What is outcome focusing/thinking ?

[Treetops]

I recently re-read the last chapter of the GTD book 'the power of outcome
focusing' . As a side note theres a subsection 'the significance of applied outcome thinking'. I'm a little unsure what it all means.

Firstly the basic question: is 'outcome focusing' and 'outcome thinking' the same thing?

Secondly : how is this meant to be implemented ?

Take an example - suppose I have to do a pHD project in computer science
(maybe 800 hours of work in total), how am I meant to use the power of outcome focusing?

 

[gtderik]

Reticular Activating System

Perhaps others can elaborate better than I, but Allen uses outcome visioning as a way to train your brain to subconsiously define success and create success based on visualization.... its the essence of "make it up, make it happen."

"write it down make it happen" was a great book that I recently finished that talked all about this....

At the Roadmap david talked about the Reticular Activating System and how it was key to Getting Things Done....

 

[Treetops]

Thanks for the response. Apologies but more confused now, probably because I haven't read the book you mention + not been to the roadmap. I do have guesses as to what it might mean, but clarification would help.

 

[Brent]

As Stephen Covey puts it, "Begin with the end in mind."

"Outcome Thinking" means to visualize your final outcome and work towards that. This is as opposed to the trap of constantly working on daily tasks without periodically taking the time to re-align yourself with your longer-term goals and intentions.

At least, that's how I understand it.

 

[Treetops]

Brent , thanks for your response.

Yes: my guess as to what was meant was visualisation. However in that chapter in the book, David doesn't specifically say anything along the lines of
'close you eyes and imagine...' . This isn't a criticism of Davids book of course, rather a note that I may be in error in taking it only as meaning visualisaiton.

Anyway, assuming it does mean visualisaion in practical terms another guess would be along the lines of maybe twice a day, 10 minutes a 'session', maybe in a quiet room , visualising the outcome?

Is it better to visualise an very exagerrated version of success (e.g. with the pHD example , to visualise gaining a noble prize, with say Newton & Einstein applauding while you get the medal [!]) or a realistic one , say giving a presentation to two of your tutors?

Its of course easy to think of different imaginary 'scenes' - so another question would be 'is it better to stick with one scene or vary it?'

Would be interesting to hear from anyone who has actually tried this process and if it worked (or not) for them.

 

[Brent]

That's similar to what I think of when I think of focusing on an outcome. However, in my experience, it's more valuable to imagine a very specific outcome.

OK, an example: I'm involved in a hobby operating system project, and I recently volunteered to host an online "class" introducing programmers to the operating system's programming environment.

In "Beginning with the end in mind," I imagined teaching the class successfully and enjoyably. I thought about what specifically I would present, questions that the attendees might ask, etc. I saw potential gaps in my material, and filled those in.

In other words, instead of fantasizing vaguely about success, I imagined a specific successful outcome that I can work towards.

Does that help?

 

[Treetops]

Brent, thanks again

> Does that help?
Well it sounds like intelligent preparation / rehersal and of course is commendable. I sort of imagined (non pun intended) visualisation to be closer to a self directed (detailed not vague) daydream rather than intelligent rehersal. as 'a way to train your brain to subconsiously' as gtderic put it.

I've just done some more web searches and now found:
http://buzzmodo.typepad.com/buzznovation/2005/08/gtdthe_road_map.html

whick looks like someones notes from a roadmap seminar. That refers to
something like mental programming and says

>Programming tools:
> Images: Outcome focusing, visualiztoin [sic], affirmations, ideal scenarios

which suggests visualisation & outcome focusing maybe are not identical.

In all though, I've searched on this site & on the web but haven't been able to find anything along the lines of "this is what David means by (1) outcome focusing and (2) outcome thinking" .
The chapter doesnt mention visualisation, but if David has that in mind too, then we should add (3) visualisation. Try to clear up what each of these phrases mean, as a starting point.

Apologies if I'm sounding slow-witted on this. Until theres agreement on
the specific meanings of (1) - (3) I'm not sure if this thread can progress forward.

[...OK: an idea: lets try closing our eyes and visualise reading a reply from David ...]

 

[Vramin]

Speaking for myself...

I've read so many books, listened to so many tapes, and attended so many seminars where I'm supposed to close my eyes and visualize success, etc., that I know one thing for sure: I don't do it. I don't make ten minutes a day available for sitting there with my eyes closed unless I'm taking a nap.

