We all know that unless we set goals for ourselves, it is difficult to achieve anything worthwhile. It is however equally true that the statement of goals that we generate, do not qualify (most of the time) to be called as “goals”. How do we distinguish between a legitimate goal and just a wish? If we can’t differentiate between these, I am afraid, we will never benefit from this process of “management by objectives” (the process of setting goals and then working towards achieving them). Let us dear readers, proceed to define the properties that a statement of “goal” should satisfy before we can call it a real goal.

Let us give ourselves a small test. Tell me if the following qualify to be called as goals.

• I want to be rich.
• I will give up smoking.
• I want to pass with flying colors in the annual examination.

The best way to decide if a statement is a goal or not is to apply the following five-way test!

Is it quantifiable?
Unless the parameter that you want to achieve has been quantified in the goal – statement, it does not qualify to be a goal. How does one define “rich” in the above statement? How rich is rich? What does “with flying colors” mean – 60% marks or 95%? In short, when a goal is quantifiable, it is easy to understand and not subject to varying interpretations.

Is it measurable?
Most of the parameters that are quantifiable are indeed measurable. The measurability of the parameter helps us measure the extent of our progress towards the goal that we had set for ourselves. If I get 75% marks in my examination instead of 95% that I had set myself as a goal, it tells me how much away from my objective I was. The analysis of why I fell short would lead to improvements in my next attempt in a similar examination. There may however be cases where quantifiable parameters are not accurately measurable. For instance when one tries to measure the effectiveness of an advertisement campaign, the increase in sale or recall level of that advertisement (both are quantifiable parameters) may still not be able to help us “measure” the effectiveness because there are other factors (competitors campaigns etc) out there in the market which also affect the sale of our product.

Has a time perspective been identified ?
Does your goal – statement mention time deadlines? It won’t qualify to be a goal, otherwise. Until when do you want to earn Rs ten lacks (we have now quantified what “rich” means)? Within how many days from now do you want to achieve “only one cigarette a day” (we have again defined what quitting smoking could mean to you)?

Is the goal too easy or too difficult to achieve?
An easy goal is no goal at all even if it qualifies on being quantifiable, measurable and having a proper time deadline attached to it. Similarly a goal which is obviously too difficult to achieve also fails to qualify to be a legitimate goal (though it may qualify to be a good dream)." I want to be the Prime Minister of India within the next six months” is a good example of what an impossible goal could be, though it qualifies on all other parameters.

Have you shared your goal with your team members?
Many goals which are team-goals need to be shared with & accepted by members of your team so that they become team goals in the real sense. Each team member needs to “own” these goals. Without this team-acceptance, the goal statements once again will fail to qualify as goals So learn to set correct goals and have the pleasure of achieving them. The rest are just wishes and pious intentions masquerading as goals.

"Mr. Prakash Shesh, the author, has done his MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad after his Masters in Physics from I.I.T. New Delhi. You may send your feedback to him by choosing an option at the top right corner of this page."