Campaign Circular 323 Presents goals for business operations and family life: This  is part I of a series and includes information on goal setting in businesses. It also includes a flowchart over the pathways of completing the “Business GOALS Process.

Gessaman, Paul H.

English

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - LincolnDigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - LincolnHistorical Materials from University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Extension9-1986CC323 Goals for Business Operations and FamilyLife : Part I Series OverviewPaul H. GessamanFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/extensionhistThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Extension at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted forinclusion in Historical Materials from University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University ofNebraska - Lincoln.Gessaman, Paul H., "CC323 Goals for Business Operations and Family Life : Part I Series Overview" (1986). Historical Materials fromUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension. 3323.http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/extensionhist/3323GOALS FOR BUSINESS OPERATIONS AND FAMILY LIFE PART 1: cc 323 September 1986 UNIVERSITY OF LIBR ARY JUN 1 7 1 8 EB • SERIES OVERVIEW by Paul H. Gessaman Extension Agricultural Finance Economist " ~ ... Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation w ith the { e e\ U.S. Department of Agriculture . Leo E. Lucas, Director of Cooperative Extension Service, Univers ity of Nebraska, : · · : Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. • • • .... . N.,o The Cooperative Extension Service provides info rmation and educa t ional programs to all people w ithout regard to race. color, national orig in , sex or handicap. a; 323 septenber 1986 <DU.S FOR BUSINESS OPERATIOOS AID FAMILY LIFE PARI' I: SERIES OVERVIE.W by Paul H. Gessaman Extension Agricultural Finance Economist This is the first of a series of circulars written for use by persons and families who operate small business firms. The series of circulars provides a framework for self-assessment, identification of goals for business operations and family life, priority-setting, and managenent plan developnent. This se-quence of activities will help you be JOOre effective in managing your business and family life. It is referred to throughout as the "<DU.S Process. n This series of circulars is called the "Business <DU.S Materials." If you enroll in a program where these circulars are used, you will be asked to couplete the ~ Process in a series of wrkshop sessions. While local circumstances will determine the exact timing, the ~ Process will go better if the wrkshcps are held about one week apart. This timing is used because JOOst persons and families need to think, to discuss, and to negotiate the insights gained from one part of the GOALS Process before they start the next part. When ~rkshops occur several days apart, participants• thinking has time to "mature" and the later sessions generally have greater payoff. This docUIISlt starts with a discussion of goals and goal-directed manage-IIBlt. It is followed by an overview of the GOALS Process, and citations for the circulars included in the Business GOALS Materials. Individuals and families who operate business firms do so for a variety of reasons. For JOOst people, eccnomic incentives provide inportant reasons for their ~rk -- we all need income to pay for the necessities and the "goodies" of life. But, almost no one operates a business solely for profit, as satisfaction often is found in many aspects of business operations. For sane operators of businesses, social contacts are inportant. Others may consider the service they provide for others to be the ~ reason for operating a business. Still others may find family sharing and closeness that grows out of wrking together is a primary source of satisfaction. Regardless of the exact cirCUIIStances, it • s inportant that reasonable balance be main-tained between claims placed on the lives of family nerbers by the business unit, and those originating in family life. Identifying and managing to attain nutually suR?Qrting business goals and family life goals is one way of achieving reasonable balance in life. The ~roach used here is intended to do just that. It starts by asking you to think deeply about life and wrk. ·. Have you (you and your family) ever pondered questions like these: - What do I (we) really want in life? - What am I (are we) really trying to achieve through use of time, effort, money, and management skills? - What can I (we) do with our time, money, and business operations that will be most productive and worthwhile? - What should I (we) do in business and family life to effectively use the interests and abilities of all who are involved? - How can I (we) best build for the future, given our present eco-nomic base and the conditions that we now foresee? - When should I (we) be able to attain the things I (we) want in life? - What can I (we) do when inportant things conflict with one another? i.e. How are the inevitable conflicts