Intent minimizes chaos

No matter if you take the word intent as a noun or adjective, it is about?doing something on purpose. Doing things on purpose, I believe, is the intent of business leaders and their teams in federal contracting. I don't believe anyone would knowingly be unintentional if they knew the outcomes and ripple effects that would surely occur.

But it happens every single day. I see this in small companies, and in larger companies who have the coffers to bring in expertise to help them be intentional and efficient. More than often, the reality is a less than focused approach where companies, and their people are not in synch. In fact, they aren't even in agreement as to customers, capabilities and capacity. This results in precious time and resources being squandered in?pursuit of the Federal Contracting equivalent of Fool's Gold. From my vantage point, other than the ability to spend, there is little difference between small and large companies when it comes to intent.?

This is ultimately about having a plan informed by timely, relevant, and accurate information. This can make all the difference in how effective an organization is at achieving its goals. Having an informed plan based on realistic goals positions you to better validate, or invalidate your assertions related to:?

• ?Competitors?
• ?Customers?
• ?Funding?
• ?Goals?
• ?Priorities?
• ?Requirements, and?
• ?Risks?

The insights gained through creating and working a plan, empowers more efficient organizational activities throughout the opportunity lifecycle. This is highly dependent on?if and how well the plan is communicated, to everyone. After all, growth is everyone's job, right? If so, how can anyone do their job if they don't know what their job is in the scheme of the overall plan? How do they know when they succeed or fail, if there are no measurable outcomes provided??

A strategy well-done drives day-to-day activity for an organization and its people. The strategy is the approach used in achieving stated goals, likely associated with a form of growth. Within the bigger, long-term strategy are objectives to be achieved incrementally while implementing the strategy. Within an organization, each department, office, or person, plays a role in achieving the objectives.?

To demonstrate the importance of communicating goals and strategy, let's look at the U.S. Air Force.?

The mission of the United States Air Force is to?fly, fight and win - airpower anytime, anywhere.?

The Air Force organization consists of a number of subordinate organizations, the highest level referred to as a Major Command or MAJCOM. A MAJCOM represents a major Air Force subdivision, directly subordinate to Headquarters Air Force having a specific portion of the Air Force mission. For example:?

• ?The mission of?Air Education and Training Command, or AETC, is to?recruit, train and educate Airmen to deliver 21st Century Airpower.?
• ?The mission of?Air Mobility Command, or AMC, is to?enable the United States to project, connect, maneuver and sustain combat power for strategic advantage.?
• ?Then there is?Air Combat Command, or ACC. Their mission is to?organize, train and equip combat ready Airmen to control and exploit the Air, on behalf of the joint force. To put it another way, their mission, to me, is to?blow your butt out of the sky to demonstrate Air Force's ability to fly, fight and win, anytime, anywhere. I'm a fan!?

Each subordinate mission is measured to identify success, failure, and impact on the overall mission. These metrics allow for course correction, if needed, and the ability to see which strategies and processes work, which can be improved, and which ones do not work.

Without intent,?organizations will flounder, and eventually die. Without leadership communicating goals and approach, organizations operate on the premise of busywork and?throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. Chaos ensues, morale tanks, team members give up, and productivity evaporates.

I have lived it in companies I worked for, and I see it happening in companies today, too often. There are plenty of?visible indicators?that reveal companies in chaos, or on the path to chaos. In many instances, those visible indicators are seen by current and potential customers and partners.?

Consider this. If you can't minimize or eliminate chaos in your house, why should a customer trust you to minimize or eliminate chaos in their house??

Peace, Health, and Success,?

Go-To-Guy Timberlake