Goals, Plans and Responsibilites

Organizational Hierarchy

Effective organizations take the time and effort to develop good plans that establishes their purpose and direction. Each level of the organization from the CEO to the person at the front counter has a part to play in making the organization a success. Owners of sole proprietorships and small businesses are forced to be a jack of all trades when it comes to goal setting and planning. However; once an organization grows large enough for role differentiation, the planning efforts are assigned to different levels based on their function.

The image below is a model of planning and goal setting in a mid-sized organization. As you can see, functions are not fully differentiated and there is involvement in planning and goal setting between the different organizational levels.

What Is A Goal?
A goal is a statement of action(s) to be undertaken within a given time frame to achieve a measurable outcome.

Why Goals Are Important
Goals are powerful, effective tools for achieving outcomes.  Well written goals not only provide measurable outcomes, set priorities, establish accountability, create focus and assist in determining where resources are allocated.

Goal Hierarchy
Goals  have a top-down focus and should be linked to the organization’s Vision and Mission Statements or to superior goals. Goals established by the executive level are superior to and take precedence over goals developed by other management levels in the organization.  Moreover, superior goals drive the creation of inferior goals in order to accomplish the organization’s mission.  In general, the further down the organizational hierarchy you go, goals are typically simpler, have shorter time frames and are narrowly focused.

Goals Should Include The Following Elements:

• Description of what is going to be accomplished
• Direction on how to accomplish the goal including constraints and restraints
• Defined starting and ending time as well as evaluation points
• Establish accountability for execution and completion of the goal
• The goal’s relative priority compared to other goals
• A statement on expected return on investment

Are You Goals SMART Enough?
Goal setting is one of the most important tasks that a manager can undertake each year.  Effective goals bring the desired outcome into sharp focus.  SMART Goals have been promoted as the means to do so, but the system is only useful for the most basic tasks.  To make the SMART goal system effective for more complex tasks the system must be made SMARTER by adding two new elements: Execution and Return on Investment (ROI).

The Execution function lays out in detail how the goal will be accomplished.  Depending on the goal a simple check list may be all that is needed, however, more complex goals may require PERT/Gantt charts and critical path analysis in order to fully understand how the organization’s goals fit together.  Laying out goals in this way permits you to understand the entire scope of what needs to be accomplished and allows for the coordination of actions based on manpower, cash flow, and time commitment.

Adding a ROI function to goals allows you to evaluate multiple options or strategies to accomplish a goal.  By comparing the goal accomplishment options to organizational priorities, you should be able to select the options that accomplish the goals with the best ROI based on constraints identified in the execution task, such as timing, cash flow, and manpower etc.

In his book I Can’t Accept Not Trying:  Michael Jordan on the Pursuit of Excellence, basketball star Michael Jordan lays out concisely his philosophy on setting goals.

I approach everything step by step….I had always set short-term goals.  As I look back, each one of the steps or successes led to the next one.  When I got cut from the varsity team as a sophomore in high school, I learned something.  I knew I never wanted to feel that bad again….So I set a goal of becoming a starter on the varsity.  That’s what I focused on all summer.  When I worked on my game, that’s what I thought about.  When it happened, I set another goal, a reasonable, manageable goal that I could realistically achieve if I worked hard enough….I guess I approached it with the end in mind.  I knew exactly where I wanted to go, and I focused on getting there.  As I reached those goals, they built on one another.  I gained a little confidence every time I came through.

…If [your goal is to become a doctor]…and you’re getting Cs in biology then the first thing you have to do is get B’s in biology and then A’s.  You have to perfect the first step and then move on to chemistry or physics.

Take those small steps.  Otherwise you’re opening yourself up to all kinds of frustration.  Where would your confidence come from if the only measure of success was becoming a doctor?  If you tried as hard as you could and didn’t become a doctor, would that mean your whole life was a failure?   Of course not.

All those steps are like pieces of a puzzle.  They all come together to form a picture….Not everyone is going to be the greatest….But you can still be considered a success….Step by step, I can’t see any other way of accomplishing anything.