POAM - Plan of Action and Milestones

POAM - Plan of Action and Milestones

Some goals 
are for
climbing.

Goals are great - they give you a target on the horizon to orient your time, energy, investments, andprogress towards.  When you set a specific goal in whatever facet of your life, you are putting it out there that you will achieve the particular target you're shooting at.  The setting of the goal is a great first step.  From there, we should utilize some objectives that help add some granularity to clarify what our goal (or end state) specifically looks like.  

Pants optional
with snow 
chores.

In a wildland fire example, the goal may be "put the fire out."  The objectives may give additional clarity like, "keep the fire south of Road 1 and north of the ABC River."  In a family example, the goal may be "to get more engaged with church."  The corresponding objective might be "get to church as a family at least two times per month."  Following the objective setting phase, you need to operationally set strategies and tactics that move from the "what" to the "how."  In the wildland fire example, that may be "doing dozer line reinforced with burnout operations along Road 1."  In the family example, that could take the form of "doing chores Saturday and setting an alarm to stop whatever you're doing and get in the car 25 minutes before church starts."  

This plan helps you be
in the right place...like 
Northern Lights.

Ultimately, to keep the "staying power" of your action and reach the stated finish line, it's important to further detail your plan with a POAM or a Plan of Action and Milestones.  The goal/objective/strategy/tactics are part of the plan of action along with tools like budgets, calendars, check-ins, and such.  The milestones can help ensure that we're on the right path toward the end goal.  If you were on a road trip, you'd be able to cross reference your map (the plan of action) against the mile markers (the milestones) to ensure that you haven't gotten off the proper road, nor that you're going the wrong way.  

As you start out with your planning, you can build out a written plan without a ton of details or stress involved.  Take a look at the example below to get a sense of what might work for you to get started.  Also, a quick Google search may get you a template or two that you can select from as you're looking to make your family life more intentional with some planning processes and systems.  

You can adopt a strategy that makes the most sense for you and your family (or team).  This could include regularly scheduled interactions/check-ins with "homework" on action items between touchpoints.  It could also include working meetings where the "homework" is done as a group.  You could adopt the new-ish "Program Increment Planning" where you do short sprint sessions on a particular topic.  Then, you might go a while in between without a lot of deliberate interaction on the topic.  

Think this...it
came from a 
set of systems.

For example, the POAM with short sprints may be as a family to tackle healthy eating, decreased screentime, more intentional family time, increased physical activity, or whatever else.  If you try to tackle all of those things at once, like chasing twenty rabbits...you'll catch none of them.  If, instead, you build a plan of action - say meal planning (healthy eating), shopping for groceries from a list (financial fitness), eating together (intentional family time), and going for a walk after dinner while talking (physical fitness), you'll get there.  By making this plan of action into the above milestones...then tracking them and holding yourselves accountable, you'll build a habit that sticks.  From that strong foundation, you can then add on game nights, weekend hiking, or other "second chapter" style activities.  

Hopefully, this week, as we go into a new year, you and your family get the creative juices flowing with a few ideas that kick any "stuck" frustrations into some traction.  Start at the 50,000-foot "big" level and then break it down.  From there, create the check-in mile markers that keep you on the course.  Best of luck in the coming year and all the many adventures that you choose ahead!

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

Call to Action: 

• Pick out a few things that you've stalled out on in life...think about what a POAM could look like to get more clarity, granularity, and build systems...that get you across the finish line.  
• 1 - ___________________ 
• 2 - ___________________
• 3 - ___________________
• Discussion: Consider what you/your family could/would/should (level of commitment) and start/stop/sustain (action) to make this work...planning...and winning...are team sports!

Further Reading, Motivation, and References:

- NIST POAM

- DHS POAM - Detailed List

Tactical Pause and Reset

Tactical Pause and Reset

Take a rest
where you can.

