This is the time of year when people are setting their “goals” for 2023. So I thought I would republish one of my most popular posts.
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I don’t have “goals.” I don’t believe in “goals.” I don’t allow the people I work with to have goals.
Wait – what? I don’t have goals? I thought all good organizations had goals. What about that famous study that showed graduates who wrote down their goals were more successful? Heck, Brian Tracy wrote a famous book called “Goals!”
Here is the problem with goals – the word is confusing. It can mean all sorts of things to different people at different times.
“My goal is to be a famous author.”
“My goal is to finish my book this year.”
“My goal is to sell 5,000 copies of my book.”
Do you see the difference in each of these “goals?” One goal is aspirational, one is a project, and one is a measurable result.
The problem with an organization having goals is that too many times, the organization creates goals – some aspirational, some projects, and some measurements. I eliminate this confusion by not having any goals.
I call a “goal” what it really is – a vision, a result, or an initiative.
Visions are aspirational statements – dreams of where we want to be or what we want to achieve. For example, one of our vision statements is this: “A Company We Love – foster a values-driven culture that empowers and rewards it employees.” This is one of five aspirational statements we have about my organization, along with “Drive Success” (vision for client success), “Excellence Everywhere” (vision for service delivery, efficiency, and continuous improvement), “Lead Through Our Values” (vision for leadership) and “50 in 5” (vision for financial success).
Results are measurements that indicate if we are achieving our vision. For instance, in the “Company We Love” vision, we have measurements that include total compensation, involuntary attrition, and employee engagement. We believe that doing well on these results indicates that we are doing well in creating a Company We Love. Results are measurements that can be compared to a target, benchmark, or over time.
So how do we achieve these results? Through Initiatives. Initiatives are projects that change the capability of the organization. For example, an initiative to create a survey would be undertaken to understand our employee engagement. Other initiatives may include implementing a new technology platform, improving the efficiency of a process, or documenting how a process is performed.
So now you know why I don’t have any goals. Vision, Results, and Initiatives – not goals.