of life to be resolved? These questions are not easily answered as they are fundamental questions of life. They are "goal questions" concerned with your present well-being, and your hopes, dreams, and anbitions for the future. It's likely that other persons are involved in the answers to your "goal questions" - persons whose present situations and hopes for the future are linked to, and affected by, your choice of goals. As inplied by the nature of this discussion, goals are very personal -they reflect your values and beliefs, the resources you have to work with, and the opportunities and limitations you face. In practice, goals are uni~e personal statements. They are visions of the future held by each indiv1dua1, and by persons in each business and family. In a very real sense, goals are statements of the things that human beings want to attain or achieve in life. As such, goals can provide direc-tion for all your business and family life decisions - good management IS goal-directed. Yes, goals are inportant. It's equally inportant to recognize that goals, priorities, and management plans are not final and unchanging. The h..unan, physical, and financial resources that one has for business and family life can, and do, change. When economic conditions change; when an associate, co-worker, or employee arrives or leaves; when death claims a spouse or other family nerrber, or a co-worker; or when other changes occur, you'll be working and living under new conditions. SOme of your original goals will continue to be inportant. others may become uninportant or infeasible. New interests (and new goals) will emerge, priorities will be changed. The focus of management will change to reflect the new goals and revised priorities. Despite the time and effort required, updating is inportant. It reconfinoo or roodifies your goals, strengthens your commitment to priorities, and makes you a more effective manager. 2 .. GQ\L-DIRECI'ED MANAGFlt1ENI' Casual observation and more careful scrutiny of business and family life indicate that there is more to life than making profits. That's not to say that profits are unimPortant -- everyone knows that profits are vital to present and future well-being. But, nearly every individual, family, owner, and manager wants to achieve more than profits. The "64-dollar question" of life and management is, "What am I (What are we} managing to achieve?" If things hoped for and dreamed about in life are identified by goals, then common sense tells us, "Manage for goal attainment." It's not a revolu-tionary idea, nor one that people argue with. But, managing for goal attain-rrent requires that you think in a different way. It requires you to think first about goals, then about business and family life activities needed to attain those goals, and finally about the resources required for business operations and family life activities. Goal-directed management starts with recognition that each person has goals. Within a business or/and family unit, many goals will be shared. BUt, there also will be a variety of goals that family members want to achieve. The resulting differences are dealt with through discussion, negotiation, and compromise -- social activities required for effective priority setting, and for improved management capability within the family unit. Management that uses high-priority goals as its source of direction for decisions is called "goal-directed management." Since MANAGEl-1ENI' IS A GClMr DIROCTED ACI'IVITY, the quality of thinking used in goal identification is critically important. The issue each person, each family, and each business faces is this: "Are management goals to emerge from a pattern of decisions occurring over time? Or, are goals to be openly identified, discussed, priori-tized, and then used as the bases for management decisions?" When the goals and priorities come first, the primal)r basis for goal-directed management is in place and ready to use. OVERVIEW OF THE GOALS PRCCESS The GOALS Process used in this series of documents is relatively simple. It starts with self-assessment to stimulate your thinking about the activities in business operations and family life that you enjoy, and to identify those you find less fulfilling. Your thinking about resources and alternatives will be aroused by a series of questions focused on types of employment and loca-tions for living that could be of interest and importance in the future. A framework is provided for identifying goals and initially ranking them accord-ing to their importance and/or urgency. Narrative and worksheets in the final parts of the series provide an arena for priority-setting and management plan development. Throughout the GOALS Process, emphasis is placed on sharing, discussion, and compromise leading to a synthesis of perspectives. In most cases, this series of activities should involve all interested persons in the family and/or business unit. For single persons, discussion with a close friend or 3 business associate can be very helpful, though careful consideration and thought about the insights generated through work with the GOALS materials can be an adequate substitute. It's