Better To Have Multiple Goalscapes - Possible To Link Them
Hi,
It took me a while to see how Goalscape can help me and my business. I wasn't clear minded or even focused on the functionality. I also kind of realized that Goalscape is like a visual checklist of criteria leading up to the final goal. I am an IT support person who runs a small company to help small businesses and residential customers with their computer problems. I also give presentations on various computer related topics. I am an older person so there are a lot of things to do an remember. I have written down procedures for the types of calls that I do. They are basically checklists. I have tried many programs but they fell short. I am a visual person. As I look at the sample Goalscapes they can be interpreted as checklists to get to the level. What I would like to know is it better to have multiple Goalscapes and possibly link them together or have many sub goals within one Goalscape? I am not sure whether Goalscapes can be linked together. If that is not possible would having too many sub goals slow it down when opening or closing? Thanks.
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Support Staff 1 Posted by Richard Parslow on 13 Jan, 2016 01:52 AM
Hello Scot
Thanks for your inquiry.
How you use Goalscape is really a matter of personal preference: some people use a single huge project for all their activities (work, family, sports/hobbies, etc) and some people create separate projects for different areas.
If you have a reasonably new machine you should not notice much effect on performance even in very large projects in Goalscape Desktop. We are also aware of many Goalscape Online users running large business projects with more than 1,000 goals (and a few with more than 2,000); and none of them have reported performance issues.
In Goalscape Online every goal has its own unique URL (which also includes a reference to the selected field). So you can indeed link between projects and goals using hyperlinks in the Notes or Comment field. In the Notes field you can select text, then click the 'link' button, paste the URL of the target goal and field and press Enter/Return. In Comments, just paste the link and it will become a hyperlink when you post your comment.
For corporate use, senior executives often run a single 'master' project, updated from separate projects for different business areas. In Goalscape Enterprise we have made this easier to do by providing per-goal sharing, so different areas of the same master project can be shared with different (groups of) users.
Enjoy the journey!
Richard
2 Posted by Scot Gerardi on 13 Jan, 2016 02:34 AM
Hi Richard,
Thanks for you response. I want to elaborate on what I want to accomplish. I
have several defined projects. Each one of those projects has tasks associated
with it. Some have man and others have few. I was creating templates for these
but as I was doing them, the goals got smaller and smaller which I could not
see. I know I can enlarge them. Then I thought of an idea where I would put
the tasks underneath each goal under notes. Some of these tasks I may not do.
I was think I can check them off but there is no way to do that. I know it
would be easy to go though each item even if I don't do it and mark it at 100%
complete. Here is an example of a project an the tasks that go along with it:
Project or Goal: Hardware Problems
Tasks that go along with that would include:
Monitor (No Video)
Main VGA doesn't work
Laptop keyboard issues
Router issues
External device not recognized
Network issues
Bad keyboard or mouse
CD/DVD issues
Dead motherboard
Dead power supply
Memory errors
Hard drive issues
Dead laptop power adapter
RUN SIW!
If I put theses items in the Notes section, I can keep the goals down. If I
don't the goals can get out of control. I want to associate these goals with
any customer so therefore creating templates. Is there a different way to
tackle this that you can think of? Like you suggested link Goalscapes together
so it would not be as crazy. Any ideas would be very much appreciated. Thanks.
Scot
Support Staff 3 Posted by Richard Parslow on 13 Jan, 2016 10:24 AM
Hello Scot
OK, so the tasks here are a series of tests to run to diagnose hardware problems.
If you just list the tasks in Notes, you cannot use the completion checkbox to update progress – although you can manually insert progress (in the parent) as you complete all (or some of) the tests.
If I understand correctly, the only issue with creating the tasks as subgoals is that the subgoal slices become very thin, which means you cannot see their names clearly in the goal map when you are displaying the entire project. If that is the case you can overcome this simply by using the Focus View option: double-click the parent and it will appear at the center of its own goal map, with its subgoals arranged in a circle around it.
