Blog by Adam Parkes - MBA Intern University of Ulster

How often do you find yourself at the mid-point in a project, either personal or professional, only to discover you have lost your purpose and direction and are no longer clear where you are going?  This is a challenge I have personally experienced on multiple occasions throughout my undergraduate and postgraduate studies, and is something I expect to face on many occasions in the future as I begin my career.  In one particular case I was required to complete a piece on Corporate Social Responsibility as part of a university project.  I began proceedings with a good idea of what angle I wanted to take on CSR, complete with a wealth of academic theory on the topic and information on the mining industry on which I focused my case study.  However I soon found myself lost, discussing theory and academic assertions which bore little relevance to the arguments I originally sought to make.  I realised my essay was floundering.  I was forced to stop, re-gather my thoughts and ideas and begin over again with a more clearly defined direction established.

This is an example of a personal experience of writing an essay but this is a universal problem that is relevant in both your business and your personal life.  It is the problem of failing to develop an adequate statement of direction before undertaking a project.  The second habit discussed by the acclaimed management expert Stephen Covey in his book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” is the idea of “beginning with the end in mind”.  This is the ability to envision with your mind what you cannot presently see with your eyes.  Developing this habit means beginning each day or each project with a clear vision of your direction and your destination.  It enables you to seize control of your activities and remain on track in the face of external pressures and factors.  Beginning with a destination and directions engenders better planning, better communication with colleagues, greater motivation to complete and tangible ways of measuring success.

This principle is not limited solely to application to your professional life but also to your personal life and activities.  It enables us to look closely at the principles and goals that govern our daily lives and assess whether they support the things that really matter to us.  Beginning with the end in mind means looking at the bigger picture, both personally and professionally, and deciding where you want to get to and how you want to get there.  So why not try today; make your own statement of direction and see whether beginning with the end in mind can generate positive results in your life.