Whether you're trying to manage a corporation, a department, or project, it all comes down to strategic thinking, and following 5 simple steps to guarantee success.
The thing is, you're probably already using these five key steps already in other areas of your life without even thinking about it.
So where to begin?
Step 1: Analysis.
This is the most important of the five steps. Why? Well it's not only a good idea to "look before you leap", but you also want to figure out how high and wide you're going to have to jump!
There are two parts to analysis: The 'detective' part and the 'goal setting' part.
The detective part is probably the most time consuming, because you have to really dig deep and discover exactly what it is you need to accomplish. Don't skimp on this part. Gather as much information as you can. You'll want to get all the relevant dates, facts, figures, times, resources etc. that will lead you to making informed decisions. Depending on what you're trying to manage, you may need to look things up in books or online. You may have to meet with people or call them on the phone and ask questions. You may have to visit places to look things up, or see things for yourself.
The detective part of analysis will be ongoing, too. When more (or different) information comes to light, it may well make you change your approach to things.
When you have a comfortable amount of information, it's time to start deciding what you want to accomplish, and what you need to do to accomplish it.
That's when it's time to move on to the second part of analysis: the 'goal setting' part. Decide what you ultimately want to accomplish, then work out what you'll need to do to accomplish it and in what order.
Use the information you've discovered in the detective part to plot the steps along the way. Weigh up the consequences of each action.
At this stage, you don't need to be to concerned about HOW you're going to accomplish each task, just what you'll need to do, and in what order. Each step of the way is a goal to be achieved before you can move on to the next goal.
You don't need necessarily need fancy software or charts, sometimes just a simple 'to do' list will suffice.
Once you've got your goals laid out, it's time to move on to the next stage, and begin to convert your analysis into a plan.
About the author: This article is abridged from Shaun Pearce's latest report: 5 Steps to Managing Anything. You can download the full report for free in PDF format from http://www.knackofmanaging.com/5steps.html
This author of this Article has choosen to make this article available with free reprint rights. Click here to copy this article.
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