John Adair's 100 Greatest Ideas for Effective Leadership

Idea 38: Using Jacob's ladder to set realistic and challenging targets

Setting realistic objectives or targets and defining the tasks to be achieved can only be done in the context of a good understanding of the organization's purpose and aims.

In the Bible there is a story of Jacob falling asleep and having a vision of a ladder set up between Earth and Heaven, with angels – the messengers of God – moving both downward and upward. So a ‘Jacob's Ladder’ links down-to-earth objectives and practical steps with higher aims and the more general or abstract purpose – it's two-way traffic, as you can see in the diagram.

Moving down the ladder, you are answering the question: ‘How are we going to achieve the common purpose?’ The answer is by breaking ...