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What Are Our Goals This Month, This Quarter,
This Year, Next Year, Five years from Now?
By Razail, Order of Ancients, Malygos
Adapted from Patrick Lencioni’s The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive
The inconsistent use of the term, goals presents guilds with another problem. That is why it
is important to distinguish different types of goals from one another and use terms that
eliminate confusion.
At the highest level, any guild should have one or two basic thematic goals for a given
period. These might include survival, professionalism, or growth. Whatever it is, the
purpose of the thematic goal is to rally members, regardless of their specific roles, around a
common direction. A good way to arrive at a thematic goal is to finish the following
sentence: “This is the year that our guild will...”
Beneath a thematic goal there should be major strategic goals that span the guild and
support its overall theme. For instance, if a guild's thematic goal is growth, then its major
strategic goals might include end game progress, exploring new dungeons, recruiting new
members, expanding to have another raiding team, increasing guild recognition, and
improving infrastructure. If the thematic goal were survival, the categories might be
maintaining raids, retaining members, and improving server relations.
Like so many other aspects of clarity, the key here is to focus on the areas that matter most
and to avoid making every possible topic an area of equal importance. For example, even a
guild that is growing needs to retain its members. However, member acquisition may be the
most relevant category to focus on and deserves more attention. Similarly, a guild in
survival mode certainly is interested in being able to try new content, but it may want to
place member retention under a brighter spotlight for a given period.
Within each of these goals, a guild must be explicit. How many new members? By when?
What new dungeons? Who will lead new raids or new PvP teams? Getting specific about
exactly what needs to be achieved, even in the face of uncertainty, is one mark of a healthy
guild. Finally, strategic goals need to be aligned with an organization's permanent
measures of success, which are metrics. For instance, virtually every guild should
constantly have quantitative objectives related to permanent topics like guild material costs,
gear acquisition, member turnover, member happiness, and end game progression. These
objectives become the means for keeping score over time and for evaluating the success of
the action within each of the thematic categories. Many guilds make the mistake of using
metrics in place of thematic and strategic goals. This is a problem because metrics do not
inspire enthusiasm among members, nor do they align behaviors around common themes
or strategies.
Here, in summary, are the levels of goals that healthy guilds must embrace:
Thematic goals: What is this periods focus?
Major strategic goals: What are they key areas which relate to that focus, and exactly what
needs to be achieved?
Metrics: What are the ongoing measures that allow the guild to keep score?
Once a guild has clarified these areas, it can call on its various teams to build their own
goals, in a manner that is aligned with the direction of the entire organization. This requires
that the officer team set its goals relativity early and avoid the temptation to waffle about
what it wants the organization to achieve.
The “Big-Hairy-Audacious-Goal”- The BHAG
Goal Setting That Drives Your Guild
By Ganesha, Circle of the Ronin, Malygos
The “Big-Hairy-Audacious-Goal” (BHAG, pronounced bee-hag for short) will drive
everything your guild does. The BHAG in our guild right now is to see all the end game
content before the next expansion ships. And guess what? We failed to meet our BHAG!
HOWEVER, it created enthusiasm and motivation for others (including me) to level toons,
to participate in PvP, and regular PvE experiences such as questing and normal
dungeons. It also moved us through to SSC and TK in less than five months. BHAGs,
even unrealized, move a community.
As Collins and Porras put it in their book Built to Last, this goal is a great deal like planning
a moon-shot, which was a seemingly impossible task when originally proposed by
President John F. Kennedy in the early 1960’s. While your guild will have several goals,
the BHAG accomplishes several purposes: 1) as stated, it motivates individuals to achieve
on a level they would normally not even have dreamt, 2) it separates the men from the boys
and the women from the girls in your guild – in other words, it very quickly tells you who is
and is not on board with moving your community forward. Indeed, BHAGs will often
stimulate those not up for the challenge to find another guild to be a part of AND it will
attract those who seek excellence in all they do. Indeed, this will serve as the refining
process of your community. Friendships, relationships, and commitments will experience a
depth not previously known by your members due to the commonality of this vision.
On the outset, you and your leadership team MUST state clearly the BHAG. “We will clear
Black Temple by Christmas of this year.” And get ready for llama drama as this goal
weeds out those not seriously on board! The reason this goal must be so clear is that once
the drama flies, you as a guild leader need to have something to point back to and be able
to say with all confidence, “This is the goal we set, are you with us or not? You said you
were a month ago before we got stuck on this boss? Are you bailing out on the goal?”
