The process of Implementation will document the use of a Holistic Goal in action. One of the most profound things about Holistic Management® is in that it does not stop at the formation of a goal, that then gets framed on the wall and admired from afar (or worse, locked away in some closet never to be seen again). Holistic Management® requires that the goal is implemented through a process of testing decisions against the stated goal. If your management is not taking you closer to your defined goal, than either your management, or your goal, need to change.

Here I will describe the use of my new Holistic Goal as defined in the previous section Project 4 – Design. After a very intensive design process I had finally had my Holistic Goal ready for testing.

The Goal

Quality of Life Statement:

I am fulfilled & enriched by constant growth & Learning. I contribute fully to the health, happiness & well-being of myself, my family, and my community – free from any financial fears, restrictions and/or limitations. My life provides the greatest level of possible leverage toward regeneration, harmony & abundance for the benefit of all beings.

Future Resource Base:

• I will be known for being compassionate, loyal, thoughtful, trustworthy, loving, engaging, joyful, knowledgable, passionate, experienced, ethical, humble, creative, generous, courageous, cooperative, healthy, helpful & worth investing in.
• My environment will be healthy, clean, regenerative, full of natural wealth, comfort, serenity, abundance, healing & peace.
• My community will be diverse, ethical, peaceful, cooperative, happy, healthy, educated, understanding, compassionate, supportive & generous.

Holistic Clarifying Questions

As mentioned, Allan’s Holistic Management® is more than just a goal, it is a way of managing decisions based upon your goal. The following questions are are adapted from “Holistic Management: A New Framework for Decision Making”:

1. Cause & Effect: Does this action address the root cause of the problem?
2. Weak Link:
   1. Social – Could this action, due to prevailing attitudes or beliefs, create a weak link in the chain of action leading to your Holistic Goal?
   2. Biological – Does this action address the weakest link in the life cycle of this eco-system/organism?
   3. Financial – Does this action strengthen the weakest link in the chain of production?
3. Marginal Reaction: Which action provides the greatest return, in terms of your holistic goal, for the time & money invested?
4. Gross Profit Analysis: Which enterprises contribute the most to covering the overhead?
5. Energy/Money Source & Use: Is the energy or money to be used in this action derived from the most appropriate source in terms of your holistic goal? Will the way in which the energy or money be used lead toward your Holistic Goal?
6. Sustainability: If you take this action, will it lead toward or away from the future resource base?
7. Society & Culture: How do you feel about this action now? Will it lead to the quality of life you desire? Will it adversely affect the lives of others?

The First Test

Generally, it is rare that I ever struggle with a question enough that I feel it is stumping me. While I was designing my Holistic Goal, however, one arose that was plaguing me and spurred me forward in my design so I could test this challenging question against my goal.

The question that seemed to continue to be coming up for me was the following:

Do I find, found, or otherwise dig into a project – make a go of it and root something profound & solid, or…

Do I move, peddle & continue traveling?

To sum it up… the question is, “should I stay or should I go?”

I ran this problem through the testing process described above. This was not only a test of the question that seemed to keep popping up for me but also a test of my newly formed goal. What follows is the result of that process:

1. Cause & Effect: Does this action address the root cause of the problem?
   To answer this question I must first identify the problem. I guess, in this case, the problem is creating the greatest possible leverage toward regeneration… or the achievement of my Holistic Goal.

   This is challenging to answer so, as suggested by Allan, I shall move on.

2. Weak Link:
   1. Social – Which of these two actions creates a higher probability of a weak link in a social context?
      

      Either one really – I see the continuation of travel having or creating the strongest weak link, but rooting somewhere may also create a weak link with the community I position myself farthest away from.

   2. Ecological – The ecosystem at large?
      

      Challenging to answer – skipping

   3. Financial – Which action strengthens the weakest link in production?
      

      Production could be defined as my income & well-being – the weakest link to that being my ability to establish myself as a resource that is trusted & valued. I think I could strengthen that weak link better by proving my skills & knowledge in a rooted project than to continue travel. Although travel also has many possible advantages and might better strengthen my well-being, it maybe does not win on this question.

3. Marginal Reaction: Which action provides greatest return per investment?
   

   This question is really at the very heart of the matter – requires more research!

4. Gross Profit Analysis: Which enterprise contributes the most to the overhead
   

   Each project has a different overhead. I suspect that rooting would have a greater overhead (rent, utilities, basic amenities, etc…) that would be more difficult to meet whereas traveling I can keep overheads low while creating fundraising campaigns that really work.

5. Energy, Money Source & Use (EMSU):
   

   The EMSU for both options are pretty similar

6. Sustainability: Which choice moves you closer to the future resources base?
   

   Both choices contribute in different ways.

7. Society & Culture:
   

   Both again contribute to the quality of life I desire & could effect lives in positive ways.

After having worked through this process I didn’t really feel that much closer to a definitive answer. Both options seem really strong and despite the fact that rooting seems to test higher on several questions, I feel that travel still has more strength for development – at least in the short term.

When I first tested my this decision I did not have enough information to answer question three, Marginal Reaction. Because this question was probably the deciding factor, and I suspected that travel would come out on top, I decided to give myself a little more time before making a decision.

Conclusion

The testing process seemed promising and proved to be something that, with a bit of practice, could be done fairly quickly. It definitely helped me to target the area of most interest and allowed me to focus on the questions that could truly help me make the most informed choice.

One thing I discovered through the process of testing, that I wasn’t necessarily expecting, was that I still was not completely satisfied with my Holistic Goal. In the next section I will discuss how, through continual processing, and a 10 day Vipassana meditation retreat, I found a goal that really resounded with my whole being.

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT® IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF
HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL

<- back to design                           implementation                           forward to evaluation ->