Revisiting Our Goals

As we approach the end of the year, for many in the corporate world, it means we’re fast approaching the “end of year appraisal” or “performance review”. If you’re working in an enlighten organisation, hopefully your upcoming meeting will be “one of many 1:1 session” over the year, with the end of year review being a summary of those previous meetings. Along with New Years Resolutions, this is a pivotal time for reflection and evaluation.

So, my question is this: For those not working in a corporate role, how many of you sit down and review your progress against the goals you set at the start of the year?

Introducing PDCA

The “beauty” of corporate life is that it can instil useful disciplines. One of my favourites is the process of Plan, Do, Check, and Act, or PDCA if you like your acronyms. Let’s dive into why this is so powerful.

As a coach, I use the GROW Model during my coaching sessions. I practise what I preach, and, on a personal level, I like to carry out a reality check on where I am against my objectives regularly; weekly, monthly, and quarterly. The frequency depends on the timeframe of the goal or outcome that I’m working towards.

Why so frequently

Over the years, I’ve come to realise the power of goal setting and putting plans in place to achieve my goals. In doing so, I’ve also learned that our plans need to be reviewed frequently to ensure that we can “course correct” our trajectory towards those goals.

Without reviewing progress, how else can we determine if we are on track or not? This is where PDCA shines. The process encourages us to not only make plans and execute them but to continuously check our progress and adjust as necessary.

Another benefit of the review process is to carry out a sense check of our approach and to challenge ourselves to find better ways of achieving our goal. This aligns perfectly with the Check and Act stages of PDCA, ensuring we’re always refining our methods and striving for improvement.

Personally, I like to use the review process to challenge my motivation for the goal itself. Is the reason behind the goal the same? Am I still suitably motivated to see it through? Motivation is a key factor in delivering on our goals, but delving deep into that subject is for another post!

I used to be guilty of having a “to-do” list that went on forever, with the belief that because it was on my to-do list, it had to be done. Over time, I came to realise that I was weighing myself down with “stuff” on my to-do list rather than focusing on things that would ultimately drive me towards my goals. This realisation ties back to the Act stage of PDCA—eliminating what doesn’t work and doubling down on what does.

Here’s my challenge: how many things do you have on your to-do list that are no longer serving you but still occupy “space” in your head as white noise?

Stealing with pride

Fashion gurus tell us that if we haven’t worn an item of clothing for six months, we should throw it out, as the chances are you’ll never wear it. Shouldn’t we apply the same rule to our goals and tasks? The PDCA cycle encourages this kind of pruning—keeping our focus sharp and our efforts efficient.

The biggest payoff, by far in my humble opinion, is the learning we gain from reviewing our journey towards our goals. If done meaningfully and with an openness to learning, opportunities to improve yourself will present themselves. PDCA is not just a process but a mindset of continuous improvement and learning.

Rounding up

So, back to PDCA, where this post started. PDCA emerged from the Total Quality Management movement and the automotive industry’s drive to compete with Japanese car manufacturers, who have been using PDCA as an enshrined doctrine in their practice of continuous improvement—Kaizen. Simply put, Kaizen is the practice of planning a small improvement, doing it, measuring the outcome, and acting on the outcome.

I could go on, but I’ll close by offering you this: if the habit of PDCA has been successful for Japanese car manufacturers, software manufacturers, and some influential individuals, now that you’re aware of its benefits, what’s stopping you from adopting this process? Embrace PDCA and see how it can transform your approach to achieving your goals.

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