by James Schneider: 8/20/2012
For a nation struggling
through the worst economic malaise since the Great Depression, the unfortunate answer is that our Federal Government does not
have a stated economic objective.
How can that be?
Anyone who has ever led a group of people on a mission, or been responsible for a complex project of any kind, understands that you cannot develop an effective plan without first understanding and clearly stating your primary objective.
Anyone who has ever led a group of people on a mission, or been responsible for a complex project of any kind, understands that you cannot develop an effective plan without first understanding and clearly stating your primary objective.
Focus, Focus, Focus:
Whenever a group of people is confronted with a complex problem they want to solve or a worthwhile goal they want to achieve, their logical first step is to determine their primary objective. Communicating the objective to all stakeholders is crucial for maintaining focus and reining in the scope creep that invariably manifests itself as those with alternate objectives and differing priorities develop clever ways to influence decisions and divert resources. If those detours from the primary mission are not addressed quickly then the primary mission becomes obscured and subservient to the multitude of parochial priorities that are allowed to take hold.
What is the objective?
All too often, people in leadership roles believe they know what their strategic objective is without fully vocalizing it to themselves let alone to others. They often assume that everyone else instinctively shares their vision and their priorities without ever formally writing them down and getting buy-in. But until leaders take the time to enlist the stakeholders to help formulate the primary objective and reach acceptance of the mission, you do not have a consensus driven primary objective and your chances of success are greatly diminished.
All too often, people in leadership roles believe they know what their strategic objective is without fully vocalizing it to themselves let alone to others. They often assume that everyone else instinctively shares their vision and their priorities without ever formally writing them down and getting buy-in. But until leaders take the time to enlist the stakeholders to help formulate the primary objective and reach acceptance of the mission, you do not have a consensus driven primary objective and your chances of success are greatly diminished.
Less is more:
Your objective should state your goal clearly and succinctly. Less is usually more; frequently a single sentence will suffice even for something as large and complex as our national economic objective.
Measures of Success:
How will you know if you are successful? What baseline will you measure your success against? Your objective should identify the barometer(s) you will use to measure your level of success.
Your objective should state your goal clearly and succinctly. Less is usually more; frequently a single sentence will suffice even for something as large and complex as our national economic objective.
Measures of Success:
How will you know if you are successful? What baseline will you measure your success against? Your objective should identify the barometer(s) you will use to measure your level of success.
Means vs. Ends:
An objective should not mention anything about how you intend to reach your objective or any other limiting criteria. In terms of “means versus ends”, your objective is your ends, not your means. Once you have your “ends” defined, then and only then should you begin to discuss the various means available to achieve those ends.
An objective should not mention anything about how you intend to reach your objective or any other limiting criteria. In terms of “means versus ends”, your objective is your ends, not your means. Once you have your “ends” defined, then and only then should you begin to discuss the various means available to achieve those ends.
Life Cycle:
An objective sentence should address the life cycle of the task at hand. The life cycle of any task, project or system can be identified as either finite or perpetual. Most projects, like building a bridge, are finite in nature and terminate once the objective has been achieved. A perpetual task is a system that is expected to operate indefinitely – such as a national economy. The objective sentence for a perpetual system should acknowledge the perpetual nature of the system. Hallmark examples of objective statements for perpetual systems include phrases like “continuously improve …”
An objective sentence should address the life cycle of the task at hand. The life cycle of any task, project or system can be identified as either finite or perpetual. Most projects, like building a bridge, are finite in nature and terminate once the objective has been achieved. A perpetual task is a system that is expected to operate indefinitely – such as a national economy. The objective sentence for a perpetual system should acknowledge the perpetual nature of the system. Hallmark examples of objective statements for perpetual systems include phrases like “continuously improve …”
Unite or Divide:
Stating your objective can be either a unifying or a divisive act depending on how your objective is perceived and how those perceptions align or conflict with the personal objectives of the people your task may affect. From a political standpoint, that may help explain why we don’t have a stated national economic objective.
Stating your objective can be either a unifying or a divisive act depending on how your objective is perceived and how those perceptions align or conflict with the personal objectives of the people your task may affect. From a political standpoint, that may help explain why we don’t have a stated national economic objective.
Is a Unifying National Economic Objective possible?
In this divisive climate of hyper partisanship and political gridlock, is a unifying economic objective even possible? Could anyone construct an economic objective that appealed to the majority of Americans regardless of their political party or ideology?
If we could achieve such an
objective would it help unite our nation? Would it allow Americans – the
stakeholders – to begin rowing in the same direction instead of pulling our
nation apart with paralyzing uncertainty and cross-purpose legislation designed
to pit one group of Americans against another and pick winners and punish losers
based on the political party in power?
A unifying economic objective would permit us to focus on those "things" that are preventing us from reaching our common objective.
Is such a unifying economic
objective even possible?
The Americans United Party
believes the answer is a resounding yes!
A unifying national economic objective is the critical first step along our journey to end our political gridlock and restore our economy to maximum vitality. With that as our backdrop, we present our National Economic Objective for your consideration.
A unifying national economic objective is the critical first step along our journey to end our political gridlock and restore our economy to maximum vitality. With that as our backdrop, we present our National Economic Objective for your consideration.
National Economic
Objective:
Continuously improve the standard of
living of all U.S.
citizens.
That's it. It's that simple.
The standard of living
provides the basis for measuring our success. Investopedia does a good job of defining standard of living.
Definition of 'Standard Of Living'
The level of wealth, comfort, material goods and
necessities available to a certain socioeconomic class in a certain geographic
area. The standard of living includes factors such as income, quality
and availability of employment, class disparity, poverty rate,
quality and affordability of housing, hours of work required to purchase
necessities, gross domestic product, inflation
rate, number of vacation days per year, affordable access to quality healthcare, quality and availability of
education, life expectancy, incidence of
disease, cost of goods and services, infrastructure, national economic growth, economic and political stability, political
and religious freedom, environmental
quality, climate and safety. The standard of living is closely related to
quality of life.
Investopedia explains 'Standard Of
Living'
The standard of living is often used to compare
geographic areas, such as the standard of living in the United States versus Canada,
or the standard of living in St. Louis versus New York. The standard
of living can also be used to compare distinct points in time. For example,
compared with a century ago, the standard of living in the United States
has improved greatly. The same amount of work buys an increased quantity of
goods, and items that were once luxuries, such as refrigerators and
automobiles, are now widely available. As well, leisure time and life
expectancy have increased, and annual hours worked have decreased.
With our National Objective to guide our efforts and maintain our focus, the AUP has developed a set of interrelated policy proposals designed to achieve our national objective.
We invite you
to read our Economic Roadmap Executive Summary and the detailed policy
proposals that stem from it.
We would like to know if you agree with our economic objective or tell us yours if you have a different idea.
Thank you.
We would like to know if you agree with our economic objective or tell us yours if you have a different idea.
Thank you.
