“The good life is a process, not a
state of being.”_Carl Rogers
I have read quite a
few books and countless number of articles on the science of human
achievements. One thing that stands out of all the principles in those texts is
the singular importance of goal setting to any form of success.
Many of the peak
performance experts maintain that ‘goals’ is the be all and end all, in the
world of self-improvements. Some assert that whatever we may choose as our
ambition: in the end, ‘goals’ is everything.
In many ways, this
is true. Outcomes and goals are pretty essential; they are the lag measures by which our intentions become tangible. Without
goals, how can anyone know when they are done?
However, if you
look at things from another angle, you will realize that lag measures (goals) —
as important as they are— come to be because of a series of choices and
actions earlier taken; prior actions are what generates the result at hand.
These series of steps
are what some experts call the lead measures; they are the
process that will give birth to the goal in view. Without them, the grandest
goal in the world will end up as nothing but delusion.
Think about it.
Success or failure
with our goals doesn’t just happen out of thin air, we make it happen through a
series of prior actions, always.
People fail as a
result of repeated errors in judgments, and by the same token, people succeed
by repeatedly making the right choices toward the achievement of their chosen
goal.
Hence, we can succeed
by improving the quality of our process not necessarily by increasing—or even
reducing—the size of our goals!
This is so because
we can always influence the actions that will ensure the goal. As a result, it
makes sense that the process leading to the goal deserves a special
consideration over the goal itself.
The goal in any
game is to beat the competition, but every great team knows that the secret to
making that happen goes beyond merely thinking about the goal.
Therefore, highly
effective leaders choose to focus on the process and consistency of their
performance; they understand that real success comes from striving to do better,
each and every day.
When you adhere to
the right process, the winning will take care of itself. This principle applies
to all areas of our lives. So if we want to make the most of any outcome, all
we need to do is optimize the process of our pursuit.
Put the Process First
From the angle of
business management, Edwards Deming, the American engineer and expert on
corporate efficiency validates this principle when he said:
"Eighty-five percent of the
reasons for failure are deficiencies in the systems and process rather than the
employee.
The role of management is to change
the process rather than badgering individuals to do better."
You see the point?
Deming just accentuates
that if we have any shortage in our outcome, the problem is less about us and
our goals but more about our personal system of operation.
Essentially, most of
us fail to achieve our goals, not because there is a problem with the goals or with
us, but simply because of the weakness in our strategies: our process.
Therefore,
the role of judicious self-management is to focus on improving the process
above all else; herein lays the essence of this entire article.
Finally, if we take charge of the process of
our pursuits, we can guarantee almost any results in our lives. And, when we
are wise enough to optimize for a process that leads to extraordinary outcomes,
we can win big, over and over again.
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