One of the more pressing questions asked of President Obama recently was how the American people could tell if the stimulus package was effective. What he was actually being asked to address was the concept of success measures.
In the business world, success measures are what we call “goals.”
Here’s why goals are so important.
- Goals and objectives are the links between the organizational vision and the new environment.
- Goals clarify expectations about what needs to be done to help the organization make the transition into the envisioned environment.
- Goals give direction to individuals and teams for planning and executing change.
- Goals tell us what we need to do. As such, goals must be measurable.
We measure for a variety of reasons:
- Tells us if we are winning
- Defines performance and gives people an observable and quantifiable way to measure progress over time
- Tells people what really counts and is desirable
- What gets measured is what gets done
- Publishing measures makes things change – it shines a light
- Measures make commitments real – otherwise it may be perceived as a wish or a good idea
- Forces confusion and misunderstanding into the open by creating an opportunity for alignment
- Pulls people together
Without goals, we are like Alice in Wonderland as she asked directions of the Cheshire Cat. “Would you please tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don’t care much where,” said Alice. “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat. “As long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation. “Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “If you only walk long enough.”
Strategy Insight 