The Ends are easy
"Success is the residue of planning (and resourcing)" Benjamin Franklin
I was having breakfast with an old friend the other day and we were commiserating about work. He was complaining about some people he works with who have all these big ideas yet fail to understand they will require plans and resources. "The Ends are easy," I stated. We both had a laugh. Both of us served well over 20 years in uniform and we understand strategy - Ends, Ways, and Means, very well.
A word on strategy. The word strategy intimidates many people. They envision a room of senior executives with 50lb brains formulating a plan to send a person to Mars. Strategy is just a plan to do something, albeit something rather large and important. We subconsciously strategize about a lot of things. Strategy comprises of Ends, Ways, and Means and it is incomplete like a missing leg on a three-legged stool without all three elements. Ends are the actual objective - what will be done or what will be happening. Ways are methods to accomplish the ends. If strategic Ends are a safer work environment (with a clear definition of what 'safer' means), Ways would be a new set of daily activities or policies to be followed to achieve the Ends. Means are simply resources. A new safety manager and a staff might be required and or a portion of the budget allocated to help achieve ends.
Thus the Ends are easy. Words and thoughts are free. All one needs to do is to say, "We need to do this!" It's the Ways and Means which are hard and without which Ends are subject to failure.
I'm an idea man. I can vision with the best of them but I'm keenly aware that my vision (Ends) needs methods and resources. And while it is wrong to squash the creativity of individuals in an organization, it is irresponsible to accept such creativity or, moreover, begin to execute on such creativity (Ends), without some dose of reality (Ways and Means). This is akin to presenting a problem without a solution.
I'll end with a funny story. There was this non-commissioned officer or NCO I once served with in the Army. I'll call him Sergeant Edwards. Sergeant Edwards was an idea man. He would regularly spout off an idea (Ends), "hey, we should do this," without offering how and with what (Ways and Means) his idea would actually happen. His wild ideas were often met with, "sure Sergeant Edwards. Poof! Just like that, we'll make that happen." We called him the Poof NCO. Indeed he was a valued member of the team who contributed to the greater mission but his habit of spouting off Ends with practically no consideration for Ways and Means earned him the title, "Poof NCO." We all had a laugh.
Ends are inspiring, exciting and worthy of mention. Let the ideas flow I say, but be prepared to do the heavy lifting of Ways and Means - the hard work required to achieve strategic Ends. The Ends are easy.
Make it Personal!
Rob
Rob Campbell