Our fast-paced lives often go without rest or reset.  This can be well and good if it's in the service of a greater good or getting you closer to something on the horizon you desire.  Humans are incredibly resilient, far more than you think you are, doubly so with a "big why" or purpose.  That said, it is also true that we wear out...and perhaps more importantly, we can wear out those around us.  When we talk about a "tactical pause" in the fire service, it's often in response to a major issue or, more likely a trend of similar issues.  A few seasons ago, there was a national-level tactical pause after about the third aircraft crashed...a chance for all aircrews to do a bit of a reset to avoid culminating the tragedies.  The reset allows us to hit the brakes long enough to get our focus back on the big rocks we're facing.  

To rest...move in with
the dog.

In another example, the AED (automatic external defibrillator) machine for cardiac arrest doesn't restart a "stopped" heart per se.  Overly simplified, it resets a disorganized rhythm by stopping the heart and allowing it to restart in a more regular pattern.  Much the same, the tactical pause doesn't fix all of your problems immediately...it does however give you the time and space to come back in a more organized manner, better geared toward success in whatever facet of life.  

Little resets add up
and campfires help.

When we talk about a tactical pause and reset at home, it can (in varying degrees) look like a vacation, honoring a weekly sabbath, a sabbatical, mini-retirement, a spending freeze on the budget, an extracurricular activity moratorium, or whatever else/area is going nuts.  These pauses can be put into place like the Bible calls us to rest in a sabbath for a day per week.  It could take the form of a long weekend away from kids once a quarter or year.  It may look like a family vacation, unplugged from technology and work for two weeks in the summer.  Or, it may look more extreme like arranging life and finances around a mini-retirement where you take six months or a gap year between job transitions.  

Hammocks 
help too.

When we talk about a tactical pause in life, there are inherent tradeoffs or opportunity costs.  In our fire aviation example, the "cost" comes in greater loss of trees (and perhaps homes) burned while our aviation assets are on the ground.  In a home example, a "sabbatical" of sorts may cost you that promotion or raise.  The cease-and-desist (for a season) of extracurricular activities may result in a loss of friends or perceived status.  

The slog may
be the best 
reset time.

The rewards can be huge.  In the fire world, it perhaps stops a chain of fender-bender accidents with similar causal factors from escalating to a fatality accident.  In a home world, it may look like not "kicking the dog" so much at home from our work stressors that we avoid a divorce or estranged child. Another tendency when things are going sideways is to double down (the old definition of insanity where we do the same thing over and over expecting a different result).  When we're too stressed or over-tapped, we tend to take out our frustrations on those we love most.  By hitting the brakes and allowing you (and your family) to step off the crazy train and refocus on the big rocks that we say are important.  

Sometimes, you even have to
take a short pause from the 
good stuff.

In many of our systems, we sometimes need to reset but we seldom proactively do.  Instead, we too often allow the system to implode or malfunction, forcing us into a pause - heart attack, getting fired, wife walking out, etc.  Part of our way to get intentional and proactive, to get in front of an escalating situation is to do the tactical pause, then strategically re-engage.  Evaluate the parts of your life, especially if the fire is shrinking or the wrong thing is on fire... like a dumpster. 

Take a rest 
right where you
are at.

Shifting gears a little bit, another important, perhaps critical time to employ the tactical pause is when you're running up against what we call a high-risk, low-frequency event.  In other words, these rare situations that you likely (hopefully) haven't encountered before...and that come with a high degree of consequence.  Instead of charging rapidly and blindly ahead, use the tactical pause analogy to pull your boat to the side of the proverbial rapids to scout them out before going full speed ahead over the waterfall just around the bend.  At home, this may be the diagnosis of a medical problem, the loss of a job, moving across the country, or some other not to be taken lightly, rarely done life activity.  In these situations, slow it down, think it through, look at how others have managed similar circumstances...then make a plan and recommit.  

Snuggle zebras
may help

Shifting gears once more, I recently read that the average length of an emotion is 90 seconds and we tend to have some 60,000 thoughts/day, most are the same thought.  When we ruminate on those 90-second feelings or get stuck in a loop where we're rolling around constantly on something that doesn't bring us, or our loved ones joy, we need a tactical pause.  We can let a short interaction (say someone cutting you off on your morning commute) pollute our whole day.  Or take a pause, let it go, regroup, and choose to have a better day, despite, or perhaps because of the negative interaction that forced us to a tactical pause, out of autopilot, and reminded us to choose joy.  

