Tuesday, March 2, 2010

We need to think deeper- Goal setting

There is a flurry of activity in chess today. This is fantastic but we need to look deeper. We need to see where we want to go and how to get there. I have stated in a round about way that we need direction. Basically it means the horses pull together.

I have said that values are important, partnerships are important. That it is important to build trust amongst partners. Sabotage, back stabbing, character assasination within our community is not helpful.

Let me put it another way. In physics effort must be followed by movement or no work is done. Let me give you an example. After Mark got advice and videos from Sumant, he did a lot of "work" and felt his game had improved. So I took him to Limau Bali (our local chess haunt) and he got thrashed. So I told him no work was done. Sound harsh? Or reality?

When we set goals, it must be measurable. Say we aim for 5 FM's in 2 years and we reach it. That is measurable. From the Fm's will come more IM's and then eventually a GM is born. Then we need to look at what it takes to produce those 5 FM's and pour our efforts into it. If one FM only is produced then there was some work done. Then we need to examine what went wrong with our plan. Then we try and do it better, focus our energies better, find the flaws in our strategy etc.

So it is not only about activity. It's about directed activity. It's about values, partnerships with trust or this cant be done. We'll just end up chasing our own tails as we have done for a long time. We keep looking for the short cuts. Is there any that are genuine?

So after this flurry, will any work be done?

2 comments:

  1. Hi Raymond,
    I think in today's parlance, you mean a Master Plan For Chess Development with specific future targets or "milestones" for chess associations to achieve.
    Each activity has its objectives and its intended targets.
    Maybe in today's local Malaysian scenario, the term that has been bandied around is KPI (Key Performance Indicators) or KRA (Key Performance Areas). :-)

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  2. Hi Sham,

    Yes that is what I mean. But don't forget about genuine partnerships, or smart partnerships in the slightly older parlance. :)That is important too. Thank you.

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