important that persons using these materials be aware of assumptions underlying the GOALS Process. The process assumes these conditions exist: - Peq>le are nore rrotivated, and do better work, when they have work and management responsibilities that they enjoy. -- All adult and mature adolescent family members take part in decisions that affect the family unit. - Business and family life decisions and actions place competing claims on the physical, financial, and human resources available to those who are in the family unit. - Goal conflicts and resource limitations can be awropriately dealt with through priority-setting based on discussion, negotiation, and corrpromi.se. - Individuals and family members are more willing to work with goal-directed management if they take part in a formal goal identification and priority-setting process. This series of circulars assumes that these statements reasonably des-cribe the nature of individuals, families, and businesses using the Business GOALS Materials. If not all of the assumptions apply to you, it's not a cause for alarm. However, you may find some parts of the these circulars don't "fit" your situation. If so, use the appropriate parts, and ignore the rest. The "Business GOALS Materials" were published by the Nebraska Cooperative Extension Service. The series includes these circulars and documents: "Goals for Business ~rations and Family Life, Part I: Series Overview, n cc 323' Septenber 1986. "Goals for Business ~rations and Family Life, Part IIa: Self-Assessment for the Retailer," CC 324, September 1986. "Goals for Business ~rations and Family Life, Part IIb: Self-Assessment for the Service Provider," CC 325, September 1986. "Goals for Business ~rations and Family Life, Part IIc: Self-Assessment for the Manufacturer," CC 326, September 1986. "Goals for Business ~rations and Family Life, Part Ilia: Identify-ing Goals for the Retailer," CC 327, september 1986. "Goals for Business ~rations and Family Life, Part IIIb: Identify-ing Goals for the Service Provider," CC 328, September 1986. "Goals for Business ~rations and Family Life, Part IIIc: Identify-ing Goals for the Manufacturer," CC 329, September 1986. 4 "Goals for Business <:perations and Family Life, Part IV: Priority Setting," CC 330, Septenber 1986. "Goals for Business <:perations and Family Life, Part V: Your Manage-ment Plan," CC 331, September 1986. "The Clam That steamed People," supporting document for Part II "Whither Leads the Cowpath?" supporting document for Part III "WOrk Is My First Priority," supporting document for Part IV SELOCTII'li YOOR <DU.S MATERIALS As is evident from the circular titles, the Business GOALS Materials con-tain three versions of Part II and Part III circulars. The subtitle of each version indicates the type of business unit for which it is intended. These versions differ only in terminology, issues examined in the self-assessment, and exanples used in the goal identification activities. The GOALS Process used in the three versions is the same. The intended "flow" of the Goals Process is illustrated on page 6 (Figure 1). The Figure depicts the recommended pathways and combinations of circulars for three major groups of business operators. If, the version you are working with seems inappropriate, examine others and select the version that best addresses your interests and goal-identification needs. When you have read the background information provided above, and identi-fied the "GON:.S pathway" that you intend to follow, you are ready to start with the self-assessment activities presented in Part II. 5 PART I: OVERVIEW introduction and overview PART I I : SELF -ASSESSMENT PART I II: I DENT I FV COALS ·•· ..... .... .·· ·· .. ·. .. ·· ;l ·· .... _./ .. for: for: ·· ......... .. ....... the retailer the reta i ler ... / . .. ··•• the · .. \ the ·· .... service provider "' service provider .• .. ~···· .. t----···~... the Manuf ac tur er ~---·---· .... ./ / the Manufacturer ... ·· ..... PMT IU: SET PRIORITIES PART U: MANAGEMENT PLAN ·· .... · ...... .. / set priorities aMong: 1-------~~ I inks together: ...... business goals and personal or faMily goa Is L-T goals S-T goals activities resources payoffs and returns Figure 1. Alternative pathways for COMPleting the Business GOALS Process 

CC323  Goals for Business Operations and Family Life : Part I Series Overview

UNL | Libraries

University of Nebraska - Lincoln
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Historical Materials from University of Nebraska-
Lincoln Extension Extension
9-1986
CC323 Goals for Business Operations and Family
Life : Part I Series Overview
Paul H. Gessaman
Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/extensionhist
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Extension at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for
inclusion in Historical Materials from University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of
Nebraska - Lincoln.
Gessaman, Paul H., "CC323 Goals for Business Operations and Family Life : Part I Series Overview" (1986). Historical Materials from
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension. 3323.