Trust me, several people, people who you thought were “key” will bail on the goal! It is
absolutely imperative that you are able to communicate to the general membership that
there was a clear agreement and this person broke or gave up on that agreement. I cannot
emphasize this more! If your goal is anarthrous in any way, it will come back to haunt you
as various members place their own interpretation on what is supposed to be going on.
As well, your BHAG will help you define the vision and values of your guild as you strive
toward the goal. This is the next step in developing your guild. For a guide on how to
develop vision and values for your community see our articles on The Four Disciplines of a
Healthy Guild. (Coming Soon!)
Who Has to do What for Us to Achieve Our Goals for This Month,
This Quarter, This Year, Next Year, Five Years from Now?
By Razail, Order of Ancients, Malygos
Adapted from Patrick Lencioni’s The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive
One of the greatest problems that guilds encounter when it comes to achieving clarity is the
inability to translate guild goals into concrete responsibilities for members of the officers’
team. As fundamental as this activity would seem, most guilds don't do a good job of
breaking down their goals into clear deliverables for team members. This is partly due to
the fact that they make dangerous assumptions about roles based on people's titles, and
because they shy away from difficult territorial conversations about who is truly responsible
for what.
Every officer has his or her own preconceived notions about the difference between a what
each officer’s responsibility is. However, when it comes time to assign responsibilities for
specific goals, it is necessary to throw those assumptions out the window and look at each
situation in terms of who would be the most appropriate owner, and why.
In some cases, roles are unclear because officer teams begin the process of establishing
individual responsibilities before the guilds goals have been set. The key to avoiding this
situation is to take the strategic goals that have been set for the guild and then ask, “What
has to happen in order for us to achieve each goal?” Each strategic goal will have many
sub goals and ownership for each of those should be explicit.
Only when each goal is broken down into components and ownership has been assigned
to the appropriate officer can accountability be achieved. When a goal might seem to be
the responsibility of a collection of officers, it is still necessary to designate one person as
the owner of that goal. Without clear ownership, accountability becomes difficult, even
within the best teams.
It is worth repeating here that one of the keys to achieving clarity in this area is the
willingness to engage in constructive conflict about who is best suited for which roles, and
to sustain that conflict until agreement has been reached. This applies to every other area
of clarity too. As you and imagine, without discipline, this is virtually impossible.
What Business Are We in, and Against Whom Do We Compete?
By Razail, Order of Ancients, Malygos-US
Adapted from Patrick Lencioni’s The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive
I believe that a guild cannot be called great if virtually every member, and certainly every
officer, cannot articulate the basic definition of what the guild does. As simple as this
seems, it is common to encounter members in most guilds who are not sure how to
describe or define their guild's basic mission. By the way, the word mission often created
confusion. Some people think a mission is a lofty statement of ideals, others define it as an
organizational goal, and still others call it a business definition. I recommend that any guild
that shares this confusion stop using the term altogether and come up with a different term
instead.
Whatever term it chooses, a guild needs to be able to articulate exactly what it does, whom
it serves, and against whom it competes. Why? Because all members should be made to
feel like salespeople or ambassadors for the guild, and they can do this without a
fundamental understanding of a guild's focus. More important, without the understanding,
guild members cannot connect their individual roles to the overall direction of the larger
guild.
How Does Our Approach Differ from That of Our Competition?
Essentially this is a strategy question. Most guilds I have encountered have different ways
of defining and approaching strategy. Unfortunately, in spite of the fact that strategy is
such a popular topic within business schools and in business media, there is no clear and
simple definition of what it means. I believe that a guild's strategies comprise nothing and
everything. By that I mean that no single concept can summarize a guild's strategy, yet
every decision that a guild makes contributes to or is a function of it strategy.
Take Southwest Airlines, for instance. If you were to ask most people at SWA's what their
strategy is, they would claim one of the following: low fares, on-time arrivals and
departures, great service, regional routs. Give them a few more minutes and they'll add
more to the list: no frills, no first class, no pre-assigned seating, and humorous flight
attendants who wear shorts. Which of these many attributes, all of which are true by the
way, make up southwest's strategy? They all do.
Certainly the first few would be considered the company's strategic anchors, but every
decision that the airline makes, even allowing its employees to wear shorts, is connected to
the strategy. And what is more, it is the collection of those decisions that differentiates
Southwest from other airlines. Low fares alone does not differentiate them. On-time
performance doesn't either. But by combining these qualities with the others, it becomes
very clear that Southwest has chosen a strategy that sets it apart from its competitors. You
guild’s strategies should be equally clear. The key is taking the time to look at all the
decisions that the guild has made, even the obvious ones, and identify those that, when
combined, make the guild uniquely positioned for success.-
Next, See - What Are Our Goals This Month, This Quarter, This Year, Next Year,
Five years from Now?
