Proper planning is important for the success of any business. The final result of the work largely depends on how accurately the manager selects the company’s strategic goal. And then breaks it down into tasks and subtasks, prioritizes them and distributes them among employees. The goal tree is a method that helps in such strategic planning. From this article, you will learn how to create it and use it in practice.
The essence of the goal tree method
The goal tree is a convenient and visual planning method. It allows you to organize the company’s work in such a way that the actions of each employee are aim at achieving the main goal of the business. In addition, the tree helps to prioritize tasks and find the shortest path when moving towards the result.
In what areas can it be appli?The goal tree is a universal planning method. It can be us both at work and in your personal life:
- Strategic management of the company. The method helps to visualize the movement towards the main goal of the business. The tree can indicate how the main metric of the company, for example, profit, depends on the sub-goal – increasing the average check or the number of leads.
- Project management. The goal tree can be us when working on individual projects or when solving individual business problems. This could be, for example, creating a website or developing a new catalog.
Features of the goal tree
The method has several important distinctive features:
- Hierarchy of goals. Higher-level tasks and goals determine the actions indicat at the lower levels of the scheme. All steps are logical and consistent, one follows from the other. From complex, comprehensive tasks, we move on to clear, simple points.
- Connection of all elements. The tree shows the interrelations between the company’s goals and the actions that ne to be taken to achieve them. There are no “random” elements in this diagram.
Why is the goal tree useful?
In addition to the obvious benefit of being able to create a step-by-step plan of work and prioritize it, the process of building a goal tree has other important advantages.
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Clarity and transparency of goals
The method helps to concentrate on the main thing: the main goal is always at the top of the scheme, and therefore before your eyes. All management decisions and processes can be verifi with the tree of goals – this will increase their effectiveness.
Coordination of actions
Often, different departments of a company work incoherently: it is easy to lose key reference points behind a multitude of routine tasks. A goal tree will help to align the actions of employees – they will start moving in one direction, working more harmoniously.
Collective responsibility
With a schematic tree, each team member sees how their part of the job is connect to the larger goal of the company and understands their role in the business. This motivates and increases their sense of self-worth.
Flexibility in solutions
The goal tree allows you to cover several ways to solve a problem at once and foresee different scenarios for the development of events. So, if the external situation changes, your team will be able to understand how to adjust their plans to achieve the desir result.
Cutting off unnecessary actions
The method allows you to find the shortest path to the desir result, refuse unnecessary and unproductive operations and ruce the time it takes to solve a problem. Each element of the goal tree is not random – this approach can be us to check the appropriateness of your actions.
Protection against procrastination
The goal tree works on a psychological level: a general picture with specific stages removes the fear of a cumbersome and, at first glance, unattainable goal. Starting to complete a large and vague task is much more difficult than planning small, but simple, clear and regular steps towards a global goal.
Structure of the tree of strategic goals
Let’s take a closer look at the elements that make up a goal tree and analyze the process of constructing such a diagram using a real example.
The trunk or base of a tree
At the base of the tree — on the trunk or roots — the direct mailing to instagram main goal that the team must achieve is plac. If the method is us for the company as a whole, then the strategic goal of the business is indicat here. This is a large and ambitious task, which is usually set for 5-10 years in advance.
Important point: the strategic goal must necessarily resonate with the company’s mission. It is a source of inspiration and motivation for the entire team. This could be a goal, for example, “to become the #1 pizzeria in the city” or “to become the best design studio in the region according to customer reviews.”
The trunk of the goal tree can be not only the mission or the main goal of the business, but also smaller issues: the implementation of a new project or the solution of an important problem.
Let’s look at an example: Alpha Company wants to increase business profits by 30% over the next year. Let’s create a goal tree for it.
Large branches
Large branches diverge from the base of the goal tree — these are large-scale tactical tasks or subgoals that are aim at implementing the strategy. As a rule, they are set for a period of 3-5 years and often correspond to the main areas of work or large business processes.
It is recommend to choose 5-10 such tactical goals. If there are more, there is a risk of blurring the focus or getting confus in the details.
Let’s look at an example: for the Alpha company, which wants to increase profits, three main sub-goals can be identifi – increasing sales, rucing expenses and rucing the debt burden. These are the ones we will indicate on the large branches of the tree.
Branch shoots
Small shoots extend from the large branches of the tree – these are subtasks that are necessary to achieve the goal. As a rule, they are set for a period of up to one year.
To increase sales volume:
- conduct an audit of the sales department;
- provide additional training for sales staff;
- set new KPIs – change the motivation system to a more effective one;
- analyze the market and competitors;
- change marketing strategy;
- find new markets and sales channels.
Leaves
Each small branch of the goal tree has leaves – these are simple single actions that will allow you to complete the task. For each such step, you must indicate the person responsible and how much work time will be requir to complete it.
Let’s look at an example: for the subtask “conduct sales news us training”, the actions will be “create a training program”, “find a location”, “invite participants”. And for the task “find cheaper suppliers”, the individual steps are “create a comparative table of raw material manufacturers”, “contact the most suitable ones” and “discuss the terms of cooperation”.
How to create a goal tree
To create a goal tree, you ne to formulate the desir result and then answer the question: “What nes to be done to achieve it?” So a large goal is broken down into subgoals or large tactical tasks, then they are broken down into small subtasks, and those into specific actions.
There may be more levels of the goal tree if your situation requires it. For example, between large tactical tasks and subtasks, you can highlight another intermiate level.
Principles of constructing a goal tree
To ensure that the method brings maximum benefit, several basic principles should be us:
- The goal tree is built from top to bottom – according to the principle “from the general to the specific”. The tasks of the first level determine the steps on the lower levels.
- Elements on the same tier must be independent of each other.
- At the lower level, only simple single actions are indicat.
Goal Tree Examples
Let’s look at some examples of a tree for different types of goals. A global business objective, project implementation, and process improvement.
Tools for developing a goal tree
To build a goal tree, you can use a pencil and a piece of paper or a simple application. Such as Paint or Power Point. That is, any graphics program will do.
But there are other ways to create a goal tree, for example:
- Mind maps. These are applications that help visualize plans built on a hierarchical principle. These include Miro and Mindmeister, as well as LucidChart, rawMax and SmartDraw.
Briefly about the main thing
What is this tool. The goal tree is a simple and convenient method that allows you to effectively plan the work of the company. It helps to focus the attention and efforts of each employee on. The main tasks of the business and ultimately achieve results faster.
