Lesson on Goal Setting - Stick at it!

A counter-intuitive lesson on goal setting is to not set goals! Well, to allow goal-free time, to be more precise. Most advice on goal setting or time management in the workplace implies the need for order, structure and regimentation. It's important though, to ensure that you and your colleagues allow yourself time to think. In fact, one notable business success story indicates how sticking to just such a free-time policy has paid world-renowned dividend.....

A Note-able Story

The 15% rule

That is what 3M have done to encourage creativity and to allow people with ideas to take a lead. The 15 percent rule, as it has become known, has been the catalyst for some of 3M's most famous products, such as Scotch tape and "notably" Post-it Notes.

The "Post-it note" story is not just about giving people the time and the opportunity to follow their ideas. It's also a lesson in perseverance and in realising success from failure.

Sticking but not remaining stuck!

Back in 1968, 3M scientist Dr Spencer Silver discovered a formula for a glue which didn't seem to work properly. It was sticky, but didn't stick! Another failed experiment?

Silver's colleague Art Fry was experiencing a problem, a very frustrating problem. Whilst singing in the church choir his book marks kept falling out of the hymnal, causing him to lose his page. Fry needed a repositionable note, one which would stick, but would not remain stuck. Six years after Silver's "failed" experiment, Fry remembered his colleague's low-tack glue.

You may think the story ends here and that the rest is history, but connecting a problem to a possible solution was only the beginning. Using 3M's 15% rule, it took Fry another three years to create a practical product. Post-it notes were first introduced in 1977, and were in mass production by 1980. Today, Post-it is a globally recognised brand, with around 600 products.

Making the Difference

"As our business grows, it becomes increasingly necessary to delegate responsibility and to encourage men and women to exercise their initiative. This requires considerable tolerance. Those men and women, to whom we delegate authority and responsibility, if they are good people, are going to want to do their jobs in their own way. Mistakes will be made. But if a person is essentially right, the mistakes he or she makes are not as serious in the long run as the mistakes management will make if it undertakes to tell those in authority exactly how they must do their jobs. Management that is destructively critical when mistakes are made kills initiative. And it's essential that we have many people with initiative if we are to continue to grow."

What difference would it make to your organisation if you and your colleagues were allowed "bootleg" time? What could you do with 15% of your time spent developing ideas or projects? Some interesting questions, and an interesting lesson on goal setting.

For further fresh perspectives on how we might use our time, see our article "What is Time Management - Take a radical view of Time".

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