We know whatwe need to do

OPINION: I was talking with two 12-yearolds who are looking at starting College next year.

This was about what they wanted to do and what subjects they needed to be good at to achieve this. I explained that longterm goals are called strategy, this means knowing what you need to do to get to where you want to go.

Hospice Southland sets out strategic goals. We want to best serve our communities by providing specialist palliative care.

■ Strategic Goal 1: To do this we need to be financially sustainable.

Strategic Goal 2: We need to be able to retain and recruit the right people to achieve this.

Strategic Goal 3: What we often miss is checking that we achieve the outcomes we and our communities want. These are our Critical Success Factors. With the two 12-year-olds, I wanted them to check what their critical success factors would be. A good income but not super rich said one. The other wanted to be his own boss, he has an entrepreneurial side.

They both also said they wanted to “live gently on the land”. I suspect that’s their Mum talking. Their third one was to enjoy their jobs and to have time for friends.

Do you know what you need to do, to get to where you want to go, and will you know when you have arrived?It’s a worthwhile exercise to do.