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FranklinCovey Blog | Organization
Do you know the goals?
The Center for Advanced Research at FranklinCovey recently completed a large study on goal awareness in U.S. organizations. The results were alarming. We found that 44% of companies, governments and other organizations reported no goals at all. In addition we found that even when goals have been established, a large percentage of employees have no idea what they are. For instance, we found that 74% of employees in government could not name even one of the goals of their departments or agencies. Overall, only 15% of American workers could name all of the 3 main annual goals of their work units or companies.
In a related study, using a larger sample of respondents but not distributing the respondents proportionately across industry sectors, we found that close to half of front-line employees blamed corporate leaders for not clearly communicating their goals to them. A full third of senior executives agreed with them. Furthermore, even when goals were known, 41 percent of workers said they did not understand what they personally were supposed to do each day to help achieve their company’s goals.
The study is based on results of surveys to 530 companies and 6,778 employees over a 5 year period ending in 2009. In some cases, the responses were weighted to provide an exact replica of basic U.S. industry categories.
It seems that when large numbers of workers show up to work each day not knowing why they are there nor what they are supposed to do all day, that business is probably operating very inefficiently, and that means poor service and lower profits.
It is crucial for employees to know both their team’s goals and their organization’s goals. What can you do today to get up to speed on your organizations goals? We would love to hear from you.
Click here to read the entire report
The Reset Button
What happens when your computer gets overloaded?
It slows down. Everything takes longer. It starts giving you error messages. Soon it freezes, and then it crashes.
It’s the same thing that happens to you when you get overloaded. There’s a natural principle at work here: the things I have to do are infinite, but the capacity I have to do them is limited. (In my case, quite limited.) In our new book, Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times, we talk about how to “push the reset button” on your work and your life when things get scary.
Here’s the issue: At work, everybody’s trying to do more with less. But the real question is, more of what? Are you just trying to do more stuff whether customers value it or not? Are you trying to do the jobs of people who aren’t here anymore, whether those jobs are worth doing or not?
Push the reset button. Ask yourself, what’s the job that really needs to be done? What job do my customers want me to do more than anything else?
Say you’re the only finance person left after everybody else is let go. Do you really need to keep track of every single data point that’s always been tracked? What are the company’s real needs right now? Protecting cash flow? Getting accounts receivable paid up?
Figure out what the organization really needs you to do. Then focus on that job. Instead of trying to do 2 or 3 jobs that “kind of, ought to” be done, strip yourself down to the job that you must do and that only you can do.
I hear you giggling. “Tell that to my boss.” No, you tell it to your boss. In these scary times, nobody—including you—can afford to carry responsibilities that aren’t core to the organization’s purpose.
What else can you do to succeed in the middle of the wild ride we’re all taking right now? We would love to hear from you.
Get a copy of Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times for 30% off.
Becoming a Trim Tab at Work
Imagine you are at the helm of a huge ship moving forward at high speed. You’re the driver, you control the direction of this ship. Now, how is it possible for a single, small person to change the course of something so massive?
To change the ship’s course, you move a steering wheel that operates a rudder, which then turns the ship. But the rudder itself can be enormous, perhaps even ten stories tall on some ocean liners. So what moves the rudder?
A tiny second rudder called a trim tab, which is attached to the big rudder. › Continue reading
Have You Discovered Your Purpose?
Do you have a mission statement? Have you taken the time to put your mission statement down on paper?
According to Dr. Stephen R. Covey a mission statement is like a constitution by which you make all decisions for your life. Highly effective people shape their own future instead of letting other people, their culture, or their circumstance determine it. A mission statement provides direction and clarity for your life, your family, your team and your organization.
Such clarity is critically important in today’s turbulent climate. You may work within an organization with fewer people, fewer resources, more confusion, and more noise-you may be expected to do as much or more with far fewer resources. In order to survive in such an environment, you need a compass to help stay focused and on course in order to make critical decisions and accomplish key priorities.
Benefits of a Mission Statement: › Continue reading
Five tips to reduce your stress: TIP #2
Have some of your colleagues been laid off recently? Are you being asked to pull up the slack and do more with less?
You’re not alone.
I mean, there are still other people in your organization, right?
Tip#2: Embrace Others
Odds are, when you’re working fast and furious, there is probably someone, somewhere in your organization that may have some downtime, or they’re worried about not being aligned with strategic projects. Find them. Grab them. Capitalize on their skills. And have them chip in. People are generally happier when they’re engaged and contributing. Sure, quality might slip a bit and it might take longer for you to get that project done. But there is a huge feeling of relief when you delegate a task to someone and you go back to your office and are able to tackle something else. And there is an even better feeling when they come back to you and the project is finished and better than if you did it yourself. › Continue reading