That being said, I can see the value in learning the habit of outcome thinking, since it doesn't require some "process" or "environment" to make it work. It's more of an approach than a methodology. If you happen to visualize while thinking about the outcome then more power to you, but I think that the visualization itself is less important than focusing on the result and training yourself so that the result is the first thing you focus on. I tend to see all the obstacles first, which often gives me a good reason to put the thing off. If I can learn to see the outcome first then obstacles will appear more like steps than barriers.

 

[Brent]

Oh, I'm not suggesting it takes ten minutes. More like thirty seconds.

 

[kewms]

Visualization in the sense of mental rehearsal is a very common practice in athletics and performing arts. If you use the term in a different way for GTD, you'll just confuse people.

Katherine

 

[Brent]

I'm just using the terminology as I understand it, as I've seen it used. I may be incorrect, of course, but this is what I understand the term to mean. :shrug:

 

[Vramin]

Oh, I'm not suggesting it takes ten minutes. More like thirty seconds.

It was Treetops who suggested 10 minute sessions, twice a day. I can't commit to that.

 

[Treetops]

It was Treetops who suggested 10 minute sessions, twice a day. I can't commit to that.

Just to clarify, the 10 minutes x twice daily was just a guess as to what it might mean in practice. I was hoping a GTD practitioner would come back & say something like "yes I use outcome thinking/focusing regularly & this is what I do..." [followed by specifics e.g. duration , frequency, type of activity, if it worked or not].

Only Brent so far has given a specific example for the OS presentation.
Brent, I had read your example as intelligent preparation/ rehersal - I may be mistaken but presumably that took more than 30 seconds ?

My current thought is that perhaps Vramin is closer to things by saying
>It's more of an approach than a methodology.

 

[Treetops]

OK have now found some articles on this area on the main site here.
(I did search before the OP, must have looked at the forum, not the main site, apologies for any inconvenence).

Anyway, theres these:

>The Power of Successful Outcome Thinking
http://www.davidco.com/coaches_corner/Michael_Dolan/article59.html

>Positive Focus on Successful Outcomes
http://www.davidco.com/coaches_corner/Jason_Womack/article36.html

>We succeed when we acknowledge we work and play in
>different “time zones” - Past, Present and Future. They are
>keys to our success.
http://www.davidco.com/coaches_corner/Jason_Womack/article57.html

Way I read it is:

Outcome thinking - the principle of thinking about outcomes in a such a way
as to provide psychological stimulation to increase the chances of a
(successful) outcome. This principle can be carried out in a variety of practical ways, such as visualisation, affirmation, outcome focusing, writing desired outcomes down etc.

Outcome focusing - One of a number of techniques that can be applied
to encourage outcome thinking. In this technique, outcomes are clarified to facilitate outcome thinking.
[quote from Michael Dolan] For example, instead of having something on your project list that says “marketing plan,” you might get more specific as to what the actual outcome is by writing something like, “Marketing plan executed flawlessly.” [end quote]

Visualisation - One of a number of techniques that can be applied
to encourage outcome thinking.
(As Katherine has said, this term is already in use elsewhere, so I won't attempt a definition.)

Hope thats nailed this.

 

[Brent]

Brent, I had read your example as intelligent preparation/ rehersal - I may be mistaken but presumably that took more than 30 seconds ?

Nope. I only started using this technique recently, but when I did, it took at most thirty seconds to visualize my outcome in detail, see some potential problems, and re-adjust my visualization.

Of course, it's possible that what I was doing wasn't exactly the thing that you seek.

 

[Treetops]

Nope. I only started using this technique recently, but when I did, it took at most thirty seconds to visualize my outcome in detail, see some potential problems, and re-adjust my visualization.

Of course, it's possible that what I was doing wasn't exactly the thing that you seek.

Brent, thanks, understand your answer more now. In my OP I was looking for 2 things , definitions & examples of implementation. My go at definitions has done the 1st bit (for me) and you have give me an example on the second.

Thanks again to you all & Brent wish you well with your online class.

