TBM 41/51: Why Goal Cascades are Harmful (and What to Do Instead)

All these approaches to goal setting are based on linear goals: they were created for controlled environments that lend to readily measurable outcomes with predictable timelines.

Maybe Scott Adams said it best:

To put it bluntly, goals are for losers. That’s literally true most of the time. For example, if your goal is to lose ten pounds, you will spend every moment until you reach the goal—if you reach it at all—feeling as if you were short of your goal. In other words, goal-oriented people exist in a state of nearly con

Common challenges Below are some challenges you might face when trying to get a goal out of your client, with some suggestions for things to try. The client doesn't know the business impact of the problem. Ask, "What do you see that tells you that there's a problem?" "What's currently being measured?" "If you looked at the

Every successful large technology company uses this system. It has no single name—Google, for example, calls theirs Objectives and Key Results, or OKRs—but the systems are essentially the same from company to company. They share the following key functions: Setting vision and goals for the company, each department, and each individual on a regular