The goal-setting process enables an organization to check on the attainment of both its short-term and long-term objectives. When properly done, this process provides an array of valuable benefits and is a link to coaching, motivation, and performance management. Working without goals is much like trying to bowl without pins at the end of the alley. There is nothing to aim for, no way to determine how many pins you have knocked down. Human beings, by their very nature, are scorekeepers; we love to know how close we come to the target. If there is no way for us to tell how well we are doing, we will probably drop out of the game. Goals provide the necessary measuring sticks to tailor work into actual productivity. And contrary to what many people believe, goal setting is not an elusive or complicated process. It merely requires communication between management and staff and a desire to clearly state where you want to go, how you will get there, and how you will know you have arrived.

Why set goals? The process of goal setting raises questions and issues related to planning, specificity, and negotiation. Can an organization and its employees have compatible goals? Can both sides develop goals together to be more effective? Goal setting is a process for deciding where you want to go as an organization, as an employee and as an individual. Goals for management support the vision and strategic plan that an organization must have in order to stay alive and be successful. Goals for individuals support job success and individual development. When an organization and its (individual) members pull together to link their goals, overall success is the result.