GEMS: Goals, Expectations, Measurements and Strategies for Critical Thinking and Decision-Making

GEMS are sparkling stones that are very attractive and precious. Its attractiveness and spackles are derived from the meticulous precision of the way the stones were cut. It takes a perfect design, planning and execution to achieve such results. GEMS is also an acronym that represents leadership excellence. GEMS stands for Goals, Expectations, Measurements, and Strategies. The team concluded that a leadership handbook for the 21st century must be simple but forward looking in addressing the issues of today and the immediate future.The handbook is broken down into sections that are easy to follow. It is design for leaders to think critically in all aspects of the business.Effective leaders must know and understand clearly the goals or mission of the company. The handbook provides a detailed but simple way on how to formulate company’s goals. Shared goals are more effective than top down goals as it gives all employees or participants of the company ownership which translates to empowerment and accountability. Expectations are standards developed by each company and are designed to maintain its competitive advantage. Critical thinking is an expectation that organizations look for from the employees. This handbook laid out the techniques leaders need to know to achieve such goals.As goals and expectations are clearly defined and preached to the leader’s constituency another important element of GEMS is Measurement. Once goals are set and agreed with by all stakeholders the next important step is the development of a measuring tool. The company’s success is dependent upon the effective execution of each processes or tasks of each and every employees in the organization. The handbook covered the key role that Human Resources played in ensuring its success.Finally, the last element of GEMS is strategy. It outlined in detail how a global leader can be consistently successful in this dynamic business environment. The important topics discussed were goal setting, resources required, timeline, and actual execution of the strategy. A successful implementation of a leadership handbook will only be achieved if the organizational leadership accepts and understands the necessity of thinking outside the box. This handbook is intentionally design to force global leaders to think beyond the norm of doing business. It forces all employees and senior leadership to be self-critical and accept changes as the new normal in doing business. We all hope that you enjoy the fruits of this excellent leadership handbook.