h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

To attract a few Business Angels

can't we/you just make the goals ultra generalised?
1. Increase productivity.
2. reduce ineffeciency.

1 - not get noticed
2 - not get caught

Just reading through our own corporate plan here.

Do you have a balanced scorecard? Are there company goals relating to
- customers
- results
- internal processes
- staff

Sadly we have no company song. I think that would help enormously.

"we are the company,
We are the company,
For we have company goals" just keep singing it to your work mates... they'll soon get the idea

it's the company goals I'm trying to winkle out, SirB. I have changed my role within the company since the last period of evaluation and due to lack of feedback and no clear direction it's difficult to pluck a goal out of thin-air.

Don't get caught - that is Golden Rule Number One.

"Don't get caught" is also a rule that Goldfish live by.

Homer Simpson's life rules:- "It was like that when I got here"!

FB

We have corporate business goals. This year we have a new system though: each team manager is supposed to deliver a 'basket of goods' towards those goals. And each individual has objectives that contribute towards their team's basket of goods.

I always do really well at the peripheral objectives (like re-writing corporate guidance and delivering external presentations) but at the expense of meeting my core business targets. Quality not quantity - plus I'm easily distracted. Under the new system I should get more recognition for my overall contribution and have a lower core business target.

So - make your goals the bits of your job you enjoy most (or dislike least). Then you will be correct to prioritise them and can point at your goals if somebody thinks you should be doing something less interesting.

Mol

good idea, Mol. I like that (most of my stuff is peripheral)

if only my boss would pull his finger out and do his thing. Today is the deadline and none of us in my team has any idea what to write.

Work Goal then:-

"Obtain competent boss"



FB

Along those lines, I can only suggest as a goal for the year: "re-defining, clarifying, setting out and implementing clear and exact job descriptions for all staff" This would be, implicitly, in cooperation with the management. Who would then also have to outline what they do all day and how it relates to what you do. And especially the Keeping of Deadlines, and keeping agreements generally. A kind of charter.

Also, such matters as

reviewing fire safety measures,
looking into savings on postage and parcel services,
savings on outsourced services,
reviewing health issues and general staff well-being (seats, lighting, air conditioning, heating, first aid refresher courses), savings on transport, stationery and expenses

You can set yourself a year for implementing these and quantify the amount you reckon you'd save the company to justify the time spent on these projects.

Goals such as "increase sales" and "improve efficiency" go without saying, surely?

a lot of those are out of my remit, and now I'm not in sales I don't really care about their targets as long as they sell something

Getting an effective boss I'll try that

OK - how about this one:

To review the Company's sexual (and racial?) politics and introduce equality based on merit.

they would all spontaneously combust!

Goal achieved!