"Management by objectives works if you first think through your objectives. Ninety percent of the time you haven't."
Peter Drucker
Mr. Drucker was not one to sugar coat things, this quote being but one example of his famous directness. And there could be some exaggeration in this although if so I wouldn't be surprised to learn the real number is at least 75%.
In my (relative to Mr. Drucker) very humble experience, the problem is not so much that clients don't have objectives as it is the fact that they don't have specific objectives that they then tie to specific actions measuring everything as they attempt to reach them.
How about you?
Mr. Drucker was not one to sugar coat things, this quote being but one example of his famous directness. And there could be some exaggeration in this although if so I wouldn't be surprised to learn the real number is at least 75%.
In my (relative to Mr. Drucker) very humble experience, the problem is not so much that clients don't have objectives as it is the fact that they don't have specific objectives that they then tie to specific actions measuring everything as they attempt to reach them.
How about you?
How about me? Well I first thought I do have specific objectives but the more I think about it the more I conclude I don't; at least none that are probably specific enough.
ReplyDeleteI want to "lose weight" but haven't set a goal as to how much. I want to "make more money" but haven't decided how much.
I've wanted to do these two things for a few years now but not much has happened.
At least you've recognized that much.
ReplyDeleteWhile losing weight and making more money are not easy to do, they are easy to quantify as goals so you can measure how you are doing.
A good rule of thumb is that if you can't put a number to whatever it is you want to accomplish, you don't have a specific objective.
But the good news, is you generally can.
I now have. Minus 10 pounds, plus 15%.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion.
or in a nutshell, you can't manage what you don't measure...
ReplyDelete