WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?

"We tend to get what we expect."

Norman Vincent Peale

20th century Protestant preacher/author

If, as I do, you believe this is generally true, the next thing you should do is reexamine your expectations.

THE MIND'S CHALLENGE

"Remember, when life's path is steep, keep your mind even."

Horace (BC 65-8) Latin lyric poet

Often the "steeper" (difficult) you believe the "path" (task) to be, the harder it will be to overcome.

Don't imagine it more so than it really is.

DO ALL ENDS JUSTIFY ALL MEANS?

"We would frequently be ashamed of our good deeds if people saw all of the motives that produced them."

François de La Rochefoucauld 

17th century French writer

Which raises the question, does the motive matter if the deed is "good"?

And does your answer change if only you knows the true motivation for your actions?

Where You Headed?

"If you don't know where you are going any road will get you there."

Lewis Carroll

19th century English mathematician/novelist

The off said planning version of this is "If you don't have clearly defined goals any plan will help you accomplish them."

As true in your personal life as it is in your professional life.

It's Your Choice

"It is your own convictions which compels you; that is, choice compels choice."

Epictetus

1st century Greek philosopher

In other words you can choose to choose or not.

If you don't you must accept what chance and others gives you.

If you try things will still not always turn out as you wish.

But they will more often than if you don't.

What Do You Want?

"Unless you have definite, precise, clearly set goals, you are not going to realize the maximum potential that lies within you."

Zig Ziglar

20th/21st century American author/salesman/motivational speaker

There's much more to achieving personal and professional goals than this but if you don't do this, or if you do it incorrectly, none of the rest of it matters.

Which Dog Will You Work For?

"Don't mistake pleasure for happiness. They are a different breed of dogs."

Josh Billings

19th century American humorist

Your career may bring one, sometimes both, occasionally neither.

Make sure you strive for the one you need as much if not more than the one you want.

Looking Beyond

"What you see, but can't see over, is as good as infinite."

Thomas Carlyle

19th century British historian

Is it?

What if believing you see what is beyond, causes you to stop looking?

What's Your Potential?

"Lord we may know what we are, but not know what we may be."

William Shakespeare

16th century British playwright/poet

And all too often, we know neither.

Do you?

Action/Reaction

"Everybody, soon or late, sits down to a banquet of consequences."

19th century Scottish novelist

To what extent if at all do you consider the consequences of your management decisions?

I'm not talking about the chance for success.

I mean the impact of your decisions on those who report to you.

When All Is Said And Done . . .

"The purpose of a business is to create a customer."

Peter F. Drucker

20th century American business consultant, author, educator

Bordering on but not actually over simplifying what business is about.

As Far As You Can And Then Just A Little Farther

"What we obtain too cheaply we esteem too lightly."

Thomas Paine

18th century English philosopher

Agreed.

Those goals easily reached may not have been worth bothering with in the first place.

Reach, really reach.

Where You Headed?

"To the person who does not know where he wants to go there is no favorable wind."

Seneca
4th century BC Roman philosopher

Any plan will get you there if you don't know where you want to be.

Do you?

It Doesn't Have To Be That Way

"Our history is not our destiny."

Alan Cohen

Author

Do you manage as you always have or to achieve the results you want?

Is there a difference between the two?

Where You Headed?

"One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree.  "Which road do I take?", she asked.  "Where do you want to go?", was his response.  "I don't know", answered Alice.  "Then", said the cat, "it doesn't matter."

Lewis Carroll
19th century English mathematician and novelist

I chose the complete quote rather than the more business oriented abbreviated version most all involved in planning will recognize from planning literature, to remind us that goal setting is just as critical in our personal lives as it is in our business lives.

Where do you want to go?

Goals: Are You On The Right Path?

"Perfection of means and confusion of ends seems to characterize our age."

Albert Einstein

In other words, we've got great tools but often do not seem to know what we want to build.

I'm a planning consultant and see that frequently. Working towards the wrong objectives.

If you don't set the right goals, it won't matter if you achieve them.

Management: What's Stopping You?

"The majority see the obstacles; a few the objectives; history records the success of the latter, while oblivion is the reward of the former."

Alfred Armand Montapert

Author

History also records failures, which is often the result of not having tried because one saw "obstacles."

Do see them, but then remove them; don't ignore them or worse, do nothing because they are there.

Goals: What Have You Done?

"You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do."

Henry Ford

Goals, objectives, good intentions . . . all have their place in business; however when the sun goes down we all get paid for our accomplishments.

What we did, not what we do or will do.

What have you done?

Objectives: What Are You Trying To Do?

"Management by objectives works if you first think through your objectives. Ninety percent of the time you haven't."

Peter Drucker

Mr. Drucker was not one to sugar coat things, this quote being but one example of his famous directness. And there could be some exaggeration in this although if so I wouldn't be surprised to learn the real number is at least 75%.

In my (relative to Mr. Drucker) very humble experience, the problem is not so much that clients don't have objectives as it is the fact that they don't have specific objectives that they then tie to specific actions measuring everything as they attempt to reach them.

How about you?