Again...
campfires
help reset.

If you're contemplating something big - try to spread out the decision footprints to reduce the gravity - moving, marriage, kids, job change - try to pause the other stuff you're thinking about.  Instead of diving into the deep end with changing jobs, getting married, getting pregnant, and finding a new town...split those up.  Take one at a time and move slowly, pausing in between each before hitting the next one.  When you space those big things out, for example, get a new job, then move to the new job.  When you land rent for six months or a year to figure out what neighborhood before you land on a giant McMortgage only to realize it's a bad location.  

As we close it out this week, keep in mind that even high-performance racecars go for a pit stop periodically.  And, even for the most robust of us, periodic, preventative maintenance is critical to our long-term success.  Best of luck with tactical pausing...it takes some getting used to...but it is necessary.  

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

Call to Action: 

• Pick out three areas of life where you are stressed badly...list out what a tactical pause may look like, then pick one and do it this week.  (E.g. finance got you stressed, do a no-spend month challenge).  
• 1 - ___________________ 
• 2 - ___________________
• 3 - ___________________
• Discussion: Consider what you/your family could/would/should (level of commitment) and start/stop/sustain (action) in terms of tactical pauses at home...think about the pain points and come up with a way to reset a bit.  

Further Reading, Motivation, and References:

-  High Risk, Low Frequency 

- Crazy Train, Ozzy Osbourne

Too Busy Chasing the Cows to Fix the Fence...Root Causes

Too Busy Chasing the Cows to Fix the Fence...Root Causes

Be ready to dig

Oftentimes, we get swept up in the busyness of a busy life and end up just going where the flow of the day/week/month/year/decade takes us...sometimes without much thought or intentionality.  This can be all well and good if the path your particular river is flowing is a good path.  By that, I mean, if it's generally getting you and your family closer to your desired, stated end state in a strategic sense.  The problem arises when our patterns and habits of life lead us further away from who and what we say we want to become over the decades.  When we notice that our particular river path is leading us away from where we say we want to go, it's important to figure out why...and make changes.  

Bring a team.

There is an old adage that I'm "too busy chasing the cows to fix the fence" or said another way, we often fight the symptoms of a particular problem without stopping to recognize or attack the underlying problem.  If we'd find the time to invest in building a better fence...we'd get out of the crazy cycle of always chasing the cows.  Translating this into another context, let's take weight gain/obesity trends.  Say that you wake up one day and realize playing on the ground with the kids or going on a hike is now troublesome due to a few extra pounds...a few years in a row.  

Zero in on the
problem.

If we immediately go to a symptom-style solution, instead of a root cause analysis, we likely won't impact or influence the underlying system causing the trouble.  Consequently, even if we do achieve a short-term result of dropping a few pounds, we'll likely put them back on quickly.  In this example, we can use the 5 Why's method of root cause analysis to tackle the real issue...and get real, lasting results.  Starting by asking the "Why" question...five times in a row, we often get to the bottom of the heap where we should be applying our investment of time, energy, resources, etc.  

Bring a 
helmet.

In our example, stating the problem vs prescribing a solution starts our 5 Why process.  Our problem is weight gain...saying it that way, instead of "weight loss" helps us start our analysis on the right foot...not limiting our brainstorming by giving a solution upfront.  Now, we ask, why did we gain weight?  Turns out crappy eating habits.  Why do we have crappy eating habits (second why)?  Because we eat out too much.  Why do we eat out too much (third why)?  Because we're too busy in the evenings to go to the grocery store.  Why are we too busy in the evenings (fourth why)?  Because we have activities each night.  Why do we have too many activities (fifth why)?  Because we hate saying no to friends who ask us to volunteer for something.

Dig deeper.

In this example, had we started with weight loss, it leads us to strategies and tactics of diet and exercise.  Turns out that perhaps our problem is more concentrated on practicing saying "no" to friends so that we buy back evening time during the week so that we can cook healthy meals.  We may also be able to glean items from the five questions that point toward strategies and tactics for solutions.  Could we do grocery pick-up/delivery?  Could we cook a bunch of freezer meals ahead of time?  Could we do intentional meal planning?  Shopping with a list that doesn't include junk food?  Stop driving down the "main street" that tempts us when we pass the burger joint every night when you're hungry?  Chances are those changes in the underlying system help ooch us toward success.

