Writing 5 year goals - a personal example

In a previous post, I identified an outline for identifying 5 year goals, which begins with identifying your central purpose in life (CPL). In this post, I detail how I arrived at my current 5 year goals.

I start with my current CPL - to teach others how to make better decisions, specifically in designing, building, maintaining, and using information systems.

How did I write my 5 year goals?  First was to confirm my ideal is something of value to me. By writing a CPL before writing 5 year plan, I have specified the work I want to do.  The CPL identifies the what.  But the goals identify the where - where I want to be.  Its an end point.  The what and where should be consistent and guide each other.  

When writing my 5 year goals, I looked at my current interests, values, and strengths. The idea is to look for major themes within the CPL.  From there, I accessed the difference between where I am now in each of the themes and where I would ideally wanted to be.  In my case, I have three major personal initiatives that are consuming my time.  These three are:

1. Researching and publishing the relationship between individual ethical perspectives and decision making using information technology
2. Improving IS class curriculum to encourage proper thinking using sound pedagogical techniques and correct philosophic ideas.
3. Discovering ways to improve personal, classroom, and research productivity to free my time for other endeavors as the arise.

Each of these three are concretizations of my CPL.  But they will not do for goals.  Goals must be made quantifiable. To get there, I analyzed each of my themes in more detail.  For the first theme, I summarize my thoughts:

The ethics track of research is essential for kick starting a long-term re-evaluation of the role of various ethical perspectives on the success of individuals in business.  While I don’t know how long I will pursue this track, I do want to focus on it in the next 5 years for three reasons - 1. to better understand the relationship between ethical beliefs and the usage of information systems, 2. to establish a research tradition that is inspired by Objectivism so that future academics can build on my success, and 3. to establish my career in academy as a successful researcher so as to remain marketable and respected.  To accomplish this, I need to publish regularly and of good quality to gain recognition.  Based on past experience, I can manage 1 article a year.  If I try to tackle more than that, I often get bogged down and can not finish any of them.  I also expect, as I build my research experience, I will be able to publish more articles, but I may want to explore and publish in domains other than ethics.  If I can publish at least one article a year in this domain that shares my increased understanding of ethical beliefs and decision making while utilizing an Objectivist perspective, I will have accomplished my goal.

My second theme:

Improving the class curriculum should be well established within 5 years.  Over the past year, I have read a number of books and listened to some lectures on the philosophy of education to help me build a foundation for evaluating and implementing pedagogical techniques effectively.  Over the next 5 years, I will continue to refine my class curriculum to incorporate an appropriate hierarchy of knowledge.  I have started this in my Intro IS class and plan to re-evaluate my other classes.  Based on what I have learned in my current classes, this process involves continuously research, experimentation, and editing.  The hard part will be identifying clear measurements of success.  Perhaps this could be the beginning of a new research stream.

The last theme:

I have just started addressing this need.  Currently, my work week consists of 40 or so hours a week.  I do not want to take any more time than that at this point in my career because I have young children at home that take up the remainder of my time.  I am still ambitious and refuse to let time be a limiting factor in my success.  But my current work requirements do not give me much free time to expand into other realms.  So I need to brainstorm how to accomplish the goals listed above with less time, but more efficiency so that I can continue to perform well in those areas AND add new goals.  For example, I have long desired to re-start Camp Indecon, or something much like it.  In fact, I have numerous business ideas I would love to try out, but do not have the time to do so.  I also have a book idea that I would love to get started writing.  To find that time, I need to be more effective with what I currently do so that I can better create the world I want.  I've been rereading David Allen's Getting Things Done, to help with personal productivity.  I've also been experimenting in my Systems Analysis and Design class with methods of improving retention, but minimizing my time involvement.  Within 5 years, I want to continue the productive activities I am doing today (research, teaching, and committee work), but with 20% more efficiency (freeing up 1 day a week for new projects/goals). 

A big part of my thinking process above consisted of analyzing my past accomplishments. This analysis helped me judge my capabilities for continued success.  Questions I asked myself: Consider what I have accomplished in the past 5 years.  How structured was my pursuit of those goals?  Did I have a plan to get where I am now?  If I had a specific goals and a plan for achievement, could I have done more?  If so, how much more?

