The Value of Impossible Dreams

Regardless of one’s political affiliation, the fact that President Obama’s second inauguration coincides with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day provides an opportunity for reflection on many levels.

When Dr. King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963, many people thought that his dream was impossible.  Given how divided the country was at that time, one can appreciate how impossible his examples of The Dream were, such as “little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”  Imagine how much crazier they would have thought him to be had he said “And I have a dream that one day this country will have a Black President living in the White House.”  And yet here we are.

Dreams, even though they may seem impossible, have great value.  They can tap into our deepest desires, aspirations, and commitments.  If it seems impossible, but it is inspiring and right, then dream the dream and go for it.

This idea is captured wonderfully in the musical “Man of La Mancha” where Don Quixote follows his impossible quest.  This is all depicted beautifully in the musical’s signature song, “The Impossible Dream” (for a great version, click here).  If your dreams include things like:

Fighting the unbeatable foe . . .

Running where the brave dare not go . . .

Fighting for the right, without question or pause . . .

Marching into Hell, for a Heavenly cause ...

Then dream your dreams and follow your unreachable stars.  Who knows, maybe one day you – or those you inspire fifty years from now – will reach those stars.

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 for 2013

I have made a big deal out of the importance of setting goals, rather than new year's resolutions -- both in my blog and in the column I wrote for The Washington Post (click here to read it).

To fully understand how to effectively set goals, please read my new article The Power of Goals which you can download here at no cost.  It is a fourteen page quick read that gives you the essentials for effective goal setting.

But how do you get started if, for example, you want to create annual goals for yourself?

Here is what I suggest.

Start by identifying the "domains" of your life that are most important to you and create an "ideal vision" for yourself.  For example:

*What do I want my health to be like ideally?

*What do I want my social life to look like ideally?

*What do I want my family life to look like ideally?

*What do I want my work life to look like ideally?

*What do I want my spiritual life to look like ideally?

You get the idea.

Set these ideal visions for your life and then step back.  Set at least one goal for yourself for each area of your life for the coming year.  Make sure your goals are SMART (read The Power of Goals to understand more).

Break your annual goals down into quarterly goals and then create action plans to achieve them.  Monitor your performance regularly.

I don't mean to oversimplify.  Setting these visions and goals for yourself is obviously just the beginning.  But it is a very important beginning.  You can then begin the hard work of implementing your goals built on a firm foundation.

Use these ideas, and the guidelines in The Power of Goals, to plan out a fantastic 2013 for yourself.  May the coming year be your best ever!

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.

Set Goals, Not Resolutions

If you took an extended holiday then you might have missed last week’s blog about my new, free e-book.  Check it out here: The Power of Goals

 

Earlier this week, I had an article in The Washington Post also about goals.  You can check it out here.  The highlights:

If it’s time for you to set those once-a-year resolutions that you know will fade by March, then this article is not for you.

But if you are ready to make a long-term commitment to achieving higher levels of performance and having more satisfaction in life, then consider getting serious about goal-setting.

Effective goal-setting is a discipline based on well researched principles.  Ask yourself, do you want to use your time in ways that are more relevant – relevant to what you care about most in your life?  If so, then goal setting can put you on that path.

The first lesson is that you are probably not setting goals nearly enough.  You are probably barely scratching the surface.  To maximize performance you should consider setting long-term goals (e.g., five to 10 years) that you then break down into annual goals, quarterly goals, weekly goals, and even daily goals.  To truly maximize performance, you should do this for every important domain of your personal and work life.  This is based on one of the primary finding from the goal setting research.*

Goals direct attention and action toward relevant activities and away from non-relevant activities.

If you want to really start your new year off right, then follow these guidelines for effective goal setting:

*Set goals as outcomes – on what you really want, not the activities that may lead toward them.

*Make sure that all your goals are SMRT:  Specific, Measurable, Relevant, Time-Bound

*Use the right “A” in your SMART goal formula.  All goals need to be SMRT.  But to be SMART you need to pick the “A” that is right for your situation. Here are your options:

1.  Attainable Goals, which you have an 80+% chance of accomplishing, are good if failing will have many negative consequences.  Attainable goals are good to build some momentum with easy wins, or to learn more about new environments, or if you are concerned about getting discouraged.

2.  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.*  If you feel like you have a good system and you want to maximize performance of it, then this method will help you do it.

3.  Almost Impossible Stretch 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 Stretch Goals.

*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 mind-set will bring you more long-term success than letting the fear of failure keep you from doing what truly inspires you.

I provide more extensive detail on goal setting in the free e-book, The Power of Goals.  If you use these principles and apply them to your personal and work life then I promise you much higher levels of performance, fulfillment, and satisfaction.   But it only works if you take it on as a true, committed discipline – not a once a year fad.  Good luck with all of your goals!

*A Theory of Goal Setting & Task Performance, by Edwin Locke and Gary Latham

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.

The Power of Goals: Free E-Book

Happy New Year!

Click here for your holiday gift – my new e-book on The Power of Goals.  It’s a fourteen-page quick read on the most important principles you need to know for improving your personal performance and fulfillment in life through effective goal setting.

Please share this e-book with co-workers and friends as we spread the word on the opportunity to improve performance by leveraging The Power of Goals!

May your New Year be filled with many blessings and goal accomplishments!

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.

What Does a Great Strategy Report Look Like?

I am often asked about what a good strategy report looks like – the kind you would submit to your Board and then use to guide your organization for the coming years.

I have seen this done well by a number of organizations, and done poorly by even more.  But, recently I had a chance to work with a group – Health Care for the Homeless in Baltimore – which I think has done an excellent job at this.  They have made it public so you can check it out here.

One of the great things about this report is that I, as their consultant, didn’t write it.  When Kevin Lindamood, their CEO, held a conference call with the strategy committee who had been working on the process to review the report, one Board member asked “Who wrote this?”  This is a particularly hard-nosed Board member.  So, I held my breath after Kevin said “I did.”  The Board member said “Well . . . I’ll just say that I have seen many, many strategy reports from nonprofits over the years . . . and this is the best one I have ever seen.”  Exhale.

Certainly, I collaborated with Kevin on the report.  But it was his words, his perspective that captured the work that the strategy planning group had done for a few months.

If I was you, I would be asking “So what?”  Who cares if it was a good “report?”  Great question.

I am teaching a Nonprofit Strategy course to graduate students at the University of Maryland this term and I tell the students that the test of a good strategy is that it actually informs reality – implementation.  I submit that because Kevin wrote the final report, and owned it, that it gave the organization a better chance of actually implementing it.

So, last week we had Kevin in as a guest speaker to the class.  And guess what?  The strategy his Board approved back in July is actually rolling along in the implementation phase.  It’s not easy.  None of this “making a difference” stuff is easy.  But the vision, goals, and strategy they set are guiding them as they lay out their annual operational plan and work to serve the homeless of Baltimore even more effectively.  Staff work groups are being formed around each goal and they are engaged in making their vision and goals a reality.  Now that’s a great strategy report.

Do you have a strategy that is actually guiding your performance to make even more of a Mission Impact?  A consultant can facilitate your process, but don’t let a consultant write your strategy – it’s yours.  

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.