Articles for Success

Intentions. We all have them. Sometimes we have good intentions. Sometimes we don’t. The one
thing that is always true about intentions is that they drive our actions. Often however our actions
and our results don’t align with our intentions. The disconnect occurs when we don’t link our actions
to our intentions. This disconnect is magnified in organizations where there are lots of individual
intentions and lots of individual actions. There are a few things we can do to increase the likelihood
that our results align with our intentions.

GET CLEAR ON YOUR INTENTIONS
First off, get to the bottom of the intention. Many times we set goals without clearly understanding
the true intention of the goal. Not long ago I was about to set a goal to reduce my weight. A friend
kept asking me why I wanted to loose the weight. After a short conversation I realized that what I
actually wanted was to get back into the physical condition so I could enjoy long ski days and keep
up to my wife on our bike rides. As a result of getting clear on my true intentions, I did not set a goal
of weight reduction. I set a goal of increasing my exercise.
In relating this idea to an organization, I had worked with an organization that set their goal for
growth. Many organizations have set growth goals. I had a hunch however there was something
deeper. After a long conversation it became clear that the growth goal was actually required to fund
the development of a new technology. Their goal became develop a new technology that would better
serve their customers. Revenue growth then became one strategy to fund their development, along
with many others. Again, getting clear on the intentions of the goal lead to specific strategies that
created the true results the organization was looking for.

LET EVERYONE KNOW YOUR INTENTIONS
After your intentions are clarified, you should share them with everybody. After I set my goal of
exercise, I told everyone about my intentions. My friends and colleagues all knew I wanted to keep
up to my wife on our rides and ski days and they all helped me focus. When ever I got busy with
work or socially, they would work with me to ensure that I was getting my exercise in. It was great to
have the support, especially on those days when I just didn’t want to fit it all in.
Often with organizations goals, and the intentions behind, them are not shared with everyone. There
are many reasons for this: forgot to share them; didn’t think employees would care; didn’t think
employees had an impact; fear that competitors will learn of them; the list goes on. Regardless of the
reason, it has always been far better off to share the organizations goals and intentions with
everyone. The more people that know them, the more action that can be taken.
The best illustration of the importance of sharing your intentions with everyone in your organization is
the story of Jim. Jim worked for a gas pipeline that wanted to expand. Before expansion they needed
to ensure there would be enough demand to pay for construction and operating costs. Jim’s job was
to ensure the pipeline right-of-way was clear and safe. His day consisted on driving the right-of-way
trimming trees and grass and checking the equipment to ensure it was working properly. Jim knew
the company goal of growth and the reasons for it. One day while riding with Jim he pulled off the
right-of-way drove over to large construction site. After a short conversation he learned that a
developer was building a large complex to house a manufacturing plant that could possibly use
natural gas. Jim passed the information to others in the company for follow-up. None of this would
have happened if Jim didn’t know the intentions of the organization.

SET GOALS AND STRATEGIES WHICH ALLOW YOU TO WIN
Often goals and strategies are abandoned because they are next to impossible to achieve or execute.
A few days into the New Year we bumped into my nieghbour and asked if she would join me us for a
glass of wine. She quickly said “NO WAY” and informed us that she had given up drinking. When I
asked her why, she informed me that her and her husband had been to lots of dinners and parties
through the last month and that she has gained weight and she was going to loose it by not drinking.
A few days later I was at there home to celebrate a number of birthdays, including my nieghbour’s.
As we all toasted to the birthday celebrities she informed me that her goal didn’t last too long and
joined us all in the toast. Having a goal of not drinking at all did not set my nieghbour up to win. A
strategy of drinking less, or only a certain number of days a month or week is a better strategy that
will set her up to win.

I worked with a company that had an increase in traffic accidents. Management was concerned with
the trend and set a goal zero accidents for the year. Three weeks into the year they had their first
accident. Regardless of their effort for the next eleven months, they had already failed their goal for
the year. This goal did not set them up to win.

TRACK YOUR RESULTS AND SHARE WITH EVERYONE
Often we can forget about our goals and the intentions behind them. The hustle and bustle of
balancing work and home life often gets us back to our old habits. One way to keep our goals and
intentions alive is to track the results and share them with everyone. With my goal of exercise I
tracked the number of hours each week. I also shared these with my wife and friends so they knew
where I was at. More than once I had a friend call me up to get me out when I was behind on my
results.

Tracking results is crucial for organizations to hit their goals as well. I use to work for a company that
set goals each year and not track them. It then became a game at the end of the year to somehow
show that you hit your goal so you could collect a bonus. One year we decided to track our goals and
what the bonus payout would be. Interestingly enough that year we surpassed all of our goals.
Even though we are working our way through the 1st quarter, it is not too late to get clear on your
intentions. 2006 can be a great year! You just have to be clear about your intentions, let everyone
know about them, develop goals and strategies that set you up to win, and track your results.

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Written by Brad Clements
PERFORMANCEDECISIONS
brad@performancedecisions.com