Goals vs. Commitment: Which matters most?

Do you have goals—personal or professional?  Most people do.  Does the organization you work for have goals?  I would estimate the answer to that question is at or nearly 100%.  Every organization I’ve worked for, whether as an employee or as I do now as a consultant, has goals.  The goals are related to organizational performance. The most common goal “buckets” include quality, customer service, product innovation, time in some manner (time to market, production time, etc.) and safety.  Examples include:  “zero product defects” once the product leaves the factory for quality, 90% customer satisfaction rate for customer service, and “zero injuries” for safety.  Those may be fine goals but how does an organization meet those goals?  How does that relate to commitment?   

What is your organization committed to?

·        Does your organization, your department or you, yourself find it difficult to meet its goals?

·        Does your organization, your department or you, yourself set goals only to find itself/yourself challenged to meet them?

·        Is your desk or wall littered with to-do lists that never get completed?

People and organizations often feel they must have goals, expectations and to-do lists.  That’s all fine and dandy if it gets results.  Unfortunately, achieving success is like pushing people to get up and move when the natural inclination is to stay planted in the chair.  It’s a struggle no doubt about it.

But what if you were committed to an action or outcome? There’s a huge difference between a goal and a commitment. A goal is an outcome of your action; the commitment is the inner drive that sets the goal to begin with.

Just what is that difference?  Think about the reactions and conversations you’ve had with some people when talking about their religion or political choice.  The voice becomes raised; the body language changes and they become rather spirited about it all.  That’s passion—that can be aroused when you are committed to doing something. 

The best place for an organization or individual to start is by asking one question:  “What are we/you committed to?”  Asking this question forces you to go beyond the should-dos and to-dos and brings you straight in front of what really matters.  In fact, clarifying commitment should be done BEFORE goals are set.  Knowing the commitment level will sometimes changes the goals completely.

Here’s an example:  What if your company’s goal was to have zero defects and you were charged to lead the organization in attaining this goal?  Would your company, your colleagues and you be a bit overwhelmed immediately at how to do this?  You might create a bunch of to-do lists but the reality would consist mostly of inertia—doing lots of stuff, holding a bunch of meetings and creating tons of documents but accomplish next to nothing.

However, the right way to go about it would be as a company why having zero defects is important to the company as a whole and to each individual employee—i.e. to sell more products, to improve customer satisfaction, to become the leader in the industry.  This would provide the motivation (the passion and commitment) to really getting you and others off that comfy chair.

See the difference?

So next time you decide or your company decides the need to set goals for achieving XYZ success, take the time to dig down and see what’s really going on, and let that energy clarify and drive you. 

What matters most—goals or commitment?

Are zero injuries really the goal or is it the commitment to safety at all times from everyone really what matters most?  Are zero defects really the goal or is it the commitment to doing quality work, creating quality parts while meeting the customers’ specifications all the time really what matters most?