Goals - How to define and ensure success
managerGoal are critcal, there are multiple goal systems and they have consequences. They are mechansims to deliver without micro managements.
Why goals
Answer what, why, and how do we know there.
For a deep dive into goal execution, see 4 Disciplines of Execution.
Goals vs Systems
We don’t rise to the level of our goals, we fall to the level of our systems. The value of goals is to help us to build and assess our systems.
Mission, Vision, Tenants, Goals
What vs How
Goal Measurement
Input vs Output Metrics
Input metrics (also known as leading indicators) measure the actions and efforts you put in, while output metrics (also known as lagging indicators) measure the results you achieve. Both have their place in goal setting:
Output Metrics
- Measure the actual results and impact
- Examples: Revenue generated, customer satisfaction score, project completion
- Advantages:
- Directly tied to business value
- Clear indication of success
- Disadvantages:
- Often lag indicators
- May be influenced by factors outside your control
- Can encourage short-term thinking
Input Metrics
- Measure the activities and efforts that lead to results
- Examples: Sales calls made, features shipped, training hours completed
- Advantages:
- Leading indicators
- More directly controllable
- Help build good habits and systems
- Disadvantages:
- Don’t guarantee results
- Can encourage “busy work” without impact
Examples
Intent: Team Productivity
- Output metrics:
- Features shipped per quarter
- Customer-reported bugs
- System uptime
- Input metrics:
- Weekly planning sessions completed
- Code review turnaround time
- Technical debt cleanup hours
Intent: Weight Loss
- Output metrics:
- Weight on scale
- Body fat percentage
- Waist measurement
- Input metrics:
- Daily calorie tracking completed
- Weekly meal prep sessions
- Exercise minutes per week
- Hours of sleep per night
Intent: Improving Partner Relationships
- Output metrics:
- Partner satisfaction score
- Number of conflicts per month
- Quality time spent together
- Input metrics:
- Weekly date nights completed
- Daily appreciation expressions
- Active listening practice sessions
- Shared activity participation
Intent: Personal Development See Mortality Software for a comprehensive approach to personal goals:
The key is matching your input metrics to activities that will drive your desired outputs. This combination ensures you’re both doing the right activities (input) and achieving the desired results (output).
Goal Systems
SMART Goals
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time Bound
OKR (Objectives and Key Results)
- Objective
- Key Results
- Time bound is implicit in the OKR time range.
Philisophical Difference
Measuring goals
You have to decide if metrics should be used for visiblity vs for evaluation and sticks.
If goals are used for compensation, become very conservative.
Results in extrinsic, not intrinsic motivation.
Extrinsic vs Intrinsic Motivations
Transparent Goals
Common Pitfalls
Metrics Anti-Patterns
- Measuring what is easy vs what is important
- Looking for keys under steet light - but keys are over there, why looking here? Cuz that’s where we have light
- Using a metric to flog instead of to learn
- Sev’s are bad, people won’t create SEVs, will use alterate systems
- Measuring a proxy, not intent
- Goal, get rid of foxes. Solution, 5$ per fox paid; People started breeding foxes to put them down.
Wrong KPIs
- For a library - Count books vs Customer Engagement
Organizational Context
Culture vs Strategy
- Culture lets you make decisions quickly and correctly
Process and Power
- Process shifts power from the individual in the momennt, to the collective understanding of the organization.
- This shifts from maximizing upside to minimizing downside
- Sounds negative, but imagine it for a nuclear missile rockateer. Isn’t it great we ensure they the organization’s will is resolved. That they have double launch keys, etc