Look snazzy 
digging.

As we've talked before, how you do one thing is how you do all things.  To this end, getting good (or at least better) at saying "no" to volunteer activities helps us build our self-control muscles...which helps us say "no" to second dessert helpings.  Or it may help us say "yes" to going out on a hike or walking around the block after dinner...instead of plopping in front of the TV.  Slowly, with intentional investment into the root causes of our problems, we begin to make meaningful, life-changing, impactful changes to our lives that move us strategically toward where we say we want to end up.  

Build a fort
while you dig

Think about how the process could be applied in your life - budget, getting to church,screen time, connecting with kids, school troubles, etc.  You can get in the habit of making the 5 Why questioning more habitual with practice...eventually, it becomes fairly automatic as a thought process more than a separate process.  

Sometimes to dig deeper
you have to get margin.

Lastly, before we depart, think about the lack of margin that many of us have in our lives (lack of time, energy, money, etc.) as part of a root cause in many of our problems.  In other words, for many problems in modern life, the "slow down" answer is probably one that can be beneficial.  Like Stephen Covey said years ago in his legendary book, spending time in the Q2 category (the not urgent, but important parts of life) is huge.  When we slow down enough to "stop fix the fence" instead of "chasing the cows" we are in a Q2 mindset where we start to get to the crux or core of the problem...and we begin to prevent the problem from being a problem tomorrow.  

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

Call to Action: 

• Pick out an area that has frustrated you in life.  Define the problem (not prescribe a solution), and then go through the 5 Why analysis to come up with a few root causes...attack those and apply your resources there.  
• 1 - ___________________ 
• 2 - ___________________
• 3 - ___________________
• Discussion: Consider what you/your family could/would/should (level of commitment) and start/stop/sustain (action) regarding a problem you have faced.  Will you post the 5 Why's on your kitchen wall?  Will you go through the thought exercise as a family?  Can you make the analysis a habit?  

Further Reading, Motivation, and References:

- Love and Respect Crazy Cycle

- Q2 Covey Quadrants

I Wish You Enough.

I Wish You Enough.

Flat worn out from the 
stuff.

Enough...it's become cutesy sign fodder and cliche at this point...but I truly believe it is one of the most powerful desired end states...if we're capable of accepting it.  I also believe that it is a fairly universal desired end state across most any category of your life and family.  When we "cap" any category of our life with a defined "enough" instead of an open-ended "more," we set ourselves up for contentment and peace.  There is power in having a "finish line" so to speak.  

Making a supply
run to the fort.

This concept is often brought into the financial component of our lives...and that makes sense.  Money can be an aweful bottomless pit of "always more" to be satisfied, happy, content, okay, peaceful, or whatever adjective you want to insert.  If, instead, we approach finance as an "enough" proposition, we don't have to scrimp and save every penny...nor do we have to become a slave to the "almight dollar" where we chase it relentlessly at the cost of other facets of life.  We can likely come to a point where we have "enough" of a house, car, salary, checking/savings account, retirement balance, investment, and so forth.  Too many people spend extra years at work and miss out on kids, grandkids, or other major parts of life in chasing money.  In reality, the old adage, "it's only money" is very true and by defining our "enough" we can then prioritize and invest the more scarce resource, time, in more meaningful ways.  

Hauling the 
little bro.

Branching beyond our financial lives, enough, is not only a good thing, it's vital.  Think about what life looks like when your spouse or children are never, can never, be enough.  How heartbreaking for you and for them to know you're always on the hunt for the "better version" of a wife, husband, or child.  Similarly, at work, there is a fine balance of being driven for more...and finding an enough level.  Recently I had an opportunity to attend a prestigous professional development program at a west coast university...at the cost of a month away from family.  At points in life, I would've jumped without much second thought or hesitation.  Today, fortunately, I (and our family) has settled into an "enough" status at work and had the fortitude to turn down the school.  

Shopping. 

