Contents
Hello dear blog readers! Today we will study another planning and goal setting tool, namely the goal tree method. It is one of the most effective methods, as well as the most frequently used, especially in large corporations and organizations.
General information
It was developed in 1957 by such researchers as Churchman and Ackoff. The name was given due to the fact that it really resembles a tree with branches, only upside down. It allows you to structure and rank goals, plan activities, and even put your thoughts in order.
By the way, the orientation can be both professional and personal, it is not necessary to use this tool only in the workflow. Although he is quite successful in predicting the development of both computer technology and in the field of medicine, science, and so on. The deadline for achieving the goal does not matter, it is possible to plan activities for a year ahead, and for 10 years, or just for a month.
Instructions
Construction begins with the preparation of the necessary materials. Who likes to use modern technologies, you will need programs such as Mind Manager, SmartArt MS Word or any other convenient for you. By the way, the electronic version can be issued in the form of a presentation for colleagues, clients or superiors. For fans of the old ways, you will need a pen and a sheet of A4 paper.
1. Purpose
We start from the top of our tree, which symbolizes the largest and most important goal. Usually she answers such questions: “What do I want to achieve?”, “Who do I want to become?”, “What do I aspire to?”. This, by the way, is a good exercise in realizing your true desires and needs. After all, sometimes it happens that in the process of planning a person realizes that he really wants something else, or that he has chosen completely wrong ways to achieve what he wants. So, back to the topic, for example, for example, the dream of flying to the Maldives in December next year will be a priority.
2. Sub-goals
Now it’s time to break down the big goal into smaller sub-goals. To put it metaphorically, you won’t be able to eat an elephant at a time, no matter how hard you try and no matter how hungry you are. But if you do it gradually, piece by piece, then the task will become more feasible. So at this stage, you should think about what needs to be done to realize your desire. That is, what tasks need to be solved, implemented in order for the main dream to become a reality, under what circumstances can one count on a successful outcome, and so on.
3. Clarification
Try to determine the essence of each subgoal, that is, divide it into those that depend directly on you, on other people, and, accordingly, circumstances. They can be arranged on a tree as a branch with external tasks, conditions, internal, and indirect, that is, on the implementation of which you do not have direct influence, but you can make some changes in your power.
4. Tasks
Now we rank each subgoal in the same way and split it into even smaller tasks. This procedure is carried out until it reaches tasks that can be completed in the shortest possible time intervals without spending much effort.
If we return to our example with the Maldives, then first we need to save up and earn, say, $2. Accordingly, we will have to put about $400 into the account every month during the year. That is, $200 every two weeks. Wages will not be enough, so you will have to find an additional passive way of income. The principle, I think, is clear, continue until you reach the choice of a tour operator or partner, as well as ways to daily contribute to the dream, for example, by reducing waste on buying cigarettes and so on.
Recommendations
- If you created your own tree, and after a while decided to supplement it, because an insight came or difficulties were added that also need to be overcome, but there is not enough space — do not be lazy, but take a new blank sheet and rewrite all plans more compactly. The same is true in the case when the deed is done or the need for it has disappeared — do not draw, but create a new pyramid.
- Activity planning should be phased, that is, one task flows smoothly into another, and not abruptly, from one direction to another.
- Dealing with your dreams and learning how to structure them, prioritize is a very important skill, which, by the way, rarely anyone has, let’s say, from birth. But this case is very easy to learn, so check out this article.
- Also important is the ability to recognize your desires and needs so that they are close to reality and feasible. But for this you need to understand your importance in this world, so to speak, the purpose and meaning of life. Therefore, see also the article about the meaning of life.
- Do not be afraid to make mistakes, try, experiment. At first, it may be difficult for you to take into account all the levels and plan activities correctly, but over time you will gain experience, which is why you will cope with such tasks more efficiently and quickly. By the way, for the experiment, try another tool that is a bit similar to the «pyramid» in its functions, it is described in the article about the Delphi method.
- Do not forget that it is important to make every effort to make what you want come true, so do not limit yourself to this method, start practicing alpha rendering. It helps to correctly formulate your dreams and direct positively charged thoughts into the Universe in order to speed up the process of realization.
- Try to create such a pyramid for every area of your life, that is, in addition to work, think about what you want to achieve in family life, what kind of person you want to become in the future, what you are striving for in terms of education, and so on. What do you need to feel the fullness of life?
Conclusion
And that’s all for today, dear readers! The system works in this way: the more you put in effort, the closer you are to achieving what you want, so never stop, but move towards your dreams, no matter what obstacles appear in your path. Take care of yourself and loved ones!
The material was prepared by Zhuravina Alina.