Begin with the End in Mind

Yesterday I mentioned the importance of identifying the goal of Getting out of the Office, that is, what we want the business to look like in the end. The same applies to Getting out of the Bucket--what do you want your business to look like when you are no longer painting each day.

Identifying the end is important in several respects. Most importantly, it provides direction and and gives us a destination. If we don't know where we are going, how will we know when we get there? Also, it provides us with a certain psychological motivation. If we can envision our goal, that goal becomes more real. In a sense, we get a certain experience of it, which can help move us forward.

For me, Getting out of the Office is the means to another end. I want to spend more time writing magazine articles, and perhaps a book. This requires large segments of uninterrupted time, which is hard to get sitting in an office with a phone ringing every 20 minutes. I would also like to do more traveling, both for pleasure and for researching writing assignments.

These goals necessitate the need to have procedures that allow me to spend minimal time communicating with customers and field personnel, while simultaneously keeping everyone informed. And I need to be able to do this whether I am working in my home office or I am out of town.

Identifying my end goals has allowed me to identify the issues that I must address. For example, how will phone calls be handled? How will appointments be scheduled? How will I access customer files remotely? How will we prepare job folders and schedule jobs if we are out of town? By beginning with the end in mind, I now have a better idea of how I will get there. And I will certainly have a lot fewer surprises along the way.