 

[moises]

Perfect Outcomes

Last week I received an e-mail with David Allen’s Productivity Principle no. 89: “Perfection and productivity are mutually exclusive” and Michael Dolan’s Coach’s Corner. Comparing the two documents I immediately smiled. David’s piece was all about how important it was to put aside perfectionism in order to accomplish one’s goals. And then Michael wrote that a good way to formulate a project would be “Marketing plan executed flawlessly.”

Of course a flawlessly executed plan is a perfectly executed plan. So is the David Allen Co. inconsistent?

No. Perfectionism is not thinking of the perfect outcome. Perfectionism is about avoiding action out of fear that the perfect outcome might not be attained. It is about beating oneself up if the perfect outcome is not attained.

Action is the process of overcoming the external world as a limit to one’s Outcome Thinking. Action is the link between thought and the world. Action is the way our Outcome Thoughts become Realized Outcomes. Outcome Thinking is the process of conceiving the external world to be different than it is.

There is some perfectionism inherent in Outcome Thinking. In Outcome Thinking I create in my mind an idea of how I would like the world to be. I then formulate actions to change the world consistent with my idealized outcome.

How can procrastination be overcome if thinking of desired outcomes is inherently perfectionist? There are lots of tricks to doing this and we each need to find the tricks that work best for us.

Tricks

1. Analyze. Break big scary outcomes down into smaller pieces. If “Marketing plan executed flawlessly” scares me, make subprojects: “Marketing plan draft completed next Tuesday,” “Finance department approves draft next Friday.”

2. Set process goals instead of outcome goals. The classic example is, if you want to lose 20 pounds (weight, not money), set a process goal of “Eat unprocessed foods only for 6 months” (or whatever process you think will work). This trick is really a variant of Analyze.

3. Learn to accept oneself even when one falls short of one’s goals. Successful people set themselves big goals. If they don’t achieve them, they brush themselves off and start afresh.

The last trick is the key. The last trick explains why there is no contradiction between David and Michael. Setting goals is inherently perfectionist. The trick is to conceive perfection, act on it, and accept what happens. Then do it again. Perfectionism is to conceive perfection, fail to act on it, and/or fail to accept what happens.

David hints at this in his Productivity Principle. He say, “One of the most powerful forces promoting procrastination is not necessarily the desire for perfection, but its evil twin: the fear of imperfection.” The desire for perfection is good. The fear of imperfection is evil. The fear of imperfection is what is generally called “perfectionism.” The desire for perfection is Outcome Thinking.

 

[Scott_L_Lewis]

Outcome Thinking With a Concrete Example

As Brent said earlier, the essence of outcome thinking is to "begin with the end in mind." I think of an outcome as a state of affairs that I want to attain or maintain. As moises pointed out, the more clearly an outcome is specified the better. Whether or not outcomes are specified using visualization or by writing them out, they have the same benefits.

Focusing on the outcome provides motivation to begin work and continue it. The outcome is the "why" of the project. Nietzsche said "He who has a strong enough why can bear almost any how." To take a concrete example, I have a desired outcome that my accounting system be in compliance with existing accounting standards. If a new accounting standard is issued, then that motivates me to make changes in my accounting system in order to maintain compliance.

Focusing on the outcome bounds the project. If your outcome is standards compliance, then it is easy to recognize efforts to add usability features to the accounting system as being out of scope.

Focusing on the outcome tells you when you are done. To pursue the last example, when the accounting system complies with the new accounting standard, your work is done. Here is where moises' discussion is also apropos. Frequently you need to ask yourself what achieving an outcome means in operational terms. In the above example, achieving compliance may mean completing a specified set of system tests or passing a review by internal audit. In moises' example about completing a marketing plan "flawlessly," that may mean that the Vice President of Marketing accepted the plan without negative comments.

In addition to analyzing outcomes, it is usually necessary to prioritize them. Frequently projects have multiple outcomes: deliver the product, meet schedule, stay within budget, keep the client happy, etc. Often you will have to make tradeoffs between them. A properly prioritized set of outcomes will tell you how successful you are at the end of the project. In the above example, the compliance outcome is paramount. Even if my project is late, over budget, and everyone in Accounting is ticked off at me because I didn't add the usability features, my project is a success if the accounting system complies with the new standard. (I'm sure that this last statement will draw a lot of "Oh yeah?" kinds of comments, but try delivering a project on time and on budget that doesn't deliver what the client needed, and see how far you get.)