Another way to think about this concept is in our daily lives, or rather the premise that "good enough as a better than perfect."  Too often, "perfect is the enemy of done."  In life we have to do quality work...and we also have to complete it.  I've struggled as a writer over the years with getting a book across the finish line because it isn't perfect...but it probably is good enough.  The peace of mind that can come with being done...being enough...as a thought process/lifestyle can be a powerful peace bringing notion.  

Taking a stand
on
consumerism.

As we continue the conversation, remember that the idea of "enough" doesn't stand alone in a vacuum but rather as a required pre-requisite to more philosophical desired end states like peace, harmony, and balance.  By defining, seeking out, focusing on, and being content with enough, we move closer to those rare lifestyles that we envy from the outside looking in.  The concept of "enough" is one that we have to be willing to fight for...since we're competing in an increasingly uphill battle.  A quick spin through social media and we see the neighbor's neighbor's great uncle just got a new boat.  Your best man's sister just went on a luxury vacation.  Consumerism and advertising try to convince us, toxically, that more is always better.  Bigger is better.  Nicer is better.  What you have is not enough...not ever.  

Painting with Tom
and Huck.

When we lose sight of our "enough" we tend to fall into the trap of "starter _____" job, house, spouse, etc.  By never being satisfied or defining happiness as "wanting what we have," we up the ante dangerously and habitually.  It's hard to be a hard charger climbing the corporate ladder, ramping up the spending, chasing the bigger, brighter, shinier without those things becoming who you are...no longer what you do.  When that happens, we get a worrisome too much of a good thing...is still too much.  The philosophy being that if one house is good, two must be great.  One spouse...two must be double the fun.  Whether it's the small stuff like ice cream/chocolate/donuts or the big stuff...the root is a lack of accepting "enough" as a finish line or goal post.    

It starts with a
plan.

Before we call it a week - think about other "enough" targets that we can bring into our lives.  Some of the topics for your family might include screen time, sitting time vs active time, preparedness for disasters, being in shape or working out, your career.  For us, an "enough" end state in those parts of life means that we're "in shape enough" - we won't be winning any triathalons at this point...but we also won't likely be having a heart attack at 50.  I won't make vice president or CEO, but our family is well taken care of financially and I don't have to be very often compared to "yesterday me."  

It can be timeless.

As we wrap it up, we'll leave with the idea that "living" an "enough" lifestyle can be generationally impactful.  As sage and legendary investing master (and "enough" guru), Warren Buffett puts it, "the perfect inheritance is enough money so that children feel they can do anything, but not so much that they could do nothing."  Similarly, in "wishing you enough" we hope that you (and yours) find the balance that is right for your family between drive and peace...between a hollow pit of "always more" and "enough."  

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

Call to Action: 

• Pick out a couple of areas in your life where you're stressed (or your family) and define an "enough target" that you internalize.  After a month or 6 or 12, see if you're less stressed.  
• 1 - ___________________ 
• 2 - ___________________
• 3 - ___________________
• Discussion: Consider what you/your family could/would/should (level of commitment) and start/stop/sustain (action) in terms of an "enough" goal.  

Further Reading, Motivation, and References:

"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough."  Oprah Winfrey

Hunt the Good

Hunt the Good

Find a vantage point
to start looking.

I've had a handful of folks in my circle talk about "how the grass is greener over there" as an attitude recently.  Several have switched jobs, another switched spouses, and one had a bit of a mid-life meltdown.  Another friend told me, and I've tried to repeat it, "The grass is greener where you water it."  In other words, when we look for the negative we find it...the same is true when we look for the good.  Part of our "hunting the good" becomes habitual looking for it as an attitude throughout the day and throughout the facets of our lives.  

Sometimes 
you've got to 
dig for it.

In my mind, much of "the good" that we're looking for overlaps with what we're thankful for or the blessings in our lives.  This can be both the subtle things we take for granted - clean water, health, a job that pays our bills, and so forth.  Too often we miss the forest for the trees in our life and end up dwelling on the bumpy parts of those parts of life - coffee not the right temperature, ache in your knee, or grouch boss.  The point here is, that when we "hunt the good" instead of seeking out or allowing the negative to seep in, it changes our perspective and our outlook.  

