Outcomes

From The Graham English Wiki

Problems cannot be solved unless you have an outcome.

Four basic outcome questions:

  • What am I moving towards? (The desired state or outcome)
  • Why am I moving? (The values that guide you)
  • How will I get there? (The strategy for the journey)
  • What if something goes wrong? (Risk management and contingency planning)

There are two aspects to outcomes:

  • Outcome thinking: deciding what you want in a given situation.
  • Outcome orientation: consistently thinking in outcomes and having a general direction and purpose in life.

How to structure outcomes:

  • Positive: What do I want?
  • Evidence: How will you know you are succeeding/have succeeded?
  • Specifics: Where, when, and with whom?
  • Resources: What resources do you have?
  • Control: Can you start and maintain this outcome?
  • Ecology: What are the wider consequences?
    • What time and effort will this outcome require?
    • Who else is affected and how will they feel?
    • What will you have to give up when you achieve this outcome?
    • What is good about the present situation?
    • What else could happen when you get your outcome?
  • Identity: Is this outcome in keeping with who you are?
  • How do your outcomes fit together?
  • Action plan: What to do next?