Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/434930
24 • JANUARY 2015 • WORLD FENCE NEWS MT40 TM High Strength Fence Framework Midwest Tube Mills, Inc. P.O. Box 830, 2855 Michigan Rd., Madison, IN 47250 812.265.1553 info@midwesttubemills.com www.midwesttubemills.com MT40 is manufactured using our new state-of-the-art process that produces pipe that exceeds strict industry standards and easily outperforms Schedule 40 pipe in both strength and corrosion resistance and in-line galvanized pipe in salt spray tests. MT40 is a certifiable, high strength product that meets the following specifications: Contact your local distributor when requirements call for durable, high quality fence framework. Midwest Tube Mills, Inc. Commercial, Industrial & High Security Applications • F-162 Federal Aviation • ASTM A513 • M-181 AASHTO • ASTM A500 Grade B • UFGS 0282 • 50,000 Yield (supercedes CEGS 02821) • ASTM F-1043 Group IC, IC-L • NFGS 02821 Dept. of the Navy • RR F-191 Chain Link Specification CERTIFIED Lately, I've been thinking about goals. Not my goals, of course; I'm pretty much perfect. (It's a curse.) I have noticed, however, that you (everyone, collectively, except me) seem to need a lot of help, so it's a good thing I'm here. The goals to which I refer are those nagging, nebu- lous life objectives that latch onto your subconscious much the same way the slimy, squid-like thing attached itself to that poor sap's face in the movie Alien several years ago, except setting goals isn't as much fun. Actually, to be fair, that bursting- out-of-the-chest-thing probably felt a little below average, so maybe it all evened out in the end. But I digress..... Goals: A scientifi c perspective Goals can be broken down into two basic categories: Personal and professional. Common personal goals include losing weight, stopping smok- ing, fi nishing that time travel machine, writing fewer love letters to Angelina Jolie, that sorta' thing. Professionally, goals are less obvi- ous. They can range from short-term and readily defi nable (i.e., fi nishing that killer proposal for Mr. Windbag by Friday) to something more big pic- ture such as being present at the pre- cise moment in time Mr. Windbag ac- tually enters through the gates of hell — so you can hold the door open. Details aside, it's clear that the goal-setting exercise (GSE) is vital to achieving personal and professional success. Or is it?? (Long, pregnant pause....) The problem You see, I have a problem. (Many of our sharper readers have already fi gured that out via the caption above this paragraph – The problem.) Cur- rently there are scads of goal-spewing pundits riding a highly-lucrative and exponentially ascending wave of GSE seminars sweeping across our fair na- tion. The problem is: I'm not cashing in on it! This, of course, is horrifying and unacceptable. I'm sure you agree. But change doesn't come easy. We have to act quickly if we're going to make things right. We have to band together (like only we God-fearing Americans can do in times of crisis) and set bold, new priorities. We need to embrace the Era of Steve. (Cue dramatic thundering mu- sic.) We (meaning you) have to unself- ishly set aside our (your) petty, per- sonal needs (i.e., food, shelter, spare cash, etc.) and put Steve fi rst! Only then can we (I) be truly free. To start you on your way, take a mo- ment and ask the following questions: • Isn't my message – the Gospel of Steve – (thundering music plays) as vi- tal and pivotal to the tired, down-trod- den, huddled masses (that would be you) as that of all those higher paid GSE pedagogues? If you prick me, do I not bleed? (Ouch! Stop it! ooowwww! I mean it! Quit it!) • If there's easy money out there, shouldn't I have it? • Won't my Cinemax channel be cut off if I don't cough up on my past due cable bill? You see? The logic is fl awless. I think you know where to send your donations. But beyond this blindingly ob- vious shortfall, GSE is fraught with even greater peril. In the offi ce, the act of setting goals has become bandied about so willy-nilly that nowadays the practice holds little tangible meaning to the average Joe. Once a managerial panacea, the originally intended exercise has mu- tated into a grotesque, unrecognizable version of its former self. The act has become more import- ant than the goal. The goal itself – no matter how vague and PolyAnna – is irrelevant. The important thing is to look like you care. Throughout time, the target of all good offi ce strategies was to dazzle the next higher level of administra- tion. Your boss knows this. Veiled in the ultimate managerial smokescreen, GSE provides your immediate super- visor with something he can pull out of his (mmmmmm ... let's see .... I'm searching for a word here and I can't use my fi rst choice ... how about hat) when he has nothing better. But maybe I'm being harsh. Per- haps there's more to it. Maybe there's a reason your boss acts the way he does. And I think I've found it. Through ex- haustive research, I believe I've stum- bled upon the fi ve most prominent reasons why bosses continue to thrust Goal Setting Exercises on you, the un- suspecting employee: They hate you. Reaching the goal line BY STEVE SAUCERMAN continued on page 48