Peter Drucker's Management by Objectives talk about SMART goals, which is something that is a great thing to have for an company while or even before setting up the implementation plan.
S - Specific
M - Measurable
A - Attainable
R - Realistic
T - Timely
S- Specific:
To make a goal clear and specific, it is important to answer the 5 Ws:
What: What is the task at hand, for example, "The goal is to create a furniture line for college students".
Why: College students need affordable, temporary furniture, and so not have too many options currently available to them.
When: We need to make sure that we have a finished product by the first week of May.
Why: Looking at the capabilities of the team and the progress made so far, we we can come up with a designed and developed product in 4 weeks. This would be help us move to our next step which is to get funding from a crowd sourcing website.
Who: Three designers are involved in creating this product line. All of them will be working in this for 6 hrs a week.
M - Measurable
It is essential to create a measurement criteria for each of the goals. For Clip, the team meets twice a week. In the beginning of the week we set an agenda and action items. In the second meeting towards the end of the week, we review the progress of each task, discuss shortcomings as well as achievements.
A - Attainable
It is important to look back and make sure the goal that is attainable so that one does not set themselves up for failure. Coming up with a manufacturable design within 4 weeks from now is an achievable task if put in the required time and there are no unforeseen incidents.
R - Realistic
For a goal to be realistic, it should strike the right balance between 'willingness' and the 'ability' to work. We know that the goal that we have set for ourselves will have both of these factors from our team.
T - Timely
Setting a timeline is extremely important as it helps realize the priority level of a task, as well as helps setting up subsequent tasks. As per our goal, we have till the first week of May to reach our goal. We could also subdivide this timeline further into weekly objectives that help achieve the overall goal. For example, we need to have the first prototype ready by the second week of April. This sub-goal will help achieve the the final task of having a manufacturable design ready by the first week of May.
I feel a combination of an overarching goal and a series of SMART goals is a key to an efficient and effective organization. One must be careful to ensure that the SMART goals align with the BHAGs, in order to maintain consistency of thought between the employees as well as the customers.
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