Chapter 5 Start with an end goal in mind

Every thing and every job will have its specific best result, and this best result is the ultimate goal we expect to achieve in doing one thing and one job.As long as you clearly remember the ultimate goal before starting to do something, you can be sure that no matter what you do on any given day, you will not violate the most important standard for you. The ultimate goal is to make a meaningful contribution. If there is no goal, it is impossible to have tangible actions, let alone obtain practical results.The most obvious characteristic of high-efficiency people is that they often know what kind of goal they want to achieve before they do things, and they know which things are necessary and which seem to be necessary in order to achieve such a goal. In fact, it is insignificant.They always start with an end goal in mind, so they always get twice the result with half the effort, can be excellent and efficient.

Starting with an end goal in mind means that from the beginning you know where you are going, and from the beginning you know where you are now.Moving towards your goal, you can at least be sure that every step you take is in the right direction.It can be very frustrating to be in a situation where you seem to be busy, only to find out that you are going the other way.This is the most common mistake of many people who are inefficient and do not know how to work well. They often give up halfway and waste a lot of time and energy on useless things. There are countless things waiting for us to deal with every day, and many things seem to be very urgent, such as the phone that keeps ringing, a meeting in the next hour, a letter to a customer, and so on.Caught in transactional circles, it seems necessary and understandable that we become busy.But that's not the case.My experience at McKinsey has taught me that at least 80% of what everyone does in a day is unimportant.In other words, maybe 80% of our time and energy every day is doing the right thing, but not doing the right thing.This is a very dangerous way of working.

Starting with an end goal in mind can help us quickly determine the importance of things, and it is an important guarantee that we will always be on the road to doing the right thing.This "final goal" will always remind us that although this matter is urgent, it is not important, and that matter may seem to be delayed, but it will help us move towards the goal faster. There is a widely circulated example.We went into a jungle and started clearing the undergrowth.When we worked hard and finally cleared this piece of bushes, straightened our backs, and prepared to enjoy the fun after completing a hard job, we suddenly found that it was not this jungle, but there was another jungle next to it , that is the jungle we need to clear!How many people are at work, just like these workers who cut down bushes, they often just bury their heads in cutting down bushes, and don't even realize that it is not the jungle to be cut.

Having the ultimate goal in mind at the beginning will allow us to gradually form a good working method and develop a rational judgment rule and work habit.When we begin with an end goal in mind, we can see things differently.In fact, this kind of thinking habit and working method that does not focus on a specific matter has benefited me a lot. In the later years of working at McKinsey, this working method has brought me unexpected joy and joy countless times. reward.