Setting Goals and Obtaining Results

GOALS SHOULD BE QUANTIFIABLE: It should be possible to analyze every goal in terms of specific quantifiable objectives. Naturally, for certain tasks, measurement of objectives will be more difficult to attain; the key is to make every effort to reduce each goal to its most quantifiable form. For example, a customer service department might have the following general goals: 1. To increase output on customer acknowledgments. 2. To boost the number of customer telephone inquiries that are handled. 3. To distribute mail in a timely manner. As described, the above goals are completely immeasurable. It is almost certain that the manager's expectations will not be met. The solution: Quantify these goals in a realistic, feasible fashion that will also insure departmental productivity: 1. To type 10 customer acknowledgment letters per hour. 2. Handle a minimum of 15 telephone customer inquiries per each two hour shift. 3. Open, sort, and distribute all mail for the third floor before 10 a.m. each working day.

GOALS MUST BE SET IN A PROPER CLIMATE: A conducive climate (where the employees do not feel threatened and are encouraged to ask for clarification) provides the possibility of two-way feedback. Such a setting insures that a transmitted goal or objective will leave no room for doubt as to what is required. Consider this example: the department head of inventory-control specialists who approaches all the specialists at once. She presents a department goal and in front of all the specialists, identifies how each will participate in the goal. Unless this is followed up with individual meetings with each specialist to discuss his or her role, it is likely that none of the specialists will approach the department head for any sort of discussion and, consequently, the goal will never reach fruition.

AVOID THE VAGUE AND AMBIGUOUS: Objective: "To increase the output of sales training programs for international personnel." To almost any listener, some or all of the following questions may come to mind in response to this goal. "What does output mean?" If there is no room for measurement, how will we know when the goal is met? What is the time period involved? In addition, there is the vagueness of the term "international personnel." Does it mean all personnel now based overseas, or could it include home office people based in the United States who are responsible for overseas operations? Ambiguous wording leads to such confusion, jeopardizing the success of what might be an otherwise reasonable, attainable goal.

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CEO, A.E. Schwartz & Associates, Boston, MA., a comprehensive organization which offers over 40 skills based management training programs. Mr. Schwartz conducts over 150 programs annually for clients in industry, research, technology, government, Fortune 100/500 companies, and nonprofit organizations worldwide. He is often found at conferences as a key note presenter and/or facilitator. His style is fast-paced, participatory, practical, and humorous. He has authored over 65 books and products, and taught/lectured at over a dozen colleges and universities throughout the United States.