Outcome Setting

Defining outcomes is another way of saying setting goals. However, goals are more gritty and specific and are usually found in corporations and organizations of all sorts. Outcomes, however, are generally things a whole bunch of us want. Like…let’s say…peace on Earth. Or goodwill among all men (mankind, these days!).

Well, you get the idea. I’m speaking here of dream statements that define our ideal outcomes. The big things. A few of those items are: access to affordable healthcare for everyone. Another would be access to appropriate education that matches a student’s ability, desires and needs. If that means college education, fine. Or, if vocational training is what the student wants, is good at, and society needs it, then provide that training. Another way of looking at this, provide appropriate educational support for every person as they travel the journey of their life and things change – technology, social norms, and whatnot. If someone’s career falls into disuse, then train the person for another career that makes sense to them and their skillsets.

Those kinds of outcomes. The big ones. They are not easy to provide. They are costly and highly variable based on need and personal abilities. But each person needs this support for their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. They need to support themselves and their families as the case may be.

Housing is another big need. Of course the housing unit needed by a person or family, depends on the size of the family, its abilities or disabilities, and proximity to employment and jobs.

Regardless of the outcomes targeted, our society needs to identify the sorts of things we expect from society. We all pay into this society, so we should all benefit from it as well.

Those who are wealthy and own companies or parts of them, they earn money off their investments and the profitability of the companies they own. That’s as it should be. However, those who work for those companies and bring wealth to its owners, deserve a livable income. If they are expected to work hard, think creatively and invent new products and services, they should be paid according to their contribution to the health of the enterprise. Their income levels will rise to reflect their contributions to the success of the organization.

Owners of companies and wealthy individuals, are not the only people of means in any society. The people who populate companies and organizations make the organization work successfully. They should earn reasonable compensation as a result. They may not be wealthy in the long run, but they will have earned a high enough standard of living to taste the rewards of exceptional service and value to their employers.

A society takes on the shape and image of what all of its citizens need and want. If the citizenry supports justice, fairness and cooperation, then laws, regulations and expectations are needed to reflect that. Same with defining the standards of living we are obliged to provide productive individuals of that society.

All of this does not happen automatically. It happens because we want it to happen, we work for it to be, and we invest in planning, research and organizational effort to make good things happen. Organizations do strategic planning periodically. They define what they want and work to make their goals come true. But what of society? When did America every sit down and do a strategic plan for its society?  Probably never. Well, maybe we ought to be doing this activity.

The question is who? It ought to be congress, but they have their minds on other things of much lesser importance. So much so that the more vital planning effort never gets done.

Perhaps the time has arrived when we change that reality? What do you think? And if Congress is not the right entity to do this work, who else should?

August 31, 2018