Strategic Horizons

A concept born of GHDR 2022 August, a Strategic Horizon is a formalization of the "distant dream goals" that I drew back in 2009, since I never really seem to do a good job setting a more specific goal and following through on it step-by-step. The hypothesis I had in 2022 is that I seem to do better improvising toward a set of goals that I find interesting and exciting; so long as I don't forget what they are I seem to productive in an unpredictable manner that still trends toward the goal. What I need to keep from happening is getting blinded by other concerns that take away from those goals.

⊕captionexcerpt from 2009 blog post World Domination: Master Vantage Point

Put another way, my "Strategic Horizon" are a set of constellations to steer by. Back in 2009 this is what they read.

• Community, Guilds, and Local Crafts
• Electronic Media Tools Online
• Physical Goods, Published Works
• Rocket to the Moon!
• Niche Design Business
• Consulting & Coaching

In 2022 these constellations are somewhat different but I haven't yet defined them. On a related note, strategic piles might be an interesting extension of the horizon idea in 3D space.

Commentary

Strategic Goals are:

1. Purpose-Driven: what values am I striving for? - this are maybe like my strategic horizons.
2. Long-Term and Forward-Focused: what are the long-term objectives? - these are like my strategic piles.
3. Actionable: operational goals that can be acted on - I am having trouble converting piles into projects, and have instead been winging it as the impulse to do something pops up. This is the ADHD/Executive Function problem I've been facing for years...why can't I motivate myself to do something reliably?
4. Measurable: how progress and success is measured operationally - I am using the gathering style productivity trope: success is anything that is (1) tangible such that other people can experience and share it with others and (2) actively shown to another person. The belief is that this creates the possibility of change and opportunity for collaboration, and by keeping mindful of this process one will continue to make greater things.

Operational Goals, by comparison, are the plan to achieve one's Strategic Goals. They are described as SMART:

The closest thing in my toolkit are my project scoping rules, which are a superset of SMART that links operational objectives to its parent context (e.g. the strategic goals that have been left out of the project brief).