What makes organisations set goals and work towards achieving them? More likely than not it’s the same drive that makes you do the same thing. In this blog I’ll unpack the top behaviours of goal driven organisations and provide a behaviour based checklist for you and your organisation to use.
What are the top behaviours displayed by goal driven organisations: knowing where they are headed, communicating what their future looks like, bringing people along for the ride, capitalising on established trust, rewarding progress? In my experience its all of the above.
I often marvel at organisations that know where they are headed and wonder what I can do be more involved. They fill a behavioural need I have as a human to become an active participant in something I believe in. Like all small boys of my age I needed to be an astronaut. All because an organisation knew where they were headed, displayed a need I could relate to and captured the public imagination with that heading. So much so that this need still holds currency decades later. For the lucky ones among us following this need in themselves has resulted in a fulfilling vocation, career or recreation activity shaping that heading.
Organisations that are good at communicating what their future looks like are bellwethers of public sentiment. They lead the way by driving expectation and building a swell of support for what they are intending to do. Most likely you are currently waiting for something to arrive from your favourite organisation rather than accept what is currently available. Buying into these visions not only drives behaviours of expectation, that manifest in future loyalty, it also guarantees interest in current offerings as people like me and you wait until the future becomes reality before investing. Guaranteeing a continued market presence.
The most successful goal driven organisations are household names, that’s because they’ve mastered the behaviour of bringing you along for the ride. Take a look around you I’m sure there are examples in your immediate reach. Did you go to the local hardware store to replace that handle on your drawer or did you go to a hardware super store? I went to the hardware super store because I’m on board with the message that they have everything that I will need at a good price. Our relationship is pragmatic, not personal, which is right on message with the organisation strategy. It pervades the customer experience, supply chain and economics.
When we trust someone or something it takes a shock to break that trust. Organisations demonstrating behaviours capitalising on established trust relationships are perceived as part of the fabric of our lives. A car manufacturer recently advertised that it built its own raw material processing plant in a bid to capitalise on progress toward achieving its goal of a purer raw material. The focus of the advertising was that it that did not trust the quality of raw material from its suppliers so took control and makes better cars as a result. This advertising not only went a long way to strengthening trust in this car manufacturers end product, it also damaged my trust in its competition and their supplier relationships. This approach engenders further trust in a market where quality is a key selling point.
Do you take the opportunity to reward yourself when you’ve achieved a goal? Goal directed organisations make a point of rewarding progress. These organisations have to measure progress to reward it. They make effective use of information and have a finger on their market’s economic and social pulse. When have you been rewarded as a contributor, as an investor? Were the rewards directly relatable to achieving a goal? What did the rewards relate to? I recently watched a movie where a frequent flyer was so locked in to achieving the goal of elite flier status that he made it his top priority. Now that is brand loyalty. Chances are, like me, you are a member of one or more airline loyalty programs. Hooked by the goal of a higher status or more privilege based on the number of miles you fly or the number of points earned on contributing purchases. Rewarding progress promotes an internal leadership focus on the team / product delivery and an external focus of benchmarking against the competition.
After all, what’s the use of winning against all odds if you don’t set a reward for doing so?
Is your organisation goal driven? Think about your goal horizons and use this checklist to check in with yourself:
- Your inner drive pulls you toward a vision of what is possible – Your energy attracts people who want to help you. Capitalise on their enthusiasm and keep your eye on achieving your next goal. Beware of time wasters.
- You continually reinforce your message to your target audience Your persistence feeds a familiarity that increases the opportunity for intuitive recollection. People select you because you are comfortable. Sow the right message for the right time and harvest success.
- You’ve proven you can deliver what people need and are expecting to do it again You set goals and achieve them. People find it convenient to trust you and your track record when making decisions. Weigh up ‘doing it for them’ or ‘doing it for me’ periodically.
- You set rewards for when you achieve your goals and take them You meet a goal and rewards are unlocked. People benefit from the achievement of your goals. Resist the temptation to reward yourself for almost getting there.