Do Your Goals Align With Your Vision?

When I think of the challenges most companies face in aligning their organizational goals with the vision for the company, I’m reminded of this quote by Isaac Asimov:

“Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.”

Our mastermind group has been focused on The Visioning Process for the past month or so, and the members have completed weekly exercises to help them re-define the Vision Statement and Mission Statement for their respective companies. As the group has come to experience, it’s hard work to go through the process when taking into account the past, present and future in order to find a better pathway to success.

Do your goals align with your vision?

Getting to where you want to go, from where you are today, is the ultimate challenge for most businesses, and it is this transition that’s the most troublesome. For most, it requires moving away from old habits and traditional thinking to ensure that you have the proper goals alignment with your vision. Here are some suggestions to help you work through the process:

  1. Start where you hope to finish. Schedule a brainstorming session with your team; capture all of the “wild ideas” that surface from the session, and discard those things that don’t work anymore. This will help you move through the process from Visualization to Actualization to Realization, and on to a list of concrete recommendations you can build upon.
  2. Create S.M.A.R.T. goals and objectives. From your short list of actionable recommendations, create goals and objectives that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time bound.
  3. Take the time to do it right. Develop horizon plans and goals that encompass the upcoming plan year, 1 to 3 year, 3 to 5 year, and 5 to 10 year outlooks to enable you to reach your vision.
  4. Involve everybody in the goal setting process. It is critical to obtain “buy-in” from all internal stakeholders, so get them involved upfront in the goal setting process.
  5. Keep your vision and goals in front of you and the team. Your vision and goals should be an integral part of your company’s DNA. So post them everywhere and review them monthly so they stay fresh.

Finally, make sure to link the company’s objectives and individual performance plans to the goals. This helps to ensure that the proper alignment of your goals with your vision becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy through your daily work related activities and the activities of your team members.

COPYRIGHT © 2010-11 John Carroll