Meaningful Goals

Who hasn't experienced this? We always and everywhere set ourselves goals and hope that this will make us more efficient and effective. Goals are set for the year, for life, for the job or especially for projects. Setting goals is highly recommended as it sharpens our focus and achieves better results more efficiently. However, there are often goals that don't really take hold. There is a lack of motivation and commitment to achieving them. And once the goal is achieved, there is a void and you almost fall into a hole.

Top athletes know this very well and then set themselves the next, even higher goals. This is also done in business, but sooner or later such an approach drains the organization.

What is going on? Why do certain goals lack the necessary energy and why does everything evaporate in the end? Why is it difficult to prioritize several goals? And above all, how can I give my goals more power and sustainability?

Isolated goals lack context. The goal stands alone and without context. The actual purpose behind it is missing. This indicates why a goal is important. Important for the organization and the company, and important for the people who want to achieve it. Only a goal combined with a purpose makes sense and motivates.

It is easy to be tempted to set up a separate purpose for each powerless goal and the matter seems to be resolved. Unfortunately, it's not that simple, as there is a risk that similar goals will have different, competing purposes, which can lead to chaotic relationships with conflicts.

There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Instead, you should open up the focus and integrate the goals into the existing environment. Ideally, a company or organization already has a vision and values that define where the journey should go, what is important and why it is important. This is accompanied by a strategy that explains how this vision and values are implemented in the organization.

Therefore, all project objectives can and should be assigned to one or more of the strategy's fields of action. This means that everyone involved knows why they are working on these objectives and what contribution they will make to the company if the objectives are achieved.

Getting started is not that difficult, but be prepared for an exciting discussion. Start step by step with the first goals and assign them to the strategy. With each integrated and therefore meaningful goal, it is given the necessary, coordinated purpose, which significantly increases motivation!

I would be happy to show you how project objectives can be systematically developed and - with the help of tools if required - assigned to the strategy.