There is a line of thought that there are three types of target:
1. Fact of life targets
If you don’t meet these targets you simply don’t qualify:
- To be a world-class 100 meter sprinter you have to run sub 10 seconds
- If you want to stay in business you have to sell enough to cover your costs
- To ride a roller coaster you must be at least five feet tall
They are simply the facts of life; the target lets you know where you stand.
2. Design targets
Targets that help you specify a goal:
- The new rail service should get commuters into London by 8:30am
- A ready meal must microwave in under 3 minutes
- A new engine needs to achieve 40 miles per gallon
These targets constrain your options and so help shape your work.
3. Arbitrary targets
Targets that are handed down from on high
- You must see a patient every 6 minutes
- You must reduce crime by 10%
- You must deliver the project by 31st December
These are JFDI targets; you don’t get much choice about these.
OK there are nuances
Not all targets are a straight fit into a single category, the world is colourful, not black and white. It is just a line of thought, but it makes me think that…
Some targets are good
Particularly if they:
- Give you a scope
- Let you know what is achievable (Usain Bolt can rest easy in my case at least)
- Help you forecast and plan
But if you are using a target to beat people around the head
If you are busy:
- Holding people accountable
- To an ill thought through target
- When you haven’t looked at the issue
- Or thought about helping people achieve it
- As a simple way of solving a problem
Well then you deserve everything you get
The only problems that have simple solutions are simple problems. The only managers with simple problems are those with simple minds ~ Russ Ackoff
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Hello James
Thoroughly enjoyed reading your nuanced post. I find myself in total agreement with your conclusion. And it occurs to me that good measures/target/progress indicator require genuine throughout. Poor ones don’t – which is probably why there are lots of poor ones.
Taling about JFDI, came across a project like that – was to do with installing a management information system. JFDI commands meant that MIS was put in place in 9 months instead of original estimate of 18 months. Then another 18 months were spent fixing it!
All the best
maz
I guess it still didn’t work.
Thanks for the comment
James
Loved it, James. Makes perfect sense to me. Great job summarizing it… I think you hit the nail on the head there. Setting targets is great, but if you haven’t thought about what it takes to get there or coached people or given them the right tools to achieve the targets, then forget about it.
Annette :-)
Thanks for your comment Annette, I think that the problem with management is that to do it well it is hard work.
James
Hi James,
Which category would Dave Brailsford’s “twenty areas where we can find a 1% improvement” fall into?
Adrian
Sorry Adrian, but you’ll have to give me a little help.
I guess I would put it down as a design target, but I don’t really understand the context.
James
Hi James,
Here’s something I wrote about it in a recent newsletter:
http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=ac1b7148c05765530550ca9c7&id=edb0ad3ade
Does that help?
Adrian
It does Adrian, an interesting read. In that case I guess it was a fact of life, shape up or ship out.
The really interesting question is how did he achieve it? That is a tough organisational challenge.
James