Planning Next Year
Is it that time of year again?
According to a U.S. government site, some top New Year's resolutions are to lose weight, manage debt, save money, get a better job ... The latter links to a page where you can find your state's job bank.
But a "better" job may be closer than you think.
For starters, resolutions like lose weight and get a better job are fundamentally different. Generally, your weight is your responsibility. You are at fault, choosing what to eat. But working conditions are a group responsibility. Everyone is at fault, conforming to a culture.
To make a job better, forget resolutions. You need goals.
According to an article in Fast Company, goals count. To tell the difference between a resolution and a goal, "follow the fun." What's fun about a goal is the endpoint; what's fun about a resolution is the announcement. A resolution by itself doesn't need visualization, planning, accountability or a way to measure success. You just need to say it--hooray!--and hope no one remembers two weeks later.
It's why a "flavor of the month" fails, I think. "We're going to get more bench space!" isn't a goal. It's a resolution without a definable endpoint, strategy, or financial plan. But "we will move instruments closer to a central workstation and replace CRT monitors with wall-mounted LCD monitors" is better. Businesses are as guilty as individuals of making resolutions and just as bad at keeping them.
Setting goals in your laboratory can be powerful. Visualizing a goal is the first step. The act of imagining an endpoint suggests a strategy, a plan and positive associations. Your actions for the year become linked to that goal. As the authors of the above suggest, it's a way to outsmart your future self into making it happen.
Each year, I give a "goals" presentation to my staff. We try to answer questions like, "How do we make that happen?" And much of it is visualizing the goal itself. That's where the fun begins.