GOALS AND OBJECTIVES — THE FUELS OF STRATEGIC PLANNING

In a constantly changing market, with technologies, solutions and disruptive companies, the organization and continuous improvement of companies is essential. After the definition of Strategic Planning, covered in detail in the article CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: STRATEGIC PLANNING, the monitoring of the Objectives and Goals begins, important indicators aimed at strengthening the company's positioning and growth in the market.

It is common to observe difficulties related to the definition of Objectives and Goals, and many companies misinterpret these two concepts.

Briefly, the Objectives can be defined as quantitative and qualitative results desired by the company, that is, it is the purpose of achieving something, it is where you want to go. It serves as a guide so that Strategic Planning is guided by the company's Vision. The Goals, on the other hand, are the quantification necessary for the company to achieve the Objectives, in other words, the Goals measure what the Objectives want to achieve. The Goals are specific, while the Objectives are more comprehensive.

According to Costa (2007), it is up to the Objectives and the Goals to present challenges to Strategic Planning, which must be tangible and possible to achieve. According to Norton and Kaplan (1997), the Goals must be ambitious and indicate the degree of improvement for the company. It is worth mentioning that well metrified and defined, the Objