goals and alignment

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One of the most basic problems I see in business today is the misalignment of the organizational structure. The process of moving an organization toward a goal in a timely manner seems simple enough, yet I see so many business go lopsided and fall short of their goal.

This most often is caused by management trying to move in a separate direction from the rest of the organization. Management believes they are working toward the same goal, but are constrained by being measured differently than their employees for success. This small discrepancy means that resources, time, and money are routed toward activities that don't allow the organization to move in a cohesive manner, and is incredibly dangerous for an organizations with time sensitive goals (are there any that do not have time sensitive goals?). Improperly incentivized employees lose focus and the organization begins to look more like an amoeba than a nimble, fast moving team.

Management often realizes too late in the process that the organization needs to realigned, and precious time is consumed restructuring while critical success deadlines pass. The way to create alignment is to start at the onset by setting proper goals. A system I use a lot is the s.m.a.r.t. goal system. A goal should be specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time bound. In an organizational structure it is of extreme importance that these goals are aligned. A managers measure of success should be the sum of their employees; no more, no less. This ensures that all members of the organization are focused on the same goal and that additional time, money, and resources, are focused on achieving the goal. This will create a nimble, fast moving organization with a high goal attainment rate. Thanks for watching and I look forward to your feedback!

Comments

[Joshua Jordison]

This is your best video yet. I am going to pass this along to our executive director, at the Philharmonic. I think he would enjoy it and take away a lot. Keep it up man. It seems like you are onto something incredibly profound.

-Josh

[eric kam]

Thank you Jeff. So far many things I needed to say, you have said best.

I agree that the dots really let the message come through.

[jeff monday]

Kam and Josh,

Thank you so much for the feedback!

- jeff