Chairman Emeritus Reconnect 43 – “Goal Setting”

My dear friends,

Having explored the purpose of your life, you will have to set your time bound goals. It is desirable to recheck once the purpose of your life. Strong lives are motivated by dynamic purposes” said Kenneth Hildebrand. Goal setting starts with dreaming, envisioning and fixing your mission. “Do not worry if you have built your castles in the air. They are where they should be. Now put the foundation under them” said Henry David Thorean. “He is in possession of his life, who is in possession of his story” said Carl Jung.

Purpose→Dreams→→SWOT→→ Vision & Values →→Mission & Objectives→→Goals/ Targets/ Milestones

“Dream, dream and dream. Dream transforms into thoughts. Thoughts result in actions. Small aim is a crime” said Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. “Think BIG, Think AHEAD and Think FAST” said Dhirubhai Ambani. Goal is a dream with Deadline & Direction.

Bi-focal Vision is necessary. You should see your life with a bifocal spectacle which facilitates you to have a clear long-range vision of the purpose and goal of life and to visualize with equal clarity the short-term action plans and milestones compatible to the roadmap of your life.

Do you write down 4 or 5 personal goals for the year on 1st January each year, or on your birth day? According to a Study at Harvard, only 3% of people have set goals and they achieve what 97% achieve put together. Discovering your Personal Mission Statement from ‘your fire within’ gives your life a defined purpose and direction and empowers you to lead your life instead of spending your life reacting! Family mission statement can in fact be displayed in your Drawing Room. It’s the fire within, the deep-burning “yes” that empowers us to say “no” confidently to the less important things in our lives. Priorities of mission objectives having been set, your goals have to be SMART, the abbreviation standing for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time bound.

Goals are cascaded throughout the organization you work for. Personal and organizational goals can be synchronized for resonance and unbelievable amplitudes of performance. For instance, if you wish to become world’s most renowned expert in IT and your Company is into IT products, there can be a perfect synchronization of the two enhancing each other’s brand value. The Magic of Organizational Physics is in the understanding of the intrinsic natural frequency of individuals and synergizing the same with the induced frequency of the organizational enthusiasm.

“Vision without action is merely a dream; action without vision just passes the time; vision with action attached with passion can change the world.” Passionate people have benchmarks of yesteryears. Nothing is impossible as “impossible” itself sounds “I-m-possible”. Strong will, determination and passion make impossible possible.

The entire process from dreaming to goal setting can be understood through an example. I wish to quote an organizational example of National Power Training Institute (NPTI) with my first-hand experience as CEO for 5-years.

 

Dreams

At NPTI we had spent first 3-months on the “Value-Vision” exercise. “NPTI in the new millennium” containing a 30- point dream tagged on phrases starting from each of the 30-letters of the institution’s name i.e. National Power Training Institute; was displayed at the entrance of each Unit including the Corporate Center. Every letter of the institute’s name was expanded in a phrase to capture the common dreams, values, vision, hopes, aspirations, ethos and commitments. They not only became the “dream in shape” for NPTI family but turned into “Mantras” with vibrations and resonance.

No	Starting Letter of the Mantra	Mantra
1	N	Nurturing Human Resources Development in Power Sector
2	A	Absolute Quality consciousness
3	T	Train and facilitate the growth of every power professional
4	I	Integrating Information Technology with Hi-Tech Training
5	O	Organizational Excellence
6	N	Nonpareil
7	A	Attitudinal Reorientation to Cultivate Values & Ethics
8	L	Leadership in interfacing technology with management
9	P	Proactive Client – Orientation
10	O	Orchestrate values with Business
11	W	Work to evolve as transnational organization of distinction
12	E	Energize people who energize the nation
13	R	Reverberating with Enthusiasm to tap human endowments
14	T	To emerge as Global Leaders in HRD of Power Sector
15	R	Rendering Cutting Edge Technologies
16	A	Attain Self-sustenance
17	I	Institutionalizing Best Practices
18	N	Nourishing boldness and benevolence
19	I	Inputs designed to improve outputs
20	N	Network to pool expertise
21	G	Galvanize Power Professionals

22	I	Innovation at its best
23	N	No end to learning
24	S	Sharing our knowledge – caring for your needs
25	T	Touch of perfection every where
26	I	Internalizing environmental concerns in power technologies
27	T	Together in pursuit of brilliance
28	U	Upgrading skills & knowledge continually
29	T	Temple of wisdom & motivation is our workplace
30	E	Enhance value additions

SWOT Analysis (Environmental Scanning)

SWOT Analysis (identifying Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) of individuals as well as organizations is extremely helpful in goal setting. While analyzing the above, constraints start appearing very clearly and action plan to overcome weakness and to defuse the threats emerges as described by Eliyahu M. Goldratt in his popular book “The Goal”. He outlines the Theory of Constraints (TOC) to save your plant/ industry/ organization. NPTI was on the verge of merger with some larger organization of Power Sector due to its insolvency.

