The value of consistent direction

I have decided to name this post the value of consistent direction and to be honest I am sure that there are 101 management principles around this. In recent years I think that I have been lucky enough to have a collection of managers who have understood either consciously or unconsciously that in order to make forward progress you need to be consistent in the direction. Without a common and in many cases a singular vision as to what is going to happen and where a project / programme / department / piece of work is going it is never going to get there.

A term that I am going to use and I am sure I am not the first is the 5 year olds playing football.. Namely were-ever the ball is that is where they all run to and this is often dictated by whichever 5 year old kicked the ball last. Without a consistent management approach that gives clear guidance as to a direction then 3 steps forward 2 steps back is the best you are going to get.

I can almost hear the hecklers in the background saying, what about if the direction is wrong. Well I can see that as well, sometimes the initial direction is wrong, however in many case it might be off the bullseye but if it is on the board then go for it!