Building a treehouse
wasn't about the 
treehouse.

Think for a minute about the old "you are what you eat" or in simplified terms, "you are what you consume."  Count up in your head the amount of "good and beautiful" that comes into your life through your consumption vs the darker or seedier parts of life.  How many violent action movies do you watch compared to the Hallmark Channel feel-good stories?  In your podcasts or fiction reading do you wallow in true crime or Chicken Soup For the Soul?  I'm the proverbial pot-calling-the-kettle-black-here with much of the fiction I tend to enjoy...but I'll also be the first to get out into the beautiful nature that surrounds us and embrace it.  The point here is, have a balance and seek out the "good and beautiful" things around you...not just sit in the darkness.  

Maybe the Pony
Express can deliver
the good.

To give this habit some staying power, put 10 small items (coins, pebbles, something) into your left pocket, and when you see/hear/do/touch/taste/smell something you're thankful for, physically move one item to your right pocket.  Strive to get all the objects moved by the end of the day.  This simple gesture helps us focus on the things that are going right around us.  Too often, we're consumed by the things going wrong - problems we have to deal with and we miss all that this going right.  

We have also tried to instill some of this thought process around the dinner table by asking questions about each other's days.  In the fall, leading up to Thanksgiving, we've done a "thankful pumpkin" where we have a sharpie and each writes things we're thankful for until the pumpkin is full.  It's been surprising how many things we come up with when we verbalize it and document it.  On what might otherwise feel like a crummy day or week, changing our paradigm helps us realize how truly blessed we are as individuals and as a family.  

Sometimes
you just have
to reach a little
more.

Similarly to the above, I've tried to make it a habit of "thank you God for this" mini-prayers throughout the course of a day.  In stopping to think about and give thanks I'm amazed how many more times this pops into my head now than when I got started.  Blessings or "good" lives all around us, we just often fail to recognize or notice them.  By taking intentionality and time to celebrate the wins in our lives, we start to see more wins in our lives...and consequently, start to live our better or best lives.  

In other facets of our lives, our roles as parents, employers, supervisors, leaders, and so forth, we hopefully hunt and call out the good that we see in the circles around us.  This isn't the Pollyanna or bouncy cheerleader bravado or falsetto.  This, when done right is a proactive, habitual seeking out of the good that is occurring by others around us and the genuine compliments that we pay others.  By hunting the good and sharing it, we leave genuine smiles in our wakes as we go throughout the day.  When we brighten the lives of those around us, it's awfully hard to wallow in our own perceived self-misery.  

Life is good...
when you look.

Another part of the "good" we've been hunting became more clear when a friend put it into words "Out of every adversity are seeds of equal or greater opportunity."  In other words, celebrating and embracing failure because it leads to growth and inspiration are part of the "good."  It seems like oftentimes when we look in the rearview mirror of life, the turning points or "rocks in the river" so to speak that alter the course of our lives were failures, not wins.  Hopefully, for most of us, when we look back with time, we recognize those moments that were painful in the moment, were actually polarizing, or galvanizing course corrections that got us to where we are today.  Finding the good in the darkness is a huge secret to resilience and ultimately to long-term success.  

To wrap up, talk show host and money guru, Dave Ramsey answers the "how are you?" question with the tagline, "Better than I deserve."  When we stop and think about the totality of our lives and our circumstances, when we apply the "hunt the good" filter to our lives, hopefully, we too can say, "better than I deserve" on a daily, weekly, yearly, and lifetime basis.   Over time, our "hunting of the good" transitions into "seeing the good" automatically and ultimately, over time, "being the good" for those around us.  

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

Call to Action: 

• Pick out three things today, in the next couple hours that are "good" and be thankful them.  Repeat until you're starting to see them automatically.  
• 1 - ___________________ 
• 2 - ___________________
• 3 - ___________________
• Discussion: Consider what you/your family could/would/should (level of commitment) and start/stop/sustain (action) in terms of seeing the glass half full around you on a routine basis.  

Further Reading, Motivation, and References:

- US Army Campaign