set goals that inspire you and go for it!

8.  Celebrate Noble Failure.  If you are inspired to pursue a goal and you go for it, but you don’t make it all the way, then appreciate the progress you have made and appreciate that you worked hard at something you really cared about.  This approach will bring you more long term success than letting the fear of failure keep you from doing what truly inspires you.

If you use these principles and apply them to your personal and work life then I promise you much higher levels of performance and satisfaction.  Good luck with all of your goals!

I will write up an article discussing the eight goal-setting blogs and will post it as a free download on my web site by July 15, 2012.  Check it out then – SMART move.

*Locke, E. A. & Latham, G. P.  A Theory of Goal Setting & Task Performance.  Englewood Cliffs, NJ:  Prentice Hall, 1990.

For more ideas on how you can lead breakthroughs in your organization, follow this blog and check out my web site at www.SheehanNonprofitConsulting.com   You will find free resources you can download, including a Breakthrough Strategy Workbook that you can download at no cost.  You can also check out my book, Mission Impact:  Breakthrough Strategies for Nonprofits, and buy it if you are interested.  And you can follow Sheehan Nonprofit Consulting on Facebook.