Monday, October 8, 2007

The Six Questions

Here are the six questions that one needs to ask to formulate a WFO (Well Formed Outcome):-

1) Positive - What do you want?

2) Sensory Specific - How will I recognize when you have this? How will you know when you have this?

3) Contextualized - Where and when do you want to have this resource? Where and when do you not want this resource?

4) Self Achievable

It is very important that the outcome must be within their own realm of influence i.e. is something over which the person has control.

What resources do you need to be able to achieve this?
What do you need to do to achieve this?

Is this something which you, yourself, can achieve? Or does it require that OTHER people behave in a certain way?

5) Ecological

The advantages and the disadvantages. There are always disadvantages in making a change - being alert to these keeps the person `at cause' by making it their choice.

What are the advantages of making this change?
What are the disadvantages of making this change?

What will achieving this lose you? Become?

6)Worthwhile

The motivation question: which of your values will be fulfilled by achieving this outcome?
What's important to you about getting this?
What will this outcome help you avoid feeling?

What is the benefit of this outcome?

The NLP method of refining goals or objectives using the WFO's process produces a more carefully refined and unambiguous objective. (The method is more accurately referred to as the Well-Formedness Conditions for an Outcome.) This looks similar to the popular business tool called SMART and I personally use a combination of both when setting my outcomes or goals.


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