As you can see, the first and third theme have clear quantifiable goals.  These are important for establishing bench marks for success.   I am still working on a clear quantifiable goal for theme 2.  I see this one as a work in progress goal.  But I realize I must come up with something if I want to ensure its success, hence my reference to a research project.  What I've found is that the process of thinking about a quantifiable measure for success is just as important than the actual measurement itself.  By thinking through how you will measure success, you must essentialize and concretize the theme from a nebulous idea into a clear, precise actionable item.  By doing so, you force your mind to consider reality and your means of interacting with it (reason). 

The last question I asked myself is are these 5 year goals doable, but make me stretch.  My answer is yes, they are all doable.  Taken individually, none of the three stretch my capabilities, but trying to accomplish all three within 5 years will continue to push me.  Could I push myself to do even more?  Maybe, but not without losing my love of the work I'm doing.  For example, I enjoy blogging, but it is no where listed in my long term goals.  Yet, I talk about many of my goals on here.  Sometimes I brainstorm ideas out loud just to see if they make sense once I write them down.  Sometimes I just need to vent so that I can get on with other more productive things.  If I push myself to be hyper productive without taking into account my personality and hierarchy of values, it would ultimately be self-destructive.  Context matters, so your goals should not neglect them.

Hopefully, my thinking out loud about writing 5 year goals helps you to do the same.  I would love to hear about your experiences.

Update: If you enjoyed this article, please check out my new blog Reason for Success, where I focus exclusively on personal development.

Your feelings are illegal

Last night, my wife and I watched Equilibrium again.  The premise behind the movie is that the people of the near future decide that feelings lead to war, and to avoid war, feelings must be suppressed.  A drug is administered to help suppress those emotions.  Any individual that exhibits any emotion is guilty of "sensing" and is condemned to death.

It struck me, as I was watching this movie, that this may represent the Kantian ideal of "Pure Reason".  I'm by no means an expert on Kant's philosophy and have only read a smattering of his works, so anyone that can correct me, please do.  Kant sees reason has somehow separate from reality.  Accordingly, reason does not have all the messy details of human consciousness, nor the smattering complexities of emotions.  Reason, according to Kant, deals just with abstract ideas and their relationship with one another.

From this premise, Kant argues in his tomb on ethics, that personal values are irrelevant.  This makes sense when we consider that values first originate from our ability to feel.  As children, most of our values are based on pleasure and pain.  But as we age, the concepts of value become increasing more abstract, forming as adults a hierarchy of values that (hopefully) is based objectively in reality.  If, as Kant argues, feelings mess up pure reason, than anything based on feelings should be suppressed.  Our values are a manifestation of our feelings.  Therefore, our values should be suppressed.  This leads Kant to advocate altruism as the ethical ideal.

In the movie, there are hints of the altruist ideal and a profound lack of individuality within this society.  Art, music, and color are missing from the world and any found are immediately destroyed. There is no love, no friendships, and no social interaction.  Everything is for the "father".

What really scares me about this movie is that it is not that far off from reality.  Consider the criminalization of "hate", that has gained so much popularity lately. You know, we can't let these evil feelings out in the public.  Gotta suppress them.  Or rather...maybe we oughta consider the consequences of following Kant's philosophy.  And instead of criminalizing feelings or thoughts, let's live.  Let's live rationally, objectively, and with pride.

New blog announcement

I'm starting a new blog called Tech Triumphs and Tragedies.  It chronicles news of the good and bad in IT industry.  New exciting innovations and devastating government interventions.

Hope you enjoy.

Capitalism in practice

What took $3 billion 10 years ago, will soon cost under $1000. In 2003, the Human Genome Project finished scanning the human genome at a cost of $3 billion dollars. Today, IBM is developing a computer chip that could reduce the cost to under $1000. At that cost, every doctor in America could own such a chip and scan your genetics. Such detailed information would enhance genetics research and provide doctors with the means of providing far more individualized services.

