Most people think the Iraq war was a miserable failure. It wasn't though - it's probably one of the most successful military campaigns, not to mention social campaigns, ever waged.

Wait? What!?

If you don't agree with me then you probably don't think the objective is what I think it is.

If you think the objective of the Iraq war was to find Weapons of Mass Destruction, remove a dictator from power, and return our troops home as quickly as possible, and do so with a minimal loss of civilian life, well then of course, the Iraq war was a miserable failure.

If however you believe as I do, that the objective of the Iraq war was to establish a permanent military presence on massive oil reserves, create a situation whereby a presidential successor wouldn't be able to withdrawal combat forces, and get the American people to buy off on this permanent military presence, regardless of civilian casualties or human rights abuses, then the Iraq war has actually been extraordinarily successful.

We haven't removed all combat troops from Iraq (We've renamed them to "advise and assist" but they're still combat troops) and we never will.

In business, in technology, and on projects, you'll often see people disagreeing over the best way to do something. Problem is, people usually assume that everyone's objective is the same as theirs - and this is usually never the case.

Do you think there are so many C-Sections in this country because American women have suddenly become unable to give birth? Or is it possible the Doctor's objectives (don't get sued) aren't quite in alignment with the mothers?

Was the objective of the democratic party for the last two year to make major change? Or was it to make a little bit of change while continuing to serve the same masters that both parties serve?

Next time you find yourself trying figure out how to best lead a team of people, complete a project, or simply to make a point, take a step back to figure out what the objective actually is.

You might still be frustrated, but at least you'll be seeing things clearly.