When you are looking at the entire project you can maintain clarity by collapsing outer levels (tasks) using the down arrow on the Anchor Bar at 12 o'clock.
You can also use the Goal List to check off goals and tasks serially: use Focus View as described above, then open the Highlight sidebar and check the 'Show goal list' button. The goal list will appear and you can use the checkboxes in the list to indicate completion.
To create separate templates for each set of tests you can use File > Save Selected Subgoal As to create a new project with the selected goal as its Main Goal (the default filename will be the name of the selected goal). When you create a specific project for any customer you can C&P these templates back into the customer project as required.
You currently have only Free User status in Goalscape Online, which means you can only update one project. So if you want to use the project linking facility (using project or goal URLs as hyperlinks in the Notes) you will need to renew your Online subscription here. You will however still need to download the overall project in order to use the Save Selected Subgoal As feature, then re-upload the separate 'test' templates once you have created them.
If I have misunderstood what you are asking here please post again to clarify.
All the best
Richard
4 Posted by Scot Gerardi on 13 Jan, 2016 03:48 PM
Hi Richard,
This is exactly what I was looking for so you understood what I wanted
perfectly. I did not know about Save Selected Subgoal As. Yes I am aware of
the online version. Since I am an IT guy, I don't like saving stuff online.
There is too much hacking going on. The prognosis for this year is that many
small businesses will be targeted to be hacked into. I know last year and it
might continue that many of the online backup sites were hacked into. We don't
hear much about this stuff on the news. Most of this type of news you get on
the web. Don't know how much of it is true but I'd rather keep it in my
possession rather than put it out there where it could be accessible by
others.
Scot
Richard Parslow closed this discussion on 13 Jan, 2016 04:06 PM.
Scot Gerardi re-opened this discussion on 30 Jan, 2016 10:32 PM
5 Posted by Scot Gerardi on 30 Jan, 2016 10:32 PM
Hi Richard,
I am ecstatic!! I figured it all out. I have been searching for something
simple and yet powerful. I found it in Goalscape. I read the latest support
post and you shared a link with the person who asked a question which is
better to use, a mindmap or Goalscape. One of the links you shared was a video
of Martin showing how Goalscape was better than Powerpoint. As I watched the
video I realized may things. I give lots of presentations which I love to do.
One thing, is the audience loves the slides or the information contained in
the slides. If I put together a presentation in Goalscape, how can I give the
audience the information contained in the Goalscapes (i.e printouts or
something that they can take with them)? Thank You!
There is something I wanted to share with you Richard. As I mentioned I
realized how powerful Goalscape really is. It is also very simple and not
distracting to use.
I was going to email you about how the Notes section did not have table
creation because I have many things in tables. I realized I did not need the
tables. I can create a Goalscape for the table. I also realized that large
tables are distracting because it may take a little while to get the
information. In a Goalscape it is more pinpointed and it will be easier to get
the info with much less distraction. I used to use a ToDo List program. The
author raved how great his program is. He also said to avoid distractions but
his software has so many features, it is very easy to get distracted.
Goalscape still needs a few things like reminders and maybe some other little
odds and ends but for the most part I can use it for many things. For some
reason we do think to linearly and we need certain things because it offered
to us. So many software programs miss the boat and I have looked forever for
software. There isn't any application that can do everything. I personally
don't want to use many applications. I know I have to use some but the less
the better. Now that I am older, I want simpler and non distracting so I can
get the real work done. There is a book out called "Do More Great Work" by
Michael Bungay Stanier. He basically says that we get distracted and don't do
the important work. With Goalscape that can be done very easily. One other
thing I would like to say is you are doing the right thing. I commend you for
it. Don't add every little thing that customers or potential customers want.
You'll ruin the program. Hopefully people will think outside of the box and
come to the realization I did.
Scot Gerardi
Support Staff 6 Posted by Richard Parslow on 30 Jan, 2016 11:47 PM
Hi Scot
Thanks for the great feedback. It is always very gratifying for us when people "get it"!
