Intent Based Leadership - Task, Purpose, End State in Family

Intent-Based Leadership - Task, Purpose, End State in Family

Even canoes can
be turned around

Author and retired Navy Submarine Capt L. David Marquet among other experts around the country has talked a lot about Intent-Based Leadership.  (If you haven't read Turn The Ship Around by Mr. Marquet, you should).  The folks at Mission Centered Solutions have helped translate some of this leadership theory into the fire service as Intent-Based Planning.  For our purposes, I'll overly simplify the process by saying that we, like Steven Covey, advocated, we should begin with the end in mind...or convey "leader's intent" from the beginning.  

Often, we translate it into "task, purpose, end state" when building plans for disaster/crisis response.  In other words, instead of just giving a task or tactic to someone, we build in the "why" factor.  Throughout the proverbial "sausage-making process" to use an analogy, we try to build in the leader's intent through the planning process, operational briefings, and ultimately into the task-level work in the field.  As we can apply this to a personal finance concept, we can't skip the "why" and the
theory or strategy when we're implementing tactical-level tasks.  Sun Tzu said it best, "Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before the defeat."  

The leader sets the tone...

We recently had some friends who were looking at having their second child and decided to get serious about finance...which is great.  Without the overarching strategy to center them, they searched through the pile of feel-good/get-rich-quick/save-money-quick schemes.  They came up with implementing a "spending freeze week," which is great in theory, but it loses its teeth in a vacuum.  The same tactic (spending freeze) under a purpose/end state (saving a certain amount of money, changing habits, etc) is huge.  

For our friends, they did the spending freeze, counting down to the end of the week, and then blew the budget the next week.  When you look at their month-over-month running average spending, you wouldn't be able to spot the month with the spending freeze.  This all isn't to poo-poo tactics without an end state...they have merit and can be valuable.  This is to say, tactics, when aligned to a desired end state, get powerful results and move the proverbial needle.  

Sometimes it takes professionals...
or semi-professionals.

In our family, some of our desired end states relate to how we want our kids to turn out.  Financially
literate (knowing how to be successful) and disciplined (to actually be successful).  When we take that end goal and reverse engineer it, we can come up with a set of implementable tasks (commission for chores, give/save/spend money system, and become delayed gratification practitioners).  The purpose of these tasks, done over time and internalized creates the literacy and discipline of our desired end state.  If this whole thing sounds like an overly simplified, "well duh" sort of thing...you're not entirely wrong.  Just because it is simple, doesn't make it any less powerful or practical.  

Little things matter.

Another example, we're pretty adamant that we, as people, and our kids in particular, are better forms of ourselves when we're outdoors.  We're also big believers in lots of reading.  Those two items require many small, habitual tasks (picking out books, creating time to go walk around the block, choosing adventure over couch sitting, and so forth).  Often, we have a tendency or a temptation, especially when life is busy, to opt toward just hanging around on the weekend after a busy week.  The task/purpose/end state reminders that we use in our language, conversation, and lifestyle, help us to lean toward those small activities that make big results.  You could use this same framework for diet, exercise, or any habit you're trying to break/make in your life.  Associating each small "what" with a deeper connected way and connecting them to a strategic outcome matters.  

Too often, especially with the more nebulous or longer-term projects like marriage and kid-rearing, we fall into ruts and just go along with the way the stream goes.  The whole, "you're the average of your five closest people" can be a great thing...if those five folks are aligned to our strategic desired end states...if not it can be catastrophic.  Use intent-based leadership to direct how you'll do life...which in turn, when done right translates into who you (your spouse and kids) ultimately become.  

It takes a team to turn it 
around effectively.

As we close, a slight "war story."  We were in a meeting with our old non-profit when a national-level leader was giving a talk to our regional team.  In his analogy, he talked about how we, as an organization had been paddling with only one side for a long time and now we were putting both oars in the water.  A friend and peer, who was an expert raft guide leaned over and whispered, "That's why we've been going in circles all these years."  Defining the task, purpose, and end state...you know, the task of putting both paddles in the water toward the end state gets you there way faster.  

With you in the arena, from ours to yours...Happy Trails!

Call to Action: 

• Pick out a specific problem you're going to address at home by giving it Task-Purpose-End State language.  See how that goes and then write out three that you'll commit to for a month (kids, marriage, faith, etc). 
• 1 - ___________________ 
• 2 - ___________________
• 3 - ___________________
• Discussion: Consider what you/your family could/would/should (level of commitment) and start/stop/sustain (action) in regards to this framework at home.  It gets more powerful and "sticky" when you intentionally talk the talk while walking the walk.  

Further Reading, Motivation, and References:

- Turn the Ship Around 

- Forbes Intent-Based Leadership Article

- National Wildland Fire Article