A Primary Desired Outcome Primer

Brief #1

Creating your Desired outcome statement

Let’s get started on what will be one of the most important things in your professional life. And likely your life overall. Get ready to apply clarity like most people never have and never will for themselves. Here you will learn how to create your primary desired outcome(PDO) statement. 

Primary desired outcome statement: A brief statement (three to four sentences ) of the result you want to achieve yourself or your organization and when it will be done that drives your decisions and actions. 

Use of the word “primary” is intentional and significant in this definition. Ideally, you should have one point of focus in your efforts. Or at least as few as possible. And really no more than three primary desired outcomes.

There will (and must be) other desired outcomes that are part of your work. These secondary desired outcome (SDO) statements support your primary desired outcome. Think of a PDO being the end point for a project. That is the reason for it’s existence. SDOs help to achieve a PDO. There can be numerous SDOs, but minimize their number as much as possible and involve enough people to get the work done at at the necessary level of performance.

Be mindful of how many primary and secondary desired outcome statements you create. Too many can become counter-productive quickly. Then no desired outcomes (or very few) are realized. 

This is simple in concept, but more difficult in practice. Your time, energy, and headspace are crucial factors when it comes to achieving your PDOs. When it comes to creating and adopting a primary desired outcome statement, the biggest obstacles are:

1. Creating it

2. Sharing it

3. Using it

Your PDO must be easy to use for yourself and other people. Here are some helpful hints for making this happen.

• A PDO must clearly explain what needs to be achieved and by when so it is easily understandable for everyone using it. 

• It needs to be as universal as possible. A good PDO is understood by a relatively small group of people on the same team. A great PDO is understood departments, organizations, and societies across borders. It can be (relatively) easily translated other languages.

• It provides clarity on what needs to be done. And what should not be done.

• A PDO accelerates the timeframe to achieve the defined results by helping you and others make better decisions more quickly.

• It provides a common reference point for everyone involved in your efforts. There should be no need for people to repeatedly ask the reason for your work. This benefit should de-centralize decision-making to other team members who embrace and accept the PDO.

• How team members respond to a PDO can help determine if they are a fit to do the work necessary for your outcome. Individuals who resist and/or reject a PDO deserve careful scrutiny as they may harm the ability to achieve a PDO. 

Necessary tools

When creating your desired outcome statement, your mind is the essential tool. It will probably take a couple of iterations of doing this exercise for you to begin getting the maximum value out of it. Other tools you need are:

• A pen or stylus

• Paper or a device you can write on

• Timer

• Imagination

• A focused mind without distractions

Steps to make your Primary Desired Outcome

1. Find a place where you can focus with no disruptions. Finding some private space can be challenging for many people. More families live together now. Apartments can be tight on space. Outside can be an option - as long as it is not winter in Chicago.

   1. 1.Headphones / ear buds might be a helpful option. If you are looking for some music to concentrate by, check out chill or focus playlists. Lofi Fruits is one of my favorite musical artists for writing and thinking. 

2. Tell people who might interrupt you not to disturb you for at least twenty minutes (preferably thirty).

3. If needed, take a couple of minutes to collect your thoughts and get into a productive mindset.

4. Set your timer to three minutes

5. Click start and write non-estop far three minutes. This is a stream of consciousness technique that may feel weird at first.

   1. Don't that about what your are writing. Just do it. Let whatever you’re thinking about on your desired outcome flow through your hand and pen to the paper.

   2. Do not stop writing. Keep writing even if it seems like it is gibberish and non-sensical.

   3. Don't worry about neatness, spelling, or grammar. You only need to be able to read and understand what you wrote.

   4. Don't worry about space.

1. Stop when your timer goes off.

2. Before you do anything else, Read what you just wrote down. Rewrite what is not clear to you. If necessary, rewrite what you wrote during the entire three minutes.

3. Look for ideas and trends In your writing. Look for ideas you did not previously think of on this topic. Highlight and /or mark them.

4. Organize these thoughts into three to five sentences.

You now have your first draft of a desired outcome statement. Attempt to keep it as narrowly focused on what outcome you want to achieve, by when, and any pieces of information essential to those two points. How, who, and other variables will be determined through the use of your desired outcome statement.

For the best desired outcome statement, repeat this process two more times. Ideally two days apart if time permits. After the second and third rounds strive to get your DO statement to between three to four sentences. We are working towards brevity (as in most all communications).

One more factor with building your desired outcome. After each round, seek collaboration and input. Show it to other people. Engage in discussion about their perspective and feedback. For the sake of sanity and keeping momentum, limit this feedback to no more than three people.

After each round of working on your desired outcome, field test it with these questions:

• Can people say the desired outcome without getting tripped up and with confidence?

• Do you (and other people) understand it?

• Can others explain it back to you in their words?

It is almost certain that your DO statement needs more work after your first attempt. Push through any frustration you experience and keep your ego in check when you get feedback. 

 Simplifying a statement with brevity and clarity is challenging work. It is more difficult to write for brevity than length. Don’t get discouraged by this process.

Expect to do three rounds of working on your desired outcome statement. But this process can’t go on and on. If after five rounds your DO statement is lacking, it’s time to move on and get working with what you have. 

This is why it’s crucial to have a coach, mentor, or sponsor as part of the review process. If there is a serious obstacle, that person will be in the loop and can help make any changes to what your want to achieve in the desired outcome. 

Your PDO should be something that is stable. After you established it, resist any temptation to constantly review it. Valid desired outcomes typically require work and persistence. At most, revisit it every six months unless something material has changed with your work.