Marcus also just published a blog Set goals like Googlers do, which provides some useful insights. To help people get up and running we do provide some basic Templates for various specific uses – we want to extend the range of templates offered (all submissions gratefully received!).
When you use Goalscape for presentations, the best way to give the audience something to take away with them is to give them the goalscape itself! To do so, upload your presentation goalscape (.gsp file) to Goalscape Online and make it Public (check the option in the Share screen). Then you can just give your audience the URL (tip: make it a bit.ly with a meaningful name like 'bit.ly/ScotsGoals'): they will all be able to View it online any time (they do not need to have a Goalscape account to do this). And they may pass the link to their contacts, spreading the word about Goalscape and how you are using it...
If your presentation contains confidential or proprietary information you can share the project privately with your audience – it's a great reason to collect their email addresses. Upload your presentation and in the Share screen, instead of making it Public, enter each email address, set the access level to View and click '+Add'. If the person does not already have a Goalscape account they will receive an email with a link to the project where they can set their password and sign in to see it.
Note: your expired Goalscape Connect subscription has been switched to the new Free User account for Goalscape Online. So if your presentation goalscape has more than 30 goals you will need to upgrade your account to Unlimited ($6 per month) here to make use of the full Online functionality.
If you really want to give your audience a linear version of your Goalscape presentation you can export your project in PDF format. You can give this to your audience in electronic format (uploaded to Google Drive, say) or even hard copy. Use File > Export > Report Options in Goalscape Desktop (or Download As > Show Report Options in Goalscape Online), then click the PDF icon. You can pre-edit your report to remove unwanted or irrelevant details like Dates, Progress, Parent, etc, and empty fields (which also saves paper in hard copies).
Keep achieving great goals!
Richard
7 Posted by Scot Gerardi on 31 Jan, 2016 11:03 PM
Hi Richard,
I have a few technical questions about Goalscape. If I click on File, I see
something called Recent Goalscapes. It lists all the recent Goalscapes I have
worked with. Is there a limit on the number of Goalscapes listed? If there is,
can the number be changed? I know the current default setting in Goalscape is
This PC and Documents or most likely my username\documents. Can that be
changed? If so, where? Thanks Richard!
Scot Gerardi
Support Staff 8 Posted by Richard Parslow on 31 Jan, 2016 11:52 PM
Hello Scot
The maximum number of files displayed in the Recent list is 10 – the same as most desktop applications like Word or Excel.
There appears to be some text missing in your message – it reads:
If you are asking about the default directory for Save and Save As, it is indeed your Documents directory. Once you have chosen a directory, that will be the first offered for the next Save (As).
If you were asking about something else, please post again to clarify.
All the best
Richard
9 Posted by Scot Gerardi on 01 Feb, 2016 02:12 AM
Hi Richard,
Sorry some of my message got messed up. The email software I use sometimes
does some strange things when I accidentally hit a couple of keys together.
You are correct about the folder. I assumed also it would save in the last
folder that a Goalscape was saved in. Thanks for clarifying that. 10 is fine
for the file list. I take it that can't be modified which is fine. Since I am
creating many Goalscapes, I wanted to make things easier by opening up past
files. Thanks again for your help Richard.
Scot
Support Staff 10 Posted by Richard Parslow on 01 Feb, 2016 10:55 AM
Hi Scot
Glad I was able to answer your questions!
Note that there is no limit to the number of projects you can have open in your workspace in either Goalscape Desktop or Goalscape Online, so if you want to access more than 10 at a time you can just leave them open when you Exit the application and they will all be opened when you restart it.
Of course if you have too many open you will not be able to read the project names in their tabs, which might make it hard to find the one you want (although you can use the smart Search function to find specific text strings in all open projects).
Cheers!
Richard
Richard Parslow closed this discussion on 01 Feb, 2016 10:55 AM.