So we’ve passed the Fourth of July and we’re on the downhill slide to Labor Day. Take a minute to think about your New Year’s Resolution. Were you able to follow through on it? Did you start out strong and then gradually fall off? Or are you feeling good about the progress that you’ve made?
If you’ve ever wondered what sets these groups of people apart, stop to think for a minute about the goal that you set. Was it tangible? To be tangible it must be capable of being touched or discernible. Can you hold it, touch it, feel it? Does your goal tell you the who, what, when, which, why, and where? Tangible goals can be completed through a series of smart and simple objectives. Tangible goals allow your organization and your staff to function more effectively and carry out their jobs and tasks as expected. If you set goals that are tangible, you are more likely to succeed and more likely to be able to evaluate your success.
Organizational goals are not so different from our individual pledge to quit smoking, start exercising, or lose that last ten pounds. The stakes however, can be much higher. Lack of focus is often related to ineffective goal-setting. More often than you might think, when I request a plan (marketing, fiscal, technology, etc.) from an organization, I get back a list of activities that have an implied purpose but no real goals.
Goals are really just a broad statement of the general outcome that you are aiming for with your activities. Goals are important, but you can’t stop there. A series of activities, or objectives, that carry you to your goal must be outlined. Now we have all heard of SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound), and recently I was introduced to a similar concept, SIMPLE (specific, immediate, measurable, practical, logical, evaluable) (Miner & Miner, 2008).
Without a clear plan of all the little steps that need to be completed between your current position and your desired outcome, a tangible goal will become intangible. At times it may be tempting to set your goals higher than what you can realistically expect to achieve. Trying to accomplish unachievable goals results in a flurry of activity that becomes meaningless in the big picture because it results in no tangible outcome.
Tangible goals point to concrete evaluation indicators, allowing you to develop evaluation processes. Evaluation of success is more than noting whether or not you have accomplished what you set out to do. It’s knowing how well the plan for getting you there worked. Perhaps some parts worked well and some parts didn’t. Ultimately success depends on the process used to move you towards your articulated goal.
Help make your plans successful by setting tangible goals, and sustain your success through evaluation methods that can keep you going, and help you get started again when the plan falters.