Another example of why I love capitalism.

Capitalism, I love you

The recent headlines about Michael Moore's new movie and a several recent discussions on Facebook has left me, quite frankly, distressed about the misconceptions of capitalism and the love affair people have with socialism in spite of the evidence of its depravity and abject failure to improve our lives. Why is it that so many people can not see or choice not to see the blatant force necessary for socialism to succeed? Why do they feel entitled to force people to do things against their will, violating individual rights?

People like Michael Moore would have us feel guilty for our cars, our restaurants, our big houses, and our fine clothes. They would rather private property be taken by government to whatever ends they deems appropriate. The flagrant disregard for our lives is staggering. Force, for Moore and his ilk, is the answer. They want to force people to act the way they want - forced recycling, forced education, forced medical care, forced purchase of more expensive goods, etc. They want to force people to give up their property - forced income tax, forced sales tax, forced property tax, forced personal property tax, forced business tax, etc. They want to force professionals to do their bidding - from doctors, to bankers, to business executives, to home builders, to lawyers. While their primary target is the rich, I've noticed they often have no qualms demanding the same from everyone.

In a fit of desperation, my wife asked me the other day what can we do against such blatant irrationality and refusal to see. If there is an antidote, its name is The Capitalist Manifesto.

In this book, Andrew Bernstein addresses three major perspectives of capitalism - the moral, the economic, and the historic. In each perspective, Bernstein provides a compelling case for why capitalism is the only viable political philosophy with regards to protecting private property and individual rights. He demolishes the alternative theory of socialism and demonstrates how even mixed economies are ultimately immoral, inefficient, and nonviable.

Capitalism is a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned - Ayn Rand

I was already familiar with the moral and economic arguments Bernstein uses, through the works of Ayn Rand and Ludwig von Mises among others. Bernstein does not disappoint in those sections. Capitalism is the only moral system because it respects the individual and does not try to force him to act against his own judgment nor his own life. But more than anything, I savored the exciting historic narrative that, for the first time, pieced together disparate facts I have learned over the years into a picture of capitalism as a monumental success story. Starting with pre-industry revolution England, Bernstein weaves a story of a country struggling to emerge from abject poverty to a country of wealth and leisure. All due to the pursuit of individual self-interests, enabled by laws protecting private property and respecting individual rights. The story then continues with America, which fully embraced the capitalist mentality, enabling us to become the richest nation in the world.

The characteristic mark of economic history under capitalism is unceasing economic progress, a steady increase in the quantity of capital goods available, and a continuous trend toward an improvement in the general standard of living. - Lugwig von Mises

The wonderful world around us is all thanks to Capitalism. All the billions of individuals working hard toward their own ends has lead to the wonderful inventions like Google Wave, Spaceship one, Segway, and robotic surgery. It has lead to the New York skyline (pictured on the left) and 1/5 mile long cruise ships. Poverty in America is considered under $12000 a year, which is more than the average income of most third world countries, all of whom reject capitalism as an economic system. Our incredibly complex business world can bring thousands of food products from thousands of locations from thousands of miles away working with thousands of different businesses to our local grocery stores, such that the shelves are always filed and I can buy what I want, when I want. Because of capitalism, my biggest worry of the day is remembering to pick up some groceries on the way home, not will I starve tomorrow.

I would recommend Bernstein's book to anyone interested in hearing the true story of Capitalism, why it is moral, its effect on wealth, or anyone wanting to gain a better understanding of why I LOVE CAPITALISM!

Victim punches car jacker

While I don't necessary advocate confronting a thug, this recent news story made me laugh.

The Eastern Michigan University Police Department is investigating an attempt carjacking that occurred this evening at approximately 9:11 p.m.

The incident occurred in the Oakwood South Commuter Lot. The victim, an EMU student, entered her vehicle and noticed a male in the backseat. The male demanded her keys and threatened to harm her if she didn’t give them to her. The victim punched the suspect in the face, and then fled her vehicle. The suspect fled in an unknown direction. The victim injured her hand during the incident. [Bold mine]

You go girl!