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 known to everyone. Today we will try to fulfill the third point. And not in its direct understanding. Create a goal tree. Ideally, it will subsequently help to solve both the first two problems and the third, but in its real sense.

The goal tree is a fairly common method for achieving the objectives, which is mainly used in management. To use this method, a person needs to "grow a tree" of his goals. To do this, distribute them according to significance levels. It can be said that this definition of plans is in the form of a tree picture.

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 planning cases, only the schedule is 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, use graphic images. Moreover, the tree in this figure will be upside down.

Structuring information in the form of a goal tree will help to cope with tasks more effectively. By planting such a sprout, you will immediately see what problems you have to solve, what you will need in order to climb to the top, what additional resources may be required.

In this way you can even determine the time it takes to realize what you have planned. However, this will be a very approximate value.But you can easily figure out how one of your actions affects another, how the complexity of performing one task depends on another. Tracking relationships will not only help to realize ideas in business and create successful projects, but also solve personal problems.

The technique itself is very easy to use. It is only necessary to observe 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 task.

The circuit is very simple. The main thing is to compile it correctly. First, we determine our main goal. It will become a support, 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 surround it will form a crown. In another way, they can be called subgoals, which must be achieved in order to eventually begin to implement the main idea. Each such branch can have its own “processes”.

One of the design rules is to thoroughly “draw” each process. To create a tree, you need to carefully 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 completed in order to achieve your plan, and will also help 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 action plan. Sometimes it’s difficult to assess how much this or that goal will cost us. In this case we will clearly depict the requirements that each problem presents to us, and we will be able to determine what we will need to implement it, what we already have at our disposal, what additional forces and means will be needed.

When creating a goal tree, shape your ideas clearly. Be sure to determine what the final result should be. To do this, write down on what grounds it will be possible to call your task completed, what you will feel when it happens, what events will indicate the fulfillment of a dream and the achievement of a goal. Set the deadline for the work.

To save time and effort, divide your intentions into several stages. The first, of course, will be the main goal. Next, distribute sub-goals on the “crown” of your tree. Then describe what you need to implement them. You must write out all the resources you need. Only then will it become clear how to solve the main problem.

In order for everything to work correctly, it is necessary to determine each step. If your scheme will not get this or that stage, all efforts will be in vain. When at least one small branch is missing in the target tree, this leads to its “withering”. Only if you specify everything necessary for the implementation of the 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 your enterprise is a tree. Each of its departments is a separate branch that helps maintain and strengthen the trunk. Everyone should have their own specific goal, clearly formulated task. If the load between units is distributed correctly, then your tree will certainly stand firmly on the ground.

For more efficient operation, the decomposition method is often used. With him the main task is divided into several less complex and less time-consuming to perform.

Another variant - to build from small tasks a kind of staircase leading to the top of your tree. Which method to use, you need to decide 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 distribute them to solve the 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 an example we will take a situation which, perhaps, is faced in each family. Namely, the problem of a child entering 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 (available resources for this and a list of additional ones).

First you need to determine what is already available on the items:

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

Next, you need to analyze the state in which these resources are located, and begin to search for “fertilizers,” that is, the creation of subgoals. Let's start from the very beginning - if the knowledge that the child receives in the lessons 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 a child. Most likely, he will not do it for free, so you need to find funds in the family budget to pay for tutoring.

Besides, You will have to radically redraw your child’s schedule and allocate time for additional classes in it. From here, new shoots “cut through”. For example, to find a tutor, you can use the connections: remember, maybe your old friend is still teaching at MGIMO? If there is not enough money to pay for a tutor, you need to think about where to 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. In Russia, there are enough universities 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 subgoals will be the collection of necessary documents, medical certificates and so on.

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

Financial well-being can also be achieved using the goal tree. So, our trunk (the main task) is financial well-being. Its branches (subgoals) - the main and additional earnings, the possibility of earning income by investing in banks, buying securities, playing the stock exchange or the lottery.

If your main idea – If you enter the Forbes list, then there will be no fewer branches on your goal tree than pages in this prestigious magazine. On its branches there will be additional education, a change in professional activity, the 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 subgoals in this case will include the search for additional or overtime work, the purchase of a lottery ticket, a visit to a wealthy aunt, and so on.

In both cases, the goal tree will certainly help you. Remember, the main thing is to accurately articulate your desires, carefully analyze your capabilities and find additional resources to realize your dreams.. And then you will certainly raise a son, build a house, and plant a tree near it, reminiscent of a tree of goals, which once helped you in fulfilling your desire.