Intent is a ‘broad stoke of the brush’ kind of sketch of what you want to achieve… without providing instructions on how to achieve it… to provide others an opportunity to lean in and think creatively on how to achieve it — the intent — in their own way.
Example:
intent: [I intend to] lose weight
What does an intent look like if you want it to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound? And yet not providing instructions on how to achieve it? Make it SMART!
Example: [I intend to] lose 50 pounds, one year from now.
How about adding to it a strong reason — the ‘Why’ … the ‘Value’.
Example: [I intend to] lose 50 pounds, one year from now, so that I’ll look great in my suit and also be healthier (less weight I carry around) and richer (less spending on junk food!).
How about creating small goals towards the attainment of the objective? These are the ‘iteration goals’ … stepping stones towards the achievement of the objective. These are the ‘key results’ used as indicators to see if we are on track or off track towards the achievement of the objective. Some folks are referring to this as ‘OKRs’ — Objective and Key Results.
Example of a goal:
Lose 2 pound two weeks from today.
Lose 2 pounds two weeks thereafter
Etc…
This is the spirit of Team PI Objective and the iteration Goals behind it.
Objectives and goals are intents — made SMART… to allow folks to lean in and think on how to achieve these.
If you want your people to think.., give them intent… not instructions!
Let’s call this drill, ‘I2O2G <> Instructions‘ — and then you do this drill using your own context… your own intent … make it SMART objective … then create small connected goals towards the achievement of the objective. Try it, now!
