Goals come in variety of colors, shapes and sizes. Goals can be tied to compensation, to incentive plans, to performance. Goals can be attached to personnel reviews. Goals tend to be a foundational tenet for every business and organization. In fact, an organization without clear goals would be the equivalent of a lost soul, with little to no direction. Right?
I’m a regular follower of Adam Hartung over at The Phoenix Principle. Adam regularly discusses issues like White Space, Scenrio Planning and organizational Lock-Ins. So the other day I was intrigued with his most recent post titled, Use Disruptions, Not Goals, To Succeed - GM. Here is a taste of what Adam had to say:
Many people think the best way to grow is by setting big goals - even Big Audacious Hairy Goals (BHAGs). But increasingly we’re learning that goal setting is not correlated with success. At AmericanPublicRadio.org there’s a partial text, and MP3 download, of a recent interview between General Motors leaders and a University of Arizona Professor titled “It’s not always good to create goals.”
The story relates how about a decade a go, with market share hovering at 25%, GM set the goal of moving back to 29%. It became a huge, multi-year campaign. Lapel pins with “29″ were made and all kinds of motivational programs were put in place. The GM organization had its goal, and it was highly aligned to the goal. But it didn’t happen. Despite the goal, and all the energy and talent put into focusing on the goal, GM continued to struggle, lose share - and eventually file bankruptcy. The goal made no difference.
Worse, the interview goes on to discuss how goals often lead to decidedly undesirable, sometimes unethical - even illegal - behavior. Instances are cited where goal obsession led company employees to falsify documents, even ship bricks in place of products to meet sales targets. No executive wants this, but goals and goal obsession - especially when there is a lot of reinforcement socially and monetarily on the goal - can become a serious problem.
Adam Hartung’s blog is provocative, challenging and directly correlates with silent problems. Because once a person has their marching orders, focus is a wonderful thing. They’ve been given a license not to worry about things that don’t affect them and their goals. Yes, there is a pot of gold at the end of that rainbow - commonly referred to as rewards. But unfortunately as Adam presents, goals at times can get in the way of success, which is why many corporations have record years just before their downfall.
Goals and Silent Problems at times hold a unique and toxic codependency. If not carefully monitored, goals can get in the way of real success.
Tags: Adam Hartung, codependency, goals, Silent Problems