This Year, Next Year, Five years from Now?
By Razail, Order of Ancients, Malygos
Adapted from Patrick Lencioni’s The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive
The inconsistent use of the term, goals presents guilds with another problem. That is why it
is important to distinguish different types of goals from one another and use terms that
eliminate confusion.
At the highest level, any guild should have one or two basic thematic goals for a given
period. These might include survival, professionalism, or growth. Whatever it is, the
purpose of the thematic goal is to rally members, regardless of their specific roles, around a
common direction. A good way to arrive at a thematic goal is to finish the following
sentence: “This is the year that our guild will...”
Beneath a thematic goal there should be major strategic goals that span the guild and
support its overall theme. For instance, if a guild's thematic goal is growth, then its major
strategic goals might include end game progress, exploring new dungeons, recruiting new
members, expanding to have another raiding team, increasing guild recognition, and
improving infrastructure. If the thematic goal were survival, the categories might be
maintaining raids, retaining members, and improving server relations.
Like so many other aspects of clarity, the key here is to focus on the areas that matter most
and to avoid making every possible topic an area of equal importance. For example, even a
guild that is growing needs to retain its members. However, member acquisition may be the
most relevant category to focus on and deserves more attention. Similarly, a guild in
survival mode certainly is interested in being able to try new content, but it may want to
place member retention under a brighter spotlight for a given period.
Within each of these goals, a guild must be explicit. How many new members? By when?
What new dungeons? Who will lead new raids or new PvP teams? Getting specific about
exactly what needs to be achieved, even in the face of uncertainty, is one mark of a healthy
guild. Finally, strategic goals need to be aligned with an organization's permanent
measures of success, which are metrics. For instance, virtually every guild should
constantly have quantitative objectives related to permanent topics like guild material costs,
gear acquisition, member turnover, member happiness, and end game progression. These
objectives become the means for keeping score over time and for evaluating the success of
the action within each of the thematic categories. Many guilds make the mistake of using
metrics in place of thematic and strategic goals. This is a problem because metrics do not
inspire enthusiasm among members, nor do they align behaviors around common themes
or strategies.
Here, in summary, are the levels of goals that healthy guilds must embrace:
Thematic goals: What is this periods focus?
Major strategic goals: What are they key areas which relate to that focus, and exactly what
needs to be achieved?
Metrics: What are the ongoing measures that allow the guild to keep score?
Once a guild has clarified these areas, it can call on its various teams to build their own
goals, in a manner that is aligned with the direction of the entire organization. This requires
that the officer team set its goals relativity early and avoid the temptation to waffle about
what it wants the organization to achieve.
The “Big-Hairy-Audacious-Goal”- The BHAG
Goal Setting That Drives Your Guild
By Ganesha, Circle of the Ronin, Malygos
The “Big-Hairy-Audacious-Goal” (BHAG, pronounced bee-hag for short) will drive
everything your guild does. The BHAG in our guild right now is to see all the end game
content before the next expansion ships. And guess what? We failed to meet our BHAG!
HOWEVER, it created enthusiasm and motivation for others (including me) to level toons,
to participate in PvP, and regular PvE experiences such as questing and normal
dungeons. It also moved us through to SSC and TK in less than five months. BHAGs,
even unrealized, move a community.
As Collins and Porras put it in their book Built to Last, this goal is a great deal like planning
a moon-shot, which was a seemingly impossible task when originally proposed by
President John F. Kennedy in the early 1960’s. While your guild will have several goals,
the BHAG accomplishes several purposes: 1) as stated, it motivates individuals to achieve
on a level they would normally not even have dreamt, 2) it separates the men from the boys
and the women from the girls in your guild – in other words, it very quickly tells you who is
and is not on board with moving your community forward. Indeed, BHAGs will often
stimulate those not up for the challenge to find another guild to be a part of AND it will
attract those who seek excellence in all they do. Indeed, this will serve as the refining
process of your community. Friendships, relationships, and commitments will experience a
depth not previously known by your members due to the commonality of this vision.
On the outset, you and your leadership team MUST state clearly the BHAG. “We will clear
Black Temple by Christmas of this year.” And get ready for llama drama as this goal
weeds out those not seriously on board! The reason this goal must be so clear is that once
the drama flies, you as a guild leader need to have something to point back to and be able
to say with all confidence, “This is the goal we set, are you with us or not? You said you
were a month ago before we got stuck on this boss? Are you bailing out on the goal?”
Trust me, several people, people who you thought were “key” will bail on the goal! It is
absolutely imperative that you are able to communicate to the general membership that
there was a clear agreement and this person broke or gave up on that agreement. I cannot
emphasize this more! If your goal is anarthrous in any way, it will come back to haunt you
as various members place their own interpretation on what is supposed to be going on.