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/extensionhist/3323
GOALS FOR BUSINESS 
OPERATIONS AND 
FAMILY LIFE 
PART 1: 
cc 323 
September 1986 
UNIVERSITY OF 
LIBR ARY 
JUN 1 7 1 8 
EB • 
SERIES OVERVIEW 
by Paul H. Gessaman 
Extension Agricultural Finance Economist 
" 
~ ... Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation w ith the { e e\ U.S. Department of Agriculture . Leo E. Lucas, Director of Cooperative Extension Service, Univers ity of Nebraska, : · · : Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. • • • 
.... . N.,o 
The Cooperative Extension Service provides info rmation and educa t ional programs to all people w ithout regard to race. color, national orig in , sex or handicap. 
a; 323 
septenber 1986 
<DU.S FOR BUSINESS OPERATIOOS AID FAMILY LIFE 
PARI' I: SERIES OVERVIE.W 
by Paul H. Gessaman 
Extension Agricultural Finance Economist 
This is the first of a series of circulars written for use by persons and 
families who operate small business firms. The series of circulars provides a 
framework for self-assessment, identification of goals for business operations 
and family life, priority-setting, and managenent plan developnent. This se-
quence of activities will help you be JOOre effective in managing your business 
and family life. It is referred to throughout as the "<DU.S Process. n This 
series of circulars is called the "Business <DU.S Materials." 
If you enroll in a program where these circulars are used, you will be 
asked to couplete the ~ Process in a series of wrkshop sessions. While 
local circumstances will determine the exact timing, the ~ Process will go 
better if the wrkshcps are held about one week apart. This timing is used 
because JOOst persons and families need to think, to discuss, and to negotiate 
the insights gained from one part of the GOALS Process before they start the 
next part. When ~rkshops occur several days apart, participants• thinking 
has time to "mature" and the later sessions generally have greater payoff. 
This docUIISlt starts with a discussion of goals and goal-directed manage-
IIBlt. It is followed by an overview of the GOALS Process, and citations for 
the circulars included in the Business GOALS Materials. 
Individuals and families who operate business firms do so for a variety 
of reasons. For JOOst people, eccnomic incentives provide inportant reasons 
for their ~rk -- we all need income to pay for the necessities and the 
"goodies" of life. But, almost no one operates a business solely for profit, 
as satisfaction often is found in many aspects of business operations. 
For sane operators of businesses, social contacts are inportant. Others 
may consider the service they provide for others to be the ~ reason for 
operating a business. Still others may find family sharing and closeness that 
grows out of wrking together is a primary source of satisfaction. Regardless 
of the exact cirCUIIStances, it • s inportant that reasonable balance be main-
tained between claims placed on the lives of family nerbers by the business 
unit, and those originating in family life. Identifying and managing to 
attain nutually suR?Qrting business goals and family life goals is one way of 
achieving reasonable balance in life. The ~roach used here is intended to 
do just that. It starts by asking you to think deeply about life and wrk. 
·. 
Have you (you and your family) ever pondered questions like these: 
- What do I (we) really want in life? 
- What am I (are we) really trying to achieve through use of time, 
effort, money, and management skills? 
- What can I (we) do with our time, money, and business operations 
that will be most productive and worthwhile? 
- What should I (we) do in business and family life to effectively 
use the interests and abilities of all who are involved? 
- How can I (we) best build for the future, given our present eco-
nomic base and the conditions that we now foresee? 
- When should I (we) be able to attain the things I (we) want in 
life? 
- What can I (we) do when inportant things conflict with one 
another? i.e. How are the inevitable conflicts of life to be 
resolved? 
These questions are not easily answered as they are fundamental questions 
of life. They are "goal questions" concerned with your present well-being, 
and your hopes, dreams, and anbitions for the future. It's likely that other 
persons are involved in the answers to your "goal questions" - persons whose 
present situations and hopes for the future are linked to, and affected by, 
your choice of goals. 