A pocket size booklet on SWOT culminating into a 40-point strategic charter was published and slipped into the pockets of all NPTI staff. It was drawn under the following heads:

1. Multi-dimensional enlargement of Scope
2. Backward Integration of Power Training Experience with Academics
3. Turn-around on Self-sustenance
4. Esteem Building for the institution
5. In-house Capacity Building and Performance orientation

Vision with Values & Convictions

NPTI cherishes a vision of value addition to national and transnational power and energy sectors through Training & HRD, facilitating the growth of every professional, sharing our knowledge and caring for their needs. It endeavors to energize people who energize the nations. Vision is to emerge as global leaders in enhancing human and organizational excellence in Power and Energy Sectors by blending frontier Technologies with Management to facilitate HRD interventions that are instrumental in providing reliable, safe, economic and clean power.

We value our drive and commitment to provide top quality service to our clients. We constantly strive to motivate power professionals to tap their unique human endowments, consciousness, imagination and willpower. Together we make a difference. We believe that no job is small or big, the way in which you do, makes it small or big ! Every job is an important link of the organizational chain of activities. We value ‘understanding’ amongst colleagues and respect each other as team members of a human chain of our larger family i.e. the students, trainees, expert faculty, client organizations etc. We have an unyielding commitment to our targets. We mentally achieve them even before realizing them physically.

Training is a Religion for us. It is the Highest Multiplier of Productivity of individuals as-well-as Organizations. Training is an Investment, not Expenditure. Cost of Training is always less than the cost of non-training. “Power for All’ cannot be ensured without ‘Training for All’.

Mission & Objectives

Vision, values and beliefs should drive us on a mission mode. An empowering vision on the format of a 5-Year destination statement of “Do–or-Die” nature was injected in the DNA of the management team with 3-clear missions:

1. To achieve 100% self-sustenance
2. To become largest training organization in Asia Pacific- reaching a turnover level of 75,000 Trainee-Weeks (ultimate goal to become world’s largest reaching 100,000 Trainee-Weeks)
3. To occupy a unique position on the world map on sectorial specialization

An empowering vision is like setting a high voltage for pushing electricity ensuring flow of electrons in the desired direction. On a mission mode we stop not till the goals are achieved.

Goals/ Targets/ Milestones

1. To achieve performance parameters during 2000-01 highest ever achieved in any of the past 34 years of existence.
2. To beat the achieved benchmark of yesteryear, every year thereafter.
3. A performance jump of 25% in major parameters from the previous year, achieving “Excellent” rating in MoU each year.
4. Start Post Diploma in Thermal Power Plant Engg. In 2000-01 at New Delhi, Nagpur, Neyveli & Durgapur.
5. ISO 9001: 2000 Certification in 2001 by DNV, Norway (accredited by the RvA, The Netherlands).
6. Start B.Tech.(Power Engg.) in 2001-02 at New Delhi.
7. Start B.E.(Power Engg.) in 2001-02 at Nagpur, Maharashtra.
8. Launch “National Training Policy for the Power Sector” approved by Govt.of India by 2002.
9. Start B.E.(Power Engg.) in 2002-03 at Durgapur, West Bengal.
10. Start MBA (Power Management) in 2002-03, at Faridabad, Haryana.
11. ISO 14001:1996 in 2003 by DNV Certification B.V., accredited by the RvA, The Netherlands.
12. Start Post-Graduate Diploma in O&M of Transmission & Distribution in 2004-05 at Nagpur & Bangalore.
13. Deemed University Status by 2005 from UGC.

The above realistic goal setting exercise based on concrete concepts proved to be an historic driver of a paradigm shift in NPTI’s existence and made it a self-sustaining Power Training Institution-largest in the world expanding 4- units into 10 across the country (adding 2 at Guwahati & Nangal, taking over from CEA, PSTI & HLTC at Bangalore, activating CAMPS & Corporate Centre at Faridabad besides 4 existing Regional Units) in a term of just 5-years, achieving all the above mentioned goals. UGC approved in-principle, the Deemed University Status to CAMPS in April’ 2005. Though I have cited an example of an organization, same philosophy is true for personal goal setting.

I hope, the above clues will help you set your goals in life and achieve them.

Satyamev Jayate !!!

Best wishes and Regards,

Dr. B.S.K.Naidu

BE(Hons), M.Tech., Ph.D., CBI-Scholar, D.Engg. (Calif.), FNAE, Hon.D.WRE (USA)
Chairman Emeritus, Great Lakes, Gurgaon, NCR, New Delhi, INDIA
Former Director General (NPTI & CPRI / REL), Ex. Director (REC) / Executive Director (IREDA)

No job is small or big, the way in which you do, makes it small or big (c)