Goal Setting – An integral part of Organization
From childhood onwards, people are told that setting goals for themselves will make them more diligent, meticulous, more focused and generally more successful in whatever they set out to do – whether it’s win tennis games, ace their exams or become CEO of their company.
What are Goals?
Goals, are a statement of what the organization wishes to do. Goals state the end toward which effort is directed. They are usually a reflection of an organizational problem or of a desire to capture an opportunity to improve the organization. They should be specific, measurable and time bounded. These are the same criteria used for individual objectives. As goals are accomplished, they are replaced by new statements of what needs to be done to increase the organization's effectiveness.
A mission is an organization's purpose or reason for being. The mission answers the question "What business are we in?" As you may have experienced, this is sometimes a very profound question to answer. The mission is ongoing and does not change unless the core business changes such as the introduction of new products. A mission statement may be rather broad although a danger with mission statements is that they may be too broad and not provide adequate definition of the organization. The mission does not change or get replaced as problems are solved, and it is not as time bounded the way goals are, such as within an operating plan or fiscal year period.
A vision is an ideal image of a possible and desirable future state of the organization as it carries out its mission. Values are a part of a vision statement either implicitly or 5 explicitly. The organization vision is necessarily broad and represents an ideal rather than a specific achievement. As such, it should last a long time unless there is a significant change in the organization - such as a merger or acquisition with a different kind of organization.
Goals and plans provide a sense of direction. They focus attention on specific targets and direct employee efforts toward important outcomes.
Goals are high-level statements that provide the overall context for what the organization is trying to accomplish in the next one to three years. The achievement of goals helps the organization accomplish its mission and moves the organization closer to its vision.
There are some directives which are very useful while we are in the process of setting the goals for the Organizations:
1. Leader should be Passionate: more powerful than any goal you ever set is the passion you have for what you want, what you do, and who you are. Find your passion first then set your goals around that.
2. Goal should be Realistic & Clear: if your goal is to make a million dollars in one year, and you only make $500,000, according to your goal, you’ve failed. Yet, you’ve made $500,000! Isn’t that a huge success? So why not set your goal at $100,000 dollars in one year, and beat the heck out of it five times that year?
3. Goals time frames: Goals fall into varying time periods such as: Immediate goals, 30 day goals, 6 month goals, 1 year goals, 5 years, 10 years or longer. Make sure you can accomplish what you want in the time frame you set.
4. Value-Driven: in the pursuit of wealth and satisfaction, many of us lose the vision of our values and beliefs. Make a list of your goals, then a list of your values. If you can’t directly associate each goal with one of your values, maybe you shouldn’t invest your time in that particular goal.
5. Robust Planning: start with the end result in mind then work backwards. For example, if your goal is that your subordinate confides all his secrets to you, the step before that has to be that he trusts you. To earn his trust, you have to listen, and allow him to tell you his mistakes.
6. Goal should be detailed: the goal itself is almost never enough. The most effective goals are designed so that you know the goal, the date by which you will achieve it, the quantity by which you will measure it and how it will change your life.
7. Accountability: find someone to hold you accountable to your goal or create a system whereby you hold yourself accountable. An effective way to do this is to set a realistic “due date” for each step in your plan and then report to yourself or a colleague how far you’ve come in that step. These little goals are easier to measure and give the sense of accomplishment.
8. Believe in yourself: many of us set goals we don’t truly believe we can reach. Just think of the resolutions you made during New Years. Have you ever followed through on one of those? If your goal is to be healthy and fit and you can’t imagine being able to exercise every other day and stay away from chocolates then you have to rework your goal into something believable for you. Otherwise, you’ll only frustrate yourself.
9. Never Give Up: what if you still don’t achieve your goal? Don’t give up. Maybe you’re concentrating too hard on reaching the goal and losing sight of why you set it in the first place. Not everyone succeeds by setting goals. If you try the above and they don’t work for you then try something else. The most important thing is to be passionate and have fun. You’ll get there.
While writing down the goals, the leader should always keep in mind that all the goal statements should be written in a manner so that every employee while reading the same will get passionate from the same and would force to think that “Yes! I will also follow the same path, which my leader is following”. We also notice that all the goal statements should always be in a positive, motivating but firm manner. Here are some examples:
- Say it like it’s already happened: When writing your goal, say it like it has already happened. Put your goals in words that assume that you already have achieved them. For example, “I now have a new silver BMW 4 door 2002 sedan.”
- Use motivating language: To get you passionate, committed and motivated, add emotional language to your written goals. Here’s an example “I absolutely love and am excited about my beautiful new home in the hills” which is much more passionate than “I like my new home in the hills”.
- Write specifically and in detail: Because your subconscious manifests things literally, you want to write specific detailed goals. Use language that is clear in describing exactly what it is you want
- Write in positive terms rather than negative ones: Examples of positive statements might be: “I am now free of the habit of smoking”, or “I am now a smoke free person”. Negative examples might be: “I don’t smoke anymore” or “I’m not a smoker”.
To conclude, "You have to set goals that are almost out of reach. If you set a goal that is attainable without much work or thought, you are stuck with something below your true talent and potential."
Amit Pathak is Executive Assistant to Chairman & Managing Director in one of the big Corporate s, New Delhi
