Brian Tracy explains how clear direction helps you hit deadlines and budgets. He introduces GOSPA: Goals, Objectives, Strategies, Priorities, Activities. A five-part framework for setting targets, delegating tasks, and aligning actions to long-term goals.
Did you know that the greater clarity you have with regard to where you're going, the more likely you are to get there on budget and on schedule? You've heard it said that when you are up to your you know what in alligators, it's hard to remember that you came here to drain the swamp. Because of the turbulence of today's marketplace, most executives and managers have been reduced to operating almost like firefighters on a daily basis. They are totally preoccupied with short term problems and the need to get short term operating results. They mean to spend more time thinking and planning for the future, but they don't ever seem to get around to it. But this is not for you. You need to set clear targets for yourself and for every part of your business. In fact, perhaps your most important responsibility to your people is is to give them a clear sense of direction in their work. According to psychologists, the greatest single demotivator in the world of work is not knowing what's expected. There's a simple five part formula that you can use for the rest of your career to develop a sense of direction. It's called the GOSPA formula. G O S P A G stands for goals. A goal is a specific place where you want to end up at the end of a specific period. For example, your goal could be a certain volume of sales or a certain level of profitability at the end of the year. The letter O in the Gospel formula stands for objectives. These are the sub goals, like the rungs on a ladder that you will have to accomplish in order to achieve your long term goal. If your one year goal was a certain dollar level of profitability, your objectives could be in the areas of sales, distribution, manufacturing, cost control, staff development, technology and so on. If you achieve those objectives, you will achieve your long term goal. The third letter in GOSPA S stands for strategies. Your strategy is the method that you are going to use to accomplish the objective on the way to your goal. For example, with regard to sales, your strategy could be to build an internal sales force. Your strategy could also be to outsource all selling to a professional sales organization. And there could be numerous sub strategies within this single sales strategy. The fourth letter in the Gospel formula P stands for priorities. What are the things that you will have to do first and what are the things that you will have to do second? Which items are more important and which items are less important? Your ability to set priorities and work on key tasks is central to your success and effectiveness. The final letter in the GOSPA formula is A which stands for activities. These are the specific daily functions that are clearly delegated to specific individuals with standards of performance and deadlines. If you have thought out this process completely, each activity will be determined by the current priorities. The achievement of the priorities will lead to the accomplishing of the strategy. When your strategy is carried out, you'll achieve your objectives, and at the end of the time period, you will have reached your goal of a specific level of profitability. One of the primary examples of executives and high profit businesses is that they think and act strategically at all times. They're always playing down the board. They're always thinking about the future and about the various different things that they can do to make their desired future a reality. Now, what are you going to do differently as a result of what you've just learned about the GOSPA formula? In the next business briefing, you'll learn how to focus on key profit areas.