As inplied by the nature of this discussion, goals are very personal -
they reflect your values and beliefs, the resources you have to work with, and 
the opportunities and limitations you face. In practice, goals are uni~e 
personal statements. They are visions of the future held by each indiv1dua1, 
and by persons in each business and family. 
In a very real sense, goals are statements of the things that human 
beings want to attain or achieve in life. As such, goals can provide direc-
tion for all your business and family life decisions - good management IS 
goal-directed. 
Yes, goals are inportant. It's equally inportant to recognize that 
goals, priorities, and management plans are not final and unchanging. The 
h..unan, physical, and financial resources that one has for business and family 
life can, and do, change. When economic conditions change; when an associate, 
co-worker, or employee arrives or leaves; when death claims a spouse or other 
family nerrber, or a co-worker; or when other changes occur, you'll be working 
and living under new conditions. 
SOme of your original goals will continue to be inportant. others may 
become uninportant or infeasible. New interests (and new goals) will emerge, 
priorities will be changed. The focus of management will change to reflect 
the new goals and revised priorities. Despite the time and effort required, 
updating is inportant. It reconfinoo or roodifies your goals, strengthens your 
commitment to priorities, and makes you a more effective manager. 
2 
.. 
GQ\L-DIRECI'ED MANAGFlt1ENI' 
Casual observation and more careful scrutiny of business and family life 
indicate that there is more to life than making profits. That's not to say 
that profits are unimPortant -- everyone knows that profits are vital to 
present and future well-being. But, nearly every individual, family, owner, 
and manager wants to achieve more than profits. The "64-dollar question" of 
life and management is, "What am I (What are we} managing to achieve?" 
If things hoped for and dreamed about in life are identified by goals, 
then common sense tells us, "Manage for goal attainment." It's not a revolu-
tionary idea, nor one that people argue with. But, managing for goal attain-
rrent requires that you think in a different way. It requires you to think 
first about goals, then about business and family life activities needed to 
attain those goals, and finally about the resources required for business 
operations and family life activities. 
Goal-directed management starts with recognition that each person has 
goals. Within a business or/and family unit, many goals will be shared. BUt, 
there also will be a variety of goals that family members want to achieve. 
The resulting differences are dealt with through discussion, negotiation, and 
compromise -- social activities required for effective priority setting, and 
for improved management capability within the family unit. 
Management that uses high-priority goals as its source of direction for 
decisions is called "goal-directed management." Since MANAGEl-1ENI' IS A GClMr 
DIROCTED ACI'IVITY, the quality of thinking used in goal identification is 
critically important. The issue each person, each family, and each business 
faces is this: 
"Are management goals to emerge from a pattern of decisions occurring 
over time? Or, are goals to be openly identified, discussed, priori-
tized, and then used as the bases for management decisions?" 
When the goals and priorities come first, the primal)r basis for goal-directed 
management is in place and ready to use. 
OVERVIEW OF THE GOALS PRCCESS 
The GOALS Process used in this series of documents is relatively simple. 
It starts with self-assessment to stimulate your thinking about the activities 
in business operations and family life that you enjoy, and to identify those 
you find less fulfilling. Your thinking about resources and alternatives will 
be aroused by a series of questions focused on types of employment and loca-
tions for living that could be of interest and importance in the future. A 
framework is provided for identifying goals and initially ranking them accord-
ing to their importance and/or urgency. Narrative and worksheets in the final 
parts of the series provide an arena for priority-setting and management plan 
development. 
Throughout the GOALS Process, emphasis is placed on sharing, discussion, 
and compromise leading to a synthesis of perspectives. In most cases, this 
series of activities should involve all interested persons in the family 
and/or business unit. For single persons, discussion with a close friend or 
3 
business associate can be very helpful, though careful consideration and 
thought about the insights generated through work with the GOALS materials can 
be an adequate substitute. 
It's important that persons using these materials be aware of assumptions 
underlying the GOALS Process. The process assumes these conditions exist: 
- Peq>le are nore rrotivated, and do better work, when they have work and 
management responsibilities that they enjoy. 
