Goal tree: what is it and how to build it?

Raising a son, building a house and planting a tree is a list of life goals that everyone knows. Today we will try to fulfill the third point. And not in his direct understanding. Let's create a goal tree. Ideally, in the future, it will help to solve the first two problems, and the third, but in its real sense.

The goal tree is a fairly common method for achieving goals, which is mainly used in management. To use this method, a person needs to "grow a tree" of their goals. To do this, they should be distributed according to the levels of significance. We can say this is the definition of plans in the form of a tree drawing.

Came up with it Russell Lincoln Ackoff, a scientist from the United States, and it happened back in 1957. The idea of ​​the American turned out to be so successful that it is still widely used. In fact, this is a method of scheduling cases, only the schedule is drawn up in the form of a tree. Its trunk is the main goal, and branches are tasks that are simpler or less significant.

When creating it, graphic images are used. Moreover, the tree in such a picture will be upside down.

Structuring information in the form of a tree of goals will help you to cope with the assigned tasks more efficiently. Having "planted" such a sprout, you will immediately see what problems you have to solve, what you need to climb to the top, what additional resources may be required.

Thus you can even determine the time it will take to implement your plans. However, this will be a very rough estimate.But you can easily figure out how one of your actions affects another, how the complexity of one task depends on another. Tracking relationships will help not only bring ideas to business and create successful projects, but also solve personal problems.

The technique itself is very easy to use. You just need to follow a few key rules. And it will make your life easier, help in self-realization, and maybe even allow you to find happiness. So, let's get down to the tasks set.

The circuit is very simple. The main thing is to compose it correctly. First, we define our main goal. She will become the support, the essence, that is, the trunk of our tree. But in order for the trunk to become strong and powerful, it needs branches - other tasks that will surround it, form the crown. In another way, they can be called sub-goals that must be achieved in order to eventually begin to implement the main idea. Each such branch can have its own "offshoots".

One of the design rules is to thoroughly "draw" each process... To create a tree, you need to meticulously describe each of its branches, and then your mission will certainly become feasible. This technique will show you all your upcoming actions that will need to be taken to achieve your plan, and will also help you determine the resources that you will need to use.

A goal tree is created to solve very complex problems or implement large-scale projects that require a clear plan of action. Sometimes it is difficult to estimate how much a particular goal will cost us. In this case we will visually depict the requirements that each problem makes to us, and we will be able to determine what we need to implement it, what we already have at our disposal, what additional forces and means will be needed.

When creating your goal tree, be clear about your ideas. Be sure to define what the final result should be. To do this, write on what signs it will be possible to call your task completed, how you will feel when it happens, what events will indicate the fulfillment of your dreams and the achievement of your goal. Set a deadline for the work.

To save time and effort, divide your intentions into stages. The first will certainly be the main goal. Next, distribute sub-targets over the "crown" of your tree. Then describe what you will need to implement them. You should write down all the resources you need. Only then will it become clear how to solve the main problem.

For everything to work right, you need to define each step. If your scheme does not reach this or that stage, all efforts will be in vain. When the target tree lacks at least one small twig, it leads to its "wilting". Only if you specify everything you need to implement your plan, the plan will work. If it turns out that you intentionally or accidentally missed something, then everything will go down the drain or not.

Imagine that your business is a tree. Each of its sections is a separate branch that helps maintain and strengthen the trunk. Everyone should have their own specific goal, a clearly formulated task. If the load between the units is distributed correctly, then your tree will definitely stand firmly on the ground.

For more efficient work, the decomposition method is often used. With him the main task is broken down into several less complex and less time-consuming tasks to complete.

Another variant - build from small tasks a kind of staircase leading to the top of your tree... Which method to use should be decided based on the specific situation. In each case, one or another option may be more effective. The main thing is to correctly assess the available resources and correctly allocate them to solve the assigned tasks.

As we already know, the goal tree can help not only in the implementation of business projects, but also in solving purely private problems. For example, let's take a situation that is faced, perhaps, in every family. Namely, the problem of a child's admission to a higher educational institution. The applicant's goal tree will consist of a trunk (the main task is to become a student of a certain university) and branches (resources available for this and a list of additional ones).

First you need to determine what is already available, point by point:

• the level of knowledge gained in secondary school, USE scores;
• the presence of connections in the educational environment;
• financial capabilities of parents, other relatives who can provide assistance.

Next, you need to analyze the state in which these resources are located, and start looking for "fertilizers", that is, creating subgoals. Let's start from the very beginning - if the knowledge that the child receives in the classroom at school is not enough for admission, additional classes are needed. You need to find a person who has sufficient knowledge and the ability to teach the child. Most likely, he will not do it for free, so it is necessary to find funds in the family budget to pay for the services of a tutor.

Besides, you will have to radically reshape your child's schedule and allocate time for additional activities. From here new shoots "cut through". For example, you can use connections to find a tutor: remember, maybe your old friend still teaches at MGIMO? If you don't have enough money to pay for the tutor's work, you need to think about where you can get it. This can be a loan, and the search for additional sources of income, and the opportunity to ask for financial assistance from friends or relatives.

Of course, if your child intends to go to study at the Ivanovo Textile Institute, all this is unlikely to be required. There are enough universities in Russia where you can enter with an average level of grades. If this is your goal, then the tree created to achieve it will be different. Among the sub-goals will be the collection of the necessary documents, certificates from a doctor, and so on.

If your goal is Moscow State University or a prestigious university abroad, then your tree will turn out to be more cumbersome, but, you must agree, it will be more difficult to grow it, but much more attractive and interesting for every member of your family. This most often requires not only a bright mind, but also a tight wallet.

You can also achieve financial well-being using the goal tree. So, our trunk (main task) is financial well-being. Its branches (sub-goals) are the main and additional income, the possibility of earning income through investments in banks, buying securities, playing on the stock exchange or in the lottery.

If your main idea is – enter the Forbes list, then there will be no fewer branches on your goal tree than pages in this prestigious magazine. Its branches will accommodate additional education, change of professional activity, search for "the right people" in the industry you are interested in, moving to another region or even to another country, and so on.

If you just need to find an extra couple of thousand rubles for financial well-being, then the branches of your tree will look different. The list of sub-goals in this case includes finding additional or overtime work, buying a lottery ticket, visiting a rich aunt, and so on.

In either case, the goal tree will certainly help you. Remember, the main thing is to accurately formulate your desires, carefully analyze your capabilities and find additional resources to make your dreams come true.... And then you will certainly raise your son, build a house, and plant a tree near him, reminiscent of the tree of goals, which once helped you fulfill your desire.