Document the “Why” Behind a Goal
Every goal has a reason that prompted its creation. The “why” is either to solve a problem or to advance the realization of some opportunity or larger purpose. You will use this information to define the result the goal must produce and to build and check its correctness. To document the “Why” behind the goal you are about to write, you need to answer the following questions.
- What is the problem this goal is suppose to resolve or the opportunity it is to advance or realize?
- How, when, and where was the problem or opportunity detected?
- Who does this problem or opportunity involve or affect?
- How is the problem hurting whomever it involves or affects or how can the opportunity enhance these people or groups when it is realized?
- Why does the problem exist? In other words, what are its root causes? Which root cause is the goal eliminating? What needed elements must be put in place to advance or realize the opportunity the goal was established to advance? Which needed element is the goal putting in place?
- What previous efforts have been tried to remove this root cause or to put in place the needed element?
- Why did these efforts fail?
Record this information. Keep what you record as you will use it as you proceed through this process.
Document the “Why” Behind a Goal
Every goal has a reason that prompted its creation. The “why” is either to solve a problem or to advance the realization of some opportunity or larger purpose. You will use this information to define the result the goal must produce and to build and check its correctness. To document the “Why” behind the goal you are about to write, you need to answer the following questions.
- What is the problem this goal is suppose to resolve or the opportunity it is to advance or realize?
- How, when, and where was the problem or opportunity detected?
- Who does this problem or opportunity involve or affect?
- How is the problem hurting whomever it involves or affects or how can the opportunity enhance these people or groups when it is realized?
- Why does the problem exist? In other words, what are its root causes? Which root cause is the goal eliminating? What needed elements must be put in place to advance or realize the opportunity the goal was established to advance? Which needed element is the goal putting in place?
- What previous efforts have been tried to remove this root cause or to put in place the needed element?
- Why did these efforts fail?
Record this information. Keep what you record as you will use it as you proceed through this process.
Understand the Structural Foundation of Every Goal
Every human goal involves transforming an object from a “given” state to a “desired” state. In the case of a problem, you are eliminating something that is unwanted. In the case of an opportunity, you are putting in place something that is needed. This act of transformation defines the result your goal must realize. To build a well-formed goal statement, you first need to know what is to be transformed (the Object) and both its initial and desired final state. These elements—as well as who will do the transforming (the Actor)—constitute the structural foundation of every goal. They are: the object to be acted on, the initial state of the object and its intended final state, and the actor responsible for producing the final state (Exhibit 2). Before writing your goal statement, you must identify the beginning structural foundation of your goal. Here, learn the meaning of each of the structural foundation elements.
wir lieben, wir tun !
Extract the Goal’s Structural Foundation from the “Why” Information
The beginning structural elements of your goal are derived from an analysis of the reason why the goal is being pursued. In the top section of Exhibit 3 is an example of the “Why” behind the goal for someone who is assigned to produce the software specifications for a computer application. It is an abridged statement for reasons of space. In the bottom section of Exhibit 3 is the beginning structural foundation elements of a goal extracted from the “Why.”
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Exhibit 3. An Example of Extracting the Beginning Structural Foundation of a Goal From the Reason Why It Is Being Pursued |
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Example of the "Why" Behind a Goal |
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| Software Engineers at the XYZ Software Solutions Company build tailored computer solutions for businesses experiencing computing-based problems. Their work takes a problem a customer is experiencing due to the absence of an adequate software solution to their computing needs and uses that information to design and build a computer application that accomplishes the task the customer needs done thereby eliminating the barrier to success that the customer is experiencing. One link in this process is the production of software specifications. This document translates the customer's needs as described in a software requirements document into guidance that programmers use to build the software solution that will meet the customer's needs. A software engineer must create this software specifications document. Without such specifications, the development of a software application of any significance is almost certain to fail and with that failure the XYZ's software business itself will fail. | |||
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Beginning Structural Foundation Extracted From the "Why" |
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| Object | The software specifications for a proposed computer application | ||
| Initial State | Does not exist | ||
| Final State | Exists | ||
| Actor | Software engineer | ||
Define the Result the Goal Must Accomplish
To define the result that the goal must accomplish, express the goal's foundation structural elements as an infinitive phrase. An infinitive phrase has the basic form: "To [verb] + [object]." When used as a format for restating the structural foundation of a goal, it literally reads: "To transform [object] from [initial state] to [final state]." For example, here is how the structural elements recorded in Exhibit 3 would read, if written literally: "To transform the software specifications for a computer application from not existing to existing." You should adjust this literal translation for readability. Thus, the previous statement might be rendered as: "To produce software specifications for a proposed computer application." This infinitive phrase describes the result the goal must produce.
Understand the Components of a Complete Goal Statement
Each useful goal statement includes six components: a "to" statement that tells the result to be produced, a "for" statement that tells who is to benefit from accomplishing the goal, a "by" statement that names the task or process to be implemented to produce the result, a "so that" statement that lists the benefits to be produced for each benefiting party, a "conditions" statement that lists the constraints that one must abide while achieving the goal, and a "success criteria" statement that lists the benchmarks that define success (Exhibit 4).
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Exhibit 4. The Components of a Complete Goal Statement |
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Component |
Contents |
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| To | States the result the goal must produce. Always begins with "To," identifies the object to be transformed, and the final state it should be in when the goal is realized. | ||
| For | States for whom the result is being produced—the beneficiaries of the goal. | ||
| By | Names the task or process that will accomplish the "To." | ||
| So That | Lists the immediate benefits the result should produce for each beneficiary of the goal. Each benefit identifies how a beneficiary of the goal will be better off once the "To" is achieved. | ||
| Conditions |
States other requirements the pursuit of the goal must satisfy. These may:
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| Success Criteria |
The benchmarks that must be met for the goal to be judged as achieved. Always includes criteria that test whether the efforts expended:
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