Setting Goals and Achieving Them

Project management is all about managing the project to completion, according to scope, on time, and on budget. The scope is based upon estimated time and material costs to complete the work. You can begin to master these basics, even as a technician or carpenter, by simply setting daily objectives for yourself.

If you know what you will be doing tomorrow, you can set out your materials the night before, have a plan for how you will be efficient throughout the day, and document for your supervisor that you have met or exceeded the benchmarks that you set for yourself. 

For example, when you arrive on a project you can use the following acronym to develop your work SPEeD; this stands for: 

• Scan
• Plan
• Execute
• Document 

If you aspire to a supervisory or leadership role, you can use this sequence to first lead by example. When co-workers and supervisors notice that you are bringing order to chaos, you will create opportunities to input on the daily goals for your team. When you can help yourself and others clearly set and consistently achieve goals you will become an invaluable asset for any workplace. Use The DYOJO Recipe for Production SPEeD to help you elevate your performance as well as everyone around you. 

Setting Clear Goals to Accomplish a Task

If you know the goal, you can "reverse engineer" what you need to do in order to achieve this intended outcome. For example, if the team needs to remove all of the drywall in two rooms within an eight-hour shift, a simple goal would be to remove one wall per hour (eight walls total in eight hours). If it's lunch time and your team only has two walls down, either there was an unknown factor decreasing production efficiency or the team needs to light a fire under their butts. 

The more you practice setting goals like this and achieving them, the better you will be at this process of project management. This kind of success is addictive and contagious in that team members will respond positively to the sense of accomplishment and managers will be asking how they can replicate your team's ability to achieve your production goals.

Imagine how powerful it would be for you and your team to be able to say, "This is what we are going to accomplish today and be able to hit your mark consistently." If you document your goals and how consistently you have met or beat them, this data will be helpful in showing value to your supervisors. If you want to become a site foreman, shift supervisor, superintendent, or a project manager, this process will help you set and achieve goals as you manager larger teams.

The DYOJO Recipe for Production SPEeD

SCAN your worksite to understand what needs to be done, how to do it safely, and how you can develop a PLAN that optimizes your resources. As a technician, if you have a detailed work order that your supervisor provides you with the night before so that you can prepare for the following day, you can create the framework for your PLAN before you ever set foot on the worksite. 

As a project manager, the PLAN becomes a key benchmark in setting your team up for success. Communicate clearly and consistently so that everyone is accountable for their roles and responsibilities on a given project. Your ability to execute will be contingent upon your ability to communicate your PLAN with your team and get them to buy into your ideas. As a person in a position of leadership, it is important to be able to adapt when you are faced with new challenges and/or information, as well as recognize when someone on your team has good insight and even a better idea/plan to help you EXECUTE. 

As you develop as a person in a position of leadership, remember that being a leader is not about always being right. No manager is infallible. Doing it right is always the right thing (integrity). EXECUTION starts with communicating the PLAN to everyone on your team. When people know the PLAN and their role in achieving it, they are empowered to help you EXECUTE. 

In property restoration, we get paid for what we DOCUMENT. If you don’t have it written down with an accompanying photo, it will be that much easier for a customer and/or an insurance representative to dispute your charges. 

If you can master SPEeD from where you are, you will be proactive in pursuing your goals, and you will also have a solid foundation for leading your teams as a project manager. Use The DYOJO Recipe for Production SPEeD to help you set and achieve your goals. Once you have mastered these abilities you will have all of your past experience to share and equip the teams you manage with the same resources for success.

More Resources from The DYOJO

• ​READ MORE in our next article on Efficiency
• This content has been adapted from Jon Isaacson's book, So, You Want To Be A Project Manager. Get a copy for yourself and your team members TODAY!