Before You Head Off, Make Sure You Know Where You Are Going - The Importance of Clear Objectives.

The title of this article sounds like simple advice, but so often we undertake activities and projects without really understanding how they are going to help us to achieve our aims. I have outlined below some of the causes of this cavalier (and costly) approach to business improvement along with how we might approach things differently.

The latest thing!

In business we are often worse devotees of fashion than any teenager. We undertake initiatives, programmes and structural changes regularly to follow the latest trends in management thinking. Think of business process re-engineering, lean manufacturing, web services, outsourcing, "off-shoring" - the list is endless. Now each of these have their place and can have a dramatic, and often very positive, effect on an organisation, but how often are they selected simply because they are what everyone else is doing or what the consultants are pushing this year?

All of the activities listed above are tools to achieve certain aims and every organisation's aims are unique.

Don't follow everyone else down the A1 if you are trying to get to Aberdeen!

Busy fools

Although in some organisations bureaucracy can lead to action never being taken on anything, in many the opposite is true. Particularly in the SME sector, action is prized much higher than planning. This can help in adapting quickly to change but often has the effect of creating "busy fools". Doing something is better than doing nothing, but it is worth a check to determine whether we are doing the right thing.

That five minutes to check the map before we pull away can save hours in getting lost on the way to our destination!

Stop and Think!

Before undertaking any activity or project, stop and think about how it meets your strategic objectives. If you don't have any strategic objectives then get that sorted before you do anything else.

With a clear idea about what your organisation is trying to achieve you can "cherry-pick" from the tools and techniques available and ensure that all of your resources are focussed on activities that will help you to achieve those aims. The success of these activities is also greatly enhanced, as employees understand why they are undertaking them, instead of paying them lip service while dismissing them as the management team's latest fad.

Full steam ahead!

Once you know where you are going, and you have selected the tools, techniques and projects that will take you there, you can charge full steam ahead, safe in the knowledge that you are not heading in the wrong direction.

Glen Feechan is Chief Executive of Feechan Consulting Ltd (http://www.feechan.co.uk), a business consultancy specialising in business process improvement training and consultancy. Email Glen at glen@feechan.co.uk.

Glen is also the editor (and regular contributor) of Changing Business ezine (sign up at http://www.feechan.co.uk).

In The News:

---

Google News Updated : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:49:09 GMT Coleman calls off negative ads - Minneapolis Star Tribune MinnPost.com Coleman calls off negative ads Minneapolis Star Tribune - 24 minutes ago By Patricia Lopez, Star Tribune ...and it has nothing at all to do with several outlets (including one of Franken's ads) letting us know that a Coleman ad that wants us to … read more see Franken looking out of control/angry, is actually video of ... Coleman: I'll remove negative ads and urge others to do same Pioneer Press Coleman says he'll pull negative ads to focus on economy Minnesota Public Radio KAALtv.com - The Hill - The Associated Press - OpEdNews all 460 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:25:04 GMT Help Support Breast Cancer Awareness With Lifespring Health - MarketWatch ChattahBox Help Support Breast Cancer Awareness With Lifespring Health MarketWatch - 1 hour ago Lifespring Health will be Donating $5 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation Each Time you Shop Online This Month SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct 10, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- October is breast cancer awareness month! Go "Passionately Pink for the Cure" on Oct. 17 Atlantic News Telegraph Panera Bread to sell pink bagels Times Herald-Record SkinInc.com - BurlingtonFreePress.com - Chambersburg Public Opinion - Penn State Worthington Scranton all 68 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:05:31 GMT NATO agrees on Afghan drug role for military - The Associated Press Boston Globe NATO agrees on Afghan drug role for military The Associated Press - 1 hour ago BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) - NATO defense ministers Friday authorized their troops in Afghanistan to attack drug barons blamed for pumping up to US$100 million (euro74 million) a year into the coffers of resurgent Taliban fighters. NATO Joins Drug War in Afghanistan Voice of America NATO to Hit Drug Trade in Afghanistan New York Times AFP - Bloomberg - International Herald Tribune - Times Online all 1,309 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:11:48 GMT A Cautious Approach to Gardasil Shot - U.S. News & World Report Canada.com A Cautious Approach to Gardasil Shot U.S. News & World Report - 34 minutes ago News today cheering the fact that 1 in 4 teen girls has received the Gardasil vaccine sounds to me like some serious spin from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the government agency pushing girls as young as 9 to get the shot. Cancer Vaccine Used by 25% of Girls 13 to 17 New York Times Quarter of adolescent US girls received HPV vaccine Reuters WebMD - dBTechno - Wall Street Journal - eFluxMedia all 463 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:14:13 GMT UPDATE 1-Bush says US moving quickly to solve market crisis - Forbes Canada.com UPDATE 1-Bush says US moving quickly to solve market crisis Forbes - 1 hour ago WASHINGTON, Oct 10 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Friday the US government was moving aggressively to address the financial markets crisis, but he acknowledged that anxiety was feeding on itself as stocks continued to plunge. Bush appeals for confidence CNNMoney.com Bush Says Markets Must Remain Calm Despite Challenges Washington Post Reuters - The Associated Press - TheStreet.com - CNN all 1,456 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:33:45 GMT States probe possible voter registration fraud - Chicago Tribune ABC News States probe possible voter registration fraud Chicago Tribune - 1 hour ago Questions about possible cases of fraudulent voter registrations were being raised this week as officials in several states investigated hundreds of questionable or duplicate registration forms submitted by an advocacy group. Carnahan statement on ACORN registration mess Kansas City Star Republicans try to tie Obama to vote fraud cases Boston Globe ABC News - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Inter Press Service - MyFox Tampa Bay all 1,193 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:48:10 GMT Eagles' Westbrook out for Sunday's game - Sports Network Sports-Odds.com Eagles' Westbrook out for Sunday's game Sports Network - 28 minutes ago Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook will not play on Sunday at San Francisco. Westbrook, who has been hampered by a sprained ankle he suffered in the Week 3 victory over Pittsburgh, fractured his ribs in ... Brian Westbrook: Ruled Out Rotowire Les Bowen: Eagles vs. 49ers: The pick Philadelphia Daily News WILM News Radio - NFL News - Kansas City Star - The Associated Press all 642 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:20:18 GMT RSS Software More Web Site Traffic