By Dick Mooney

The Case for Setting Goals and Making Action Plans

Goal Setting - Among the many unusual creatures Alice met during her adventures in Wonderland was a Cheshire Cat sitting on a bough of a tree. Since Alice was thoroughly lost, she asked the grinning creature, "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" 

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," replied the Cat. 

"I don't much care where," said Alice 

"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat, grinning even more widely. 

Henry Kissinger put it in similar terms when he addressed the Democratic National Convention in 1953 and said, "If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there."

As the leader of a support group you are responsible for assuring that your group's mission of providing support, information, and encouragement to its members is successfully accomplished. To do this, you must always know where you want the group to go and how it's going to get there. Absent this, the group's program will drift like a rudderless ship in the wind . . . . . and you probably won't like where it ends up.

Establishing goals will not only put you on the right road to your desired destination, but if done collaboratively, the process can be a useful team building tool. When the group, be it your board or officers or the general membership, participates with you in setting goals they will feel more a part of the process and will tend to "own" the goals themselves. They will be inclined to understand better what is required to be done and are likely to adopt a better sense of direction, purpose, and commitment.

Finally, it must be understood that goals emphasize results, not merely efforts. Trying hard isn't good enough. What you want is action and the desired result. The process is frequently referred to as "Managing By Objectives and Results," never "Managing By Objectives and Efforts." One company describes it as not managing the way elementary school teachers do, by giving credit for good attendance and citizenship but, rather, managing as college professors do, by insisting that people learn the material and proving that they have done that by passing the test.

Action Planning - Without planning in detail the steps necessary to achieve objectives, goals are simply statements of good intentions. Action plans "actualize" goals. Goals tell you where you want to go. Action plans tell you what you must do to assure you get there.

Oddly enough, in our personal lives goal setting and action planning are sometimes automatic. They are sometimes things we just do naturally and don't think of them as structured processes. For example, would any of us think of taking a major trip without deciding on a destination and taking the steps necessary to assure we get there and back? If we decide to go to Chicago, that's our goal. But before we leave we have to decide when we're going to leave, when we want to get there, when we want to return. We also need to decide the method of transportation we'll use. Can we afford the transportation cost? Do we need tickets? If we're going to drive, do we need to have the car serviced? Where will we stay while there? What are we going to pack to take with us? . . . . . and so on. These are parts of our action plan. In real life, we just do all this intuitively.

Why, then, don't we just as naturally plan the activities of the organizations we're responsible for managing--in this case our support groups? Too often, we decide we need a newsletter, for example, and rush off willy nilly to start one without thinking through the process. I don't really understand why this happens, but I know it does. Perhaps this article will help us to think about our leadership responsibilities to set goals and develop action plans in a clearer light.

How To Develop Goals

1. Goals should be developed collaboratively - Unless you are a "sole proprietor," you should involve your whole leadership team in developing goals. You should also involve any others who will be involved in implementing the goals. Collaboration helps everyone buy into the goals and it is also an excellent way to get diverse ideas.

2. The development of goals always starts with a comparison of what "is" with what "should be." When these two are not in harmony, action is needed to develop and implement new services, and/or to improve existing services that may be ailing. Before you are ready to define the goal and reduce it to writing a lot of discussion is needed to clarify just what new action or corrective action should be taken. Of course, this should also be a collaborative process and should result in a mutual understanding of what needs to be done. Only then are you ready to proceed with developing a goal statement for "publication."

In setting goals, care should be taken to assure that the desired result is realistically attainable and measurable.

Lee Nattress, in his leadership workshop materials, advocates answering "the 5 Ws and an H." This model includes elements of action planning also.

•  Why - Start by clarifying the needs and purposes of your organization that form the basis for your goals.
•  What - List possible goals, then narrow the alternatives to the ones you intend to pursue.
•  When - Set realistic timelines for each stage in the process, including planning sessions, work sessions, and the actual event (i.e., "result").
•  Where - Determine the location of events (i.e., when the goal is to stage an event - Ed.).
•  How - Decide how you will implement the selected alternatives.
•  Who - Delegate responsibilities equally to all members.

3. Every goal should start by stating the date on which the goal is to be achieved. e.g., "By October 20, 2002, . . . . "

4. Next, there must be an action verb--something you can see happening. If you can't see it you have the right to believe it doesn't exist. "Define," "decide," "implement," and "complete" are all action verbs. "Consider," "review," and "study" are not. "Study" is a process; "complete a study" is a measurable result.

5. Next, state what is to be done in a few words, e.g., "Implement a new system to keep records on members."

6. Finally, whatever the goal is--to implement a new system to keep records, for instance--you'll realize that you have a certain kind of system in mind. Not just any old system will do, For this reason, a sufficient number of qualitative phrases should be added so you will be assured that the result does what is needed. As an example, ". . . . that is automated, and provides for flexible information sorting, needed management reporting, newsletter and other media addressing, supports the needs of the visitation program . . . . . "

7. When there will be costs in attaining the goal, you will want to define the maximum the group is willing to pay, e.g., ". . . . for a total cost not to exceed $___."

Here is an example of a complete goal statement using the record keeping system example:

"By October 20, 2002, implement a new system to keep records on members that is automated, and provides for flexible information sorting, needed management reporting, newsletter and other media addressing, supports the needs of the visitation program, and is accomplished for a total cost not to exceed $___."

How To Make Action Plans

Action planning is largely a matter of identifying all the steps that have to be taken before the final result can be achieved. Again, the collaborative process is ideal for this. In a "buzz session" setting, one is likely to identify steps that another has not thought of.

Some action steps can be done in parallel but others can only be done serially; i.e., the result of one is needed before the next can begin. Thus, the order that action steps are arranged is very important, but don't get hung up on timing while you are still trying to identify the steps. In the days before computers, I used to write each action step on a 3" X 5" card as fast as my staff and I could think of them. Then, when we were reasonably sure we had all the important ones, we would stand around a conference table and move the cards around until we had them in a logical order. Only then would I have the list transcribed to paper for further definition.

Once the list of action items is complete and in the proper order, you must add completion times for the each step and the names of those responsible for completing each step. The following example is taken from the article about SWOT Analysis in the August, 2001, issue of the Communicator.

( The goal was "By December 31, implement an automated record keeping system that can be used to address mail, manage the peer visitation program, support dues and donations collection, and provide information needed by the Board.")

• Make a priced list of what is needed (John - by 8-1-01)
• Establish a fund raising goal (John - by 8-1-01)
• Make a list of potential donors (Louise - by 8-1-01)
• Prepare a "pitch" to prospective donors (Louise - by 8-1-01)
• Contact prospective donors (John, Louise, Becky, Ed - begin 8-15-01)
• Complete raising funds - (John, Louise, Becky, Ed - 11-15-01)
• Purchase and install necessary hardware and software (John - by 12-1-01)
• Install and test database management system (John - by 12-15-01)

Once your goals and action plans are complete you have to work them and make sure the others involved do also. Don't be like a woman I once knew who thought she could lose weight by purchasing diet books. These kinds of process and service improvement activities don't usually generate much inertia. Instead, progress tends to grind to a halt as soon as the boss's back is turned. For this reason, the leader must be relentless in assuring that everyone does his or her assigned part and that deadlines are met. Otherwise, you have gone through this whole process for naught. It's called wasting time.

Finally, realize that goals and action plans aren't cast in concrete. Times change, needs change, and those changes may have an effect on the goal attainment process. If a goal proves to be badly conceived, rework it. When you get into the process, if you decide that the action steps weren't well designed, redesign them. Times are dynamic. Goals and action plans need to be dynamic also.