As well, your BHAG will help you define the vision and values of your guild as you strive
toward the goal. This is the next step in developing your guild. For a guide on how to
develop vision and values for your community see our articles on The Four Disciplines of a
Healthy Guild. (Coming Soon!)
Who Has to do What for Us to Achieve Our Goals for This Month,
This Quarter, This Year, Next Year, Five Years from Now?
By Razail, Order of Ancients, Malygos
Adapted from Patrick Lencioni’s The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive
One of the greatest problems that guilds encounter when it comes to achieving clarity is the
inability to translate guild goals into concrete responsibilities for members of the officers’
team. As fundamental as this activity would seem, most guilds don't do a good job of
breaking down their goals into clear deliverables for team members. This is partly due to
the fact that they make dangerous assumptions about roles based on people's titles, and
because they shy away from difficult territorial conversations about who is truly responsible
for what.
Every officer has his or her own preconceived notions about the difference between a what
each officer’s responsibility is. However, when it comes time to assign responsibilities for
specific goals, it is necessary to throw those assumptions out the window and look at each
situation in terms of who would be the most appropriate owner, and why.
In some cases, roles are unclear because officer teams begin the process of establishing
individual responsibilities before the guilds goals have been set. The key to avoiding this
situation is to take the strategic goals that have been set for the guild and then ask, “What
has to happen in order for us to achieve each goal?” Each strategic goal will have many
sub goals and ownership for each of those should be explicit.
Only when each goal is broken down into components and ownership has been assigned
to the appropriate officer can accountability be achieved. When a goal might seem to be
the responsibility of a collection of officers, it is still necessary to designate one person as
the owner of that goal. Without clear ownership, accountability becomes difficult, even
within the best teams.
It is worth repeating here that one of the keys to achieving clarity in this area is the
willingness to engage in constructive conflict about who is best suited for which roles, and
to sustain that conflict until agreement has been reached. This applies to every other area
of clarity too. As you and imagine, without discipline, this is virtually impossible.
What Business Are We in, and Against Whom Do We Compete?
By Razail, Order of Ancients, Malygos-US
Adapted from Patrick Lencioni’s The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive
I believe that a guild cannot be called great if virtually every member, and certainly every
officer, cannot articulate the basic definition of what the guild does. As simple as this
seems, it is common to encounter members in most guilds who are not sure how to
describe or define their guild's basic mission. By the way, the word mission often created
confusion. Some people think a mission is a lofty statement of ideals, others define it as an
organizational goal, and still others call it a business definition. I recommend that any guild
that shares this confusion stop using the term altogether and come up with a different term
instead.
Whatever term it chooses, a guild needs to be able to articulate exactly what it does, whom
it serves, and against whom it competes. Why? Because all members should be made to
feel like salespeople or ambassadors for the guild, and they can do this without a
fundamental understanding of a guild's focus. More important, without the understanding,
guild members cannot connect their individual roles to the overall direction of the larger
guild.
How Does Our Approach Differ from That of Our Competition?
Essentially this is a strategy question. Most guilds I have encountered have different ways
of defining and approaching strategy. Unfortunately, in spite of the fact that strategy is
such a popular topic within business schools and in business media, there is no clear and
simple definition of what it means. I believe that a guild's strategies comprise nothing and
everything. By that I mean that no single concept can summarize a guild's strategy, yet
every decision that a guild makes contributes to or is a function of it strategy.
Take Southwest Airlines, for instance. If you were to ask most people at SWA's what their
strategy is, they would claim one of the following: low fares, on-time arrivals and
departures, great service, regional routs. Give them a few more minutes and they'll add
more to the list: no frills, no first class, no pre-assigned seating, and humorous flight
attendants who wear shorts. Which of these many attributes, all of which are true by the
way, make up southwest's strategy? They all do.
Certainly the first few would be considered the company's strategic anchors, but every
decision that the airline makes, even allowing its employees to wear shorts, is connected to
the strategy. And what is more, it is the collection of those decisions that differentiates
Southwest from other airlines. Low fares alone does not differentiate them. On-time
performance doesn't either. But by combining these qualities with the others, it becomes
very clear that Southwest has chosen a strategy that sets it apart from its competitors. You
guild’s strategies should be equally clear. The key is taking the time to look at all the
decisions that the guild has made, even the obvious ones, and identify those that, when
combined, make the guild uniquely positioned for success.-
Next, See - What Are Our Goals This Month, This Quarter, This Year, Next Year,
Five years from Now?
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