-- All adult and mature adolescent family members take part in decisions 
that affect the family unit. 
- Business and family life decisions and actions place competing claims 
on the physical, financial, and human resources available to those who 
are in the family unit. 
- Goal conflicts and resource limitations can be awropriately dealt 
with through priority-setting based on discussion, negotiation, and 
corrpromi.se. 
- Individuals and family members are more willing to work with goal-
directed management if they take part in a formal goal identification 
and priority-setting process. 
This series of circulars assumes that these statements reasonably des-
cribe the nature of individuals, families, and businesses using the Business 
GOALS Materials. If not all of the assumptions apply to you, it's not a cause 
for alarm. However, you may find some parts of the these circulars don't 
"fit" your situation. If so, use the appropriate parts, and ignore the rest. 
The "Business GOALS Materials" were published by the Nebraska Cooperative 
Extension Service. The series includes these circulars and documents: 
"Goals for Business ~rations and Family Life, Part I: Series 
Overview, n cc 323' Septenber 1986. 
"Goals for Business ~rations and Family Life, Part IIa: Self-
Assessment for the Retailer," CC 324, September 1986. 
"Goals for Business ~rations and Family Life, Part IIb: Self-
Assessment for the Service Provider," CC 325, September 1986. 
"Goals for Business ~rations and Family Life, Part IIc: Self-
Assessment for the Manufacturer," CC 326, September 1986. 
"Goals for Business ~rations and Family Life, Part Ilia: Identify-
ing Goals for the Retailer," CC 327, september 1986. 
"Goals for Business ~rations and Family Life, Part IIIb: Identify-
ing Goals for the Service Provider," CC 328, September 1986. 
"Goals for Business ~rations and Family Life, Part IIIc: Identify-
ing Goals for the Manufacturer," CC 329, September 1986. 
4 
"Goals for Business <:perations and Family Life, Part IV: Priority 
Setting," CC 330, Septenber 1986. 
"Goals for Business <:perations and Family Life, Part V: Your Manage-
ment Plan," CC 331, September 1986. 
"The Clam That steamed People," supporting document for Part II 
"Whither Leads the Cowpath?" supporting document for Part III 
"WOrk Is My First Priority," supporting document for Part IV 
SELOCTII'li YOOR <DU.S MATERIALS 
As is evident from the circular titles, the Business GOALS Materials con-
tain three versions of Part II and Part III circulars. The subtitle of each 
version indicates the type of business unit for which it is intended. These 
versions differ only in terminology, issues examined in the self-assessment, 
and exanples used in the goal identification activities. The GOALS Process 
used in the three versions is the same. 
The intended "flow" of the Goals Process is illustrated on page 6 
(Figure 1). The Figure depicts the recommended pathways and combinations of 
circulars for three major groups of business operators. If, the version you 
are working with seems inappropriate, examine others and select the version 
that best addresses your interests and goal-identification needs. 
When you have read the background information provided above, and identi-
fied the "GON:.S pathway" that you intend to follow, you are ready to start 
with the self-assessment activities presented in Part II. 
5 
PART I: 
OVERVIEW 
introduction 
and 
overview 
PART I I : SELF -ASSESSMENT PART I II: I DENT I FV COALS 
·•· ..... 
.... 
.·· 
·· .. 
·. 
.. ·· 
;l 
·· .... 
_./ .. 
for: for: 
·· ......... 
.. ....... 
the retailer the reta i ler 
... / . .. ··•• 
the · .. \ the ·· .... 
service provider 
"' 
service provider .• .. ~···· .. 
t----···~... the Manuf ac tur er ~---·---· .... 
./ / 
the Manufacturer 
... 
·· ..... 
PMT IU: SET PRIORITIES PART U: MANAGEMENT PLAN 
·· .... · ...... 
.. / set priorities 
aMong: 
1-------~~ I inks together: 
...... 
business goals 
and 
personal or 
faMily goa Is 
L-T goals 
S-T goals 
activities 
resources 
payoffs and 
returns 
Figure 1. Alternative pathways for COMPleting the Business GOALS Process 


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