Organizational Outcomes
The characteristics of well-formed outcomes work in just the same way for organizations as for individuals.
Reactive culture
Problem-centered organizations are ones that are moving away from what they don’t want. These organizations are more likely to ‘react’ to the competition and in so doing become dependent on what the competition does next. They are driven by market trends and are directly affected by the economic climate. They step into a ‘fire-fighting’, crisis-based way of working. Their goals are set in reaction to others. They have difficulty planning and sticking to any plans they do manage to set. Their actions are determined by what other companies do next. Organizations functioning solely in this way cannot maintain success for long. The climate inside a company of this style is typically one of tension and worry.
Proactive culture
Outcome-oriented organizations, on the other hand, have a clear vision of where they are heading. This vision is an expression of what the employees in this company really want. Because of this, there is a high level of motivation and commitment to the future and staff enjoy their work. The vision is an inspiration both to those who work within the company and to those with whom they come into contact, their customers and suppliers. This style of company sets market trends. It influences its customers to move forward with the company to its vision of the future. Outcome-oriented companies are innovative and influential. They do take account of market trends, the economic climate and competitors, but they do this in the context of having a clear, compelling outcome and business plans.
Image and Outcomes
A great deal of attention has been paid to ‘image’ in recent years; personal, professional and corporate image. The business world has become much more image conscious. Image is the impression you create on everyone around you. Each person develops their own unique impression of you depending on what is important to them in the way they experience the world. Someone who communicates their image congruently is effectively signaling their outcomes to the world at large. Not surprisingly, the world signals back by providing opportunities in line with these outcomes. Coincidence is a measure of a congruent expression of outcomes and values. For example, when you meet someone unexpectedly who meets your core values and seems to fit with your thinking about your direction, it is as a result of the way you have unconsciously signaled your outcomes and your values to the World at large.
Some of the thinking about image has been done at a superficial level by considering only style of clothes and types of non-verbal behavior. If you want to communicate an image that is a true expression of what you want and what is important to you, then the Neuroscience of Influence is the difference that makes the difference. It is the more subtle elements of behavior that communicate your true image.
Your thoughts and your feelings are the source of your image. What you think and what you feel will influence your movement, your facial expression and voice, everything that you say and do. These thoughts and feelings leak out of every pore in your body; you cannot conceal them. People around you do not need to learn to be ‘body language experts’ to read these signals; they already are. Even if your conscious mind doesn’t pick up the signals, your unconscious mind will. Tiny messages are the way your deeply felt emotions and thoughts are leaked out to the world at large, and the world at large picks them up and responds to them.
Summary
Outcome thinking is a very powerful approach to achieving what you want. The elements of outcome thinking are drawn from people in all walks of life who consistently achieve what they want in a way that is compatible both with those around them and with their environment. By following the steps to setting a well-formed outcome, you are modeling the way these successful people think about outcomes.
This way of thinking works in all situations and at all levels, from setting an outcome for a five-minute discussion to establishing a vision for a company. The success comes from ensuring that your thinking about your outcomes meets all the conditions for a well-formed outcome. Each element is crucial to the eventual likelihood of success.
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