Tweet

The End Game

Guest post by: Geoff Flemming

Article Overview: The 'End Game' is probably best described as the goal at the end of the road. For a small business it might be a profitable sale, or being replaced by a General Manager and 'go to beach'! For a large organisation it will be the realisation of a vision.

The End Game

Steven Covey in his bestseller 'Seven Habits of Highly Effective People' refers to the process of "beginning with the end in mind". That is to start with an idea of where you would like to end up.

Actually achieving the end game and 'going tobeach' is elusive for many. It often requires a different approach combinedwith skills that may be limited within the organisation,or sometimes nonexistent. The situation will requiremuch more than just a plan - moreso a transformation of thinking!

Within good organisations there appears to be fundamental differences. The term 'good organisations' refers to businesses that havegood market share, good products, profitability and have the semblance of a good team. Within these organisations activities can vary consistent with their culture and clarity of direction based upon their 'End Game'.

NOW Organisations-Organisations that have a sense of complacency.They have all the essentials elements of a good organisationbut tend to think very tactically rather than strategically. Their primary focusis the 'here and now'. As long as all is running smoothly, theircustomers keep calling and placing orders, and they can keep on delivering good quality product then all is good. They do what they do well but spend little time innovating and defining their future market.They may have an 'End Game' but have no connectivity to activities that will get them there. They could around for years but a shift in technology or innovative offshore competition could also very rapidly bring them undone.

BUSYOrganisations - Organisations that are possibly in a growth market and have more a false sense of urgency.They tend to have more of an inward focus and whilst attractingnew customers and new opportunities,are frenetic in their questto get bigger and better. The challenge in these organisations is typically a lack of alignment. Whilst they are focused uponselling anddelivering, they spendlittle time reviewing,training and planning. They will also have an 'End Game' but their efforts to get there are fragmented an unstructured. These companies can be goodat innovating butcan often find clashesbetween new ideasandcurrent product or service delivery. Their often frantic nature can causea loss of productivity and wasted energy.

FUTURE Organisations- Organisations that have a strong sense of direction and a real outward focus. They havea true sense of urgency about what is importantto them now and in the future. They look atwhat is occurring now butmore importantly what they want to achieve.Their focusis on aligning their teams and constantly developing the right people.These organisationsnot only have a clear 'End Game',but they also havea series of prioritised activitiesconsistent with achieving it. They will still suffersimilar challenges toevery other organisation, but they are more agile and robust, and havebetter processes to deal with problems.

The fundamental difference with FUTUREorganisations is an entrepreneurial focus combined with strong leadership, management and structure.Leadership takestrue vision and brings it into reality. The Future organisations:

• Have systems and processes to move the organisation to their 'End Game'
• Take innovation to quantification and then to orchestration
• Ensurethe best possible product through the best possible team
• Are disciplined and reflect of strong sense of success in everything they do
• Have a constant eye for the future!

Related Articles
  Changing the Game
  The Game Called Public Relations
  Software Localization vs. Game Localization
  Does your game face need a face lift
  Playing to Win and Not to Not Lose
  The Dawn of Pokemon: Tajiri Launches His Game
  iPhone Top Rated Application
  How to Achieve Success When You Miss an Opportunity
  Sales Calls are Like the 1978 AL Playoff Game
  Lesson #5: It is all in How You Hook Them
  Competition Is Not Healthy
  In search of better
  Online Games Go Beyond Miss Pacman and Donkey Kong
  Playing the Big R Game
  Smart Women and the Game of Entrepreneurship
  Day One. All Over Again.
  Kick the Competition to the Curb & Sell Like Crazy
  Do You Have A Game Plan?
  The Hole in The Sum of The Parts
  Focusing on Your Game Plan

Article Tags: alignment, coaching, end game, small business, succession



Related Forum Posts
The Game Inventor's Guidebook - by Brian Tinsman, 2002 I checked this out of my local library today and its pretty interesting... didn't address what I wanted to know, which was how to actually design an online gaming system (indeed this doesn't cover online games at all), but for board games etc. it's pretty good. Here's the TOC: 1. How they diid it: Trivial Pursuit Magic, the Gathering Dungeons & Dragons Pokemon Trading Card Game Interview with an inventor Interview with a publisher 2. How the industry works 1. What's in it for you 2. How new games happen 3. Anatomy of a publisher 4. Markets for games 3. Games and companies you should know 1. Mass market games you should know 2. Mass market companies you should know 3. Hobby games you should know 4. Hobby companies you should know 5. American specialty games and companies you should know 6. European specialty games and companies you should know 4. Self publishing 1. What am I getting into 2. Before you print 3. After you print 5. Selling a game step by step 1. How to invent a game 2. Game design 3. Game development 4. Targeting publishers 5. Before you submit 6. Eight submission strategies 7. Contacting publishers 8. Protecting your property 9. What to do if they don't say yes 10. What to do if they do say yes! 11. The game industry's dirty little secret 6. Resources and examples Publishers and mnufacturers Distributors Brokers Game conventions and trade shows Industry publications Sample query letter Sample record of disclosure Sample licensing agreement Sample option agreement
Re: I will be away - Hi Guys Thanks for the good wishes. I had a really relaxing time and as soon as I get caught up will upload some pictures of the Big Game we saw on some of the drives. No lion GT as these parks are privately owned and they don't want predators who will eat the herbivores that they have paid a lot of money for . Saw some elephant though and rhino which was great. MichelleJ
Re: What are some fun games for small business owners? - i second Bohnanza Game (aka "the bean game") as a great game for practicing negotiating skills...
Book: Secrets of Six Figure Women - Secrets of Six Figure Women: Surprising Strategies to up your earning and change your life Barbara Stanny, 2002 Jacket: Maybe you've noticed - a subtle trend is gathering steam. Quietly and steadily, the number of women making six figures or more is increasing, and it continues to rise at a rate faster than for men. From entrepreneurs to corporate executives, from white collar executives to free lancers and part timers, women are forging careers with considerable financial success. Through extensive research and hundreds of interviews, including dialogs with more than 150 high earners whose annual incomes range from $100,000 to 7 million, Stanny discovered that ...they all had certain traits in common: 1) a profit motive 2) Audacity 3) REslience 4) Encouragement 5) Self-awareness 6) Non-attachment 7) Financial knowhow She amplifies on these in the book itself. Table of Contents Intro: Welcome to the era of the six-figure woman 1. The Queen in the Countinghouse 2. The Lowdown on low earners 3. Raising the bar 4. Strategy 1: The Declaration of Intention 5. Strategy 2: Letting go of the ledge 6. Strategy 3: Get in the Game 7. Strategy 4: Speak Up 8. Strategy 5: The Stretch 9. Strategy 6: Seek Support 10. Strategy 7: Obey the rules of money 11. Claiming our power Appendces: Resources and websites Tips for getting out of dent Investing Basics: Wealthbuilding 101
My reading log - Hi OmnivoreInk, Before starting my business, I read the following books as research: -"The Art of the Start" by Guy Kawasaki -"The AdSense Code" by Joel Comm -"Don't Think Pink" and "Mind Your X's and Y's" by Lisa Johnson And since then I've continued my "research" by reading (in this order): -"Technical Tennis" by Rod Cross -"For One More Day" by Mitch Albom -"The Twits" by Roald Dahl -"Little Black Book of Connections" by Jeffrey Gitomer -"The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne -"The Profitable Retailer" by Doug Fleener -"Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell -"Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude" by Jeffrey Gitomer -"The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" by C.S. Lewis -"Little Green Book of Getting Your Way" by Jeffrey Gitomer -"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling And I'm currently reading and am in the process of finishing the following: -"There's No Such Thing as Public Speaking" by Jeanette and Roy Henderson -"The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell -"The Book of Tells" by Peter Collett -"Little Red Book of Sales Answers" by Jeffrey Gitomer -"Chocolates on the Pillow Aren't Enough: Reinventing The Customer Experience" by Jonathan M. Tisch -"The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity" by Julia Cameron -"The Inner Game of Tennis" by Timothy Gallwey


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

How To Be Happy at Work? Acknowledge Yourself

Make Small Commitments. Get Big Changes.

Is the iPad useful? One CEO tells all ....

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.