Have you ever felt like you were treading water? You’re busy, doing worthwhile things, but at the end of the day, you still wonder what you actually accomplished.
The problem might not be the effort you’re putting in. It could be the way you’re starting.
Whether we’re talking about a major business initiative, a training project, or even something at home, starting with a goal sounds obvious. But there’s another question worth asking:
Are we starting with the right goal?
Get into the habit of questioning the goal in front of you. It only takes a moment to ask:
What are we really trying to accomplish?
Don’t confuse the deliverable with the goal
Our brains naturally gravitate toward the most immediate answer. Consider a training project.
We might begin with:
“Our goal is to create an engaging and innovative training experience.”
But is that really the goal?
Ask why.
Why do we need an engaging and effective training experience?
Perhaps the answer is:
“So employees can perform their jobs more effectively.”
Keep going.
Why does that matter?
“Because their performance contributes to a business result we need to achieve.”
Now we’re getting to the real goal.
Creating the training is a deliverable. Employee performance is an outcome. The business result is the reason the work matters.
That distinction changes how we approach the project.
Let the goal guide the work
It’s entirely possible to create a polished, engaging training experience that earns excellent participant ratings and still accomplishes very little for the organization.
The same problem occurs outside training. Teams can successfully complete projects, implement processes, launch initiatives, and produce deliverables without meaningfully improving the result that prompted the work in the first place.
That’s why the goal matters.
Before beginning significant work, ask:
What are we really trying to accomplish?
Then keep asking why until you’ve moved beyond the activity or deliverable and reached the outcome that matters.
When the real goal is clear, it becomes easier to make decisions, evaluate tradeoffs, measure success, and recognize when the work is actually finished.
Starting with the right goal doesn’t just help you finish the project.
It helps ensure the project was worth doing in the first place.