Effective Goal Management: Top Methods

We mentioned the importance of setting realistic and achievable goals. Long story short, goals help people stay focused, measure progress, motivate themselves, plan management and achieve success.

Why Do Goals Matter?

Goals are not only what we want to achieve, it is why we want to achieve them. For example, Simon Sinek, the author of Start With Why, shares a simple truth that makes people and companies successful. He recalls the examples of Apple, Martin Luther King, and the Wright brothers, who had something except financial profit as their goals.

Let’s take a look at Apple’s “why”: “Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use, and user-friendly.” This great innovative goal brings Apple to the next level, which gives the company a chance to be #1 in the US. They urge users to think differently and the entire market to change. Such an ambitious goal works the best, while companies that are eager only to make profits lose this tech giants’ battle.

Do you want to be as successful as Apple’s managers and the company itself? Now it’s time to learn the most effective techniques for this!

Top Goal Management Approaches

There are lots of different methods of setting goals, but the most widespread are MBO, SMART, KPI, and OKR. Let’s consider all of them.

MBO (Management by Objectives)

This approach was born in 1954 when Peter Drucker issued his The Practice of Management. The method was enhanced by his students in the 1960s. Now it is used by many industry giants, for example, Hewlett-Packard.

The approach works this way:

1. Managers or employees agree on specific goals, a sequence of objectives, and actions required for achieving each of these targets.
2. Only one action should be taken at a time.
3. The performance should be measured against the set goals.

This system is good for both employees and their managers, as it lets them define the responsibility areas for everyone while achieving a common goal.
Still, the strongest shortcoming of the approach is that not being properly managed, it won’t work. So, there should be someone who will take care of the quality aspect.

The SMART Approach

Every successful manager has at least just once set SMART goals, which was introduced by George T. Doran, a consultant and former Director of Corporate Planning for Washington Water Power Company. He issued the paper titled “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives” where described the method.

Here is the explanation for the acronym:

• S = Specific. Too vague and general objectives would lead you nowhere, as you will not have a clear vision of what you need to achieve. Set precise goals, for example, instead of putting more effort to work, set a goal of completing 10 tasks per week.
• M = Measurable. You should know how to calculate your success or failure. This may be time spent on one task, the number of tasks done, measuring specific tasks for clients attracted, traffic bought, etc.
• A = Agreed upon. The goal should fit the interests and capabilities of everyone involved in the process. If your task depends on other teams, agree upon the goal and the pace of working with them.
• R = Realistic. Attainability is a top priority for goal-setting. Be honest with yourself and if you see that your goal is too big to be achieved in a few days, set the deadline for 1–2 weeks. Be sure you can achieve it within this period. Unrealistic goals only lead to stress and burnout.
• T = Time-based. Setting deadlines is crucial, as you already know what and why you need, and should define when you need it. If your goal is lacking a deadline, it will likely be postponed all the time.

Decoding of this abbreviation may vary depending on the source, for example, some treat M as Motivating, and A as Achievable. Still, the scheme we presented here is logical and proven by experience.

The KPI (Key Performance Indicators) Method

The author and creation date of this approach remain unknown. However, the KPI system is widely used in many companies throughout the world, especially in the production and IT sectors. Literally any professional knows how to apply it.

The core idea of the approach is that KPI shows the productivity of an employee or an entire company based on quantifiable values aligned with global goals.

Another strong point of this method is communication. All performance indicators should be transparent and concise. Everyone can see the KPIs of colleagues, so they are considered not a tracking system but a motivational method for achieving common goals. Everyone sees how much each team member contributes to the common results.
The goals should be realistic and measurable, which means that in some way you can combine KPIs with the SMART approach.

Here is the scheme of how to set KPI goals:

• Define a strategic objective. For example, improve the quality of customer service.
• Find a way to measure the success on your way to this global goal. For instance, increase the number of upsales to the existing customers.
• Select a target for measuring it in numbers. For example, achieve +20% more upsales in 2020 than there were in 2019.

With pros come cons, and KPI is not an exception. The biggest shortcoming of the system is that employees can postpone important non-measurable tasks while concentrating only on KPIs.

The OKR (Objectives and Key Results) Approach

Finally, we got to the most interesting part about goal setting and management. It is the method born in Silicon Valley in the late 1990s. Google, Twitter, LinkedIn, Airbnb, Spotify, and many other tech giants use it. Besides digital firms, traditional banks, newspapers, and retailers find it very convenient. The Guardian, Target, Walmart, the ING Bank are amongst the active users of OKR. This method is simple, clear, and engages all team members.

A venture capitalist John Doerr describes the approach with a brief formula: “I will (Objective) as measured by (this set of Key Results).”

Here are the main principles of setting and managing goals using OKR:

• Objectives must be brief and clear. They should inspire and engage, motivate and challenge everyone involved.
• Key results are metrics helping you evaluate the progress. You can have a range from 2 to 5 results. Try not to set more than 5 results, as it will be hard to focus on them — this is the way the human brain works.

The pros of OKR are:

1. Simplicity. The formula is straightforward and it’s hard to make a mistake while setting goals. The whole process of setting goals doesn’t take much time, which means financial savings for companies.
2. Being agile. You don’t set universal goals for 10 years. You set shorter goals so that a team or company could quickly adapt to changes.
3. Transparency. OKR goals are public and even a Google’s newbie can see what are the current goals of Larry Page.
4. Strategy & tactics. Both annual and quarterly or even monthly goals can be measured and adjusted considering the changes in the environment.

The most common OKR mistakes:

• Making a task list from OKR. Don’t mix activity-based and value-based results, as OKR is about value first of all.
• Setting more than 5 OKR at a time. Use it for top priorities, as they should always be in your focus. For small activities, use usual to-do lists.
• Creating OKRs in isolation. The approach implies alignment with other teams, otherwise, your activity won’t bring value to the common goal.
• Forgetting about your OKRs. Treat them like your constant activity vector, not a list of New Year resolutions.

Bonus: More Goal Setting and Management Methods!

Except for these four widespread approaches, there are more actionable systems for managing your goals and becoming successful.
Let’s take a brief look at them for you too chose the most suitable method:

1. BSQ = Big, Small, Quick

This system for setting and achieving goals was created by a psychologist David Van Rooy.

• Start with thinking big. Set one ambitious goal. It may even seem unattainable, but don’t worry. It’s okay, this method will help you achieve fantastic goals.
• Act small. Split large targets into small ones and then divide these small ones into detailed steps.
• Move quickly. Set realistic yet tight deadlines for each action from your list.

2. HARD = Heartfelt, Animated, Required, Difficult

Mark Murphy introduced this method in 2009, with the release of his book Hundred Percenters. Though we consider this approach as auxiliary for one of the above-mentioned methods, some of you may benefit from using it:

• Heartfelt means emotionally attaching to your goals.
• Animated is for imaging pleasant feelings of success when you will have achieved these targets.
• Required is for creating a sense of urgency and setting deadlines.
• Difficult means being ready to take challenges, as not all goals are easy to attain.

3. WOOP = Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan

This new easy to use method was introduced by Gabriele Oettingen and Peter Gollwitzer.

• Wish. Think of what you want to achieve, focus on realistic yet challenging and exciting goals.
• Outcome. Model the desired outcome and think of how you will feel once you get it.
• Obstacle. Create a list of obstacles keeping you from your desired goal.
• Plan. List actions you will take if these obstacles occur.

4. OGSM = Objectives, Goals, Strategy, Metric

Sometimes it is called OGTM if you focus on tactics.

• Objective. Define the vision of your strategic objective aligned with the company mission and vision.
• Goals. Set steps necessary for achieving that objective. They have to be measurable, specific, compatible, and achievable.
• Strategies. Describe the focused and flexible choices that will lead you to your goals.
• Measuring. Define the benchmarks to track the progress. Set checkpoints telling you that you’re on the right way.

The Bottom Line

To sum it up, we recommend you using one of the top methods (MBO, SMART, KPI, OKR) and strengthen them by approaches from the second part of this article (BSQ, HARD, WOOP, OGSM).

However, no matter what you choose, setting and managing goals makes the most of your success. Once you know the reasoning of where and why, the question ‘How?’ will instantly give the answer.

We’ll be glad to hear your stories on what you use. Do you approach these methods in the traditional or some new creative way? Share your ideas in the Responses to this article! ;)