Goals

(rebumped – promoted by buhdydharma )

An interesting discussion was started yesterday with Breathing Still’s My Personal Take On Why The Netroots Are Becoming Irrelevant.  Management techniques were discussed among other things and I mentioned that Goal-oriented management is a good way to go.  So let me expand on that idea a bit and perhaps we, as a group, can outline our goals. 

I had three simple goals this year.  I have accomplished two and the third should be wrapped up around the first of January.  It does not matter what they were it does matter that I thought about these goals every day this year, not out of fear, panic or anxiety, but with a positive can-do attitude.

Some thoughts on good goals to have:

1. The mental framing of your goal will effect the outcome of your effort.  It is important to know the right question to ask yourself or the group.

2. Individual goals are easier to achieve because they do not rely on other people that may or may not have a vested interest in the outcome.

3. If we aren’t scoring points, what are we doing here?  Achieving our goals will turn all of the naysayers out to pasture.  Wouldn’t that be cool?

4. Quantum Leaps.  While striving to achieve any goal one can often make quantum leaps in performance, attitude, perception.  It’s a growing experience that will effect other aspects of our lives.

5. Unattainable goals should not be left in the shadows in fact they should be highlighted so that our ideals are never surrendered.

Via my research on farms and farming, I have come to respect the simple farmer that needed to get their products to market in order to ensure the livelihood of their families, workers, and communities.  Most farmers are goal-oriented managers.  They need X amount of crops to be ready by July 10th.  Knowing that they also know they’ll need good looking products that were well stored and looked after, which means well-maintained outbuildings that would have undergone yearly renovations to ensure they’re up to standards. This could include a new roof from a supplier/ installer like WDR Metal Roofing or a new floor from a local contractor. This would also mean they had knowledgable workers, etc.  So the farmer has a secondary list of goals that need to be met in order to ensure the primary goal of getting to market is achieved.

Problems aren’t as complex as they appear.  For instance, one “unattainable goal” would be divorcing the influence of big business from American Politics.  We can take pro-public financing for campaign stance.  For now, we’ll set aside the arguments against this and just use it as an example.

Docudharma Believes in Public Financing for Political Campaigns (there’s your headline)

Now the meat: The owners, operators and members of this site agree that public financing is a step in the right direction when it comes to divorcing corporate interests from America’s politics.  Our reasons are listed below:

Reason A
Reason B
Reason C

All of that would become a permanent fixture on a section called Goals.

Search Engines like permanent sections of websites and will even give them their own listing if placed in a new folder or subdomain.  underneath the main  search engine listing it would read: Political Goals of Docudharma or something similar.  People that are interested in the group will go there first to see what we are up to before joining the discussion.

Some known goals:

American Troops out of Iraq
National Healthcare
Reinvesting in Infrastructure
Energy Independence without Nuclear or Expanded Coal

Suggested group goals:

Putting us to work – Devising a weekly way for us to each make a difference.  We seem to be pretty busy with our own lives and I feel the pressure to come up with a daily activity could be too great, but a weekly one would allow us all to participate and lead to a more unified group.

Production – holding off on posting a story until the right graphic can be created or found to post with it.  Basically becoming more like an e-zine.  Pictures tell a thousand words.  A production squad could be formed to help.
Turn this puppy into a real powerhouse in other words.

Notice for Submission – many artists, poets, writers, media personalities are looking for venues.  Post an open submission policy for new work.  Artists and writers search for those keywords “notice submission policy”.  Turn it into a monthly guest spot, etc.

Editorial Staff – a team of three would look at the weeks posts and submissions , pick out the best and work with the owners in order to weave a deeper and more meaningful narrative.

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Well those were my thoughts.  Goals first.  Everything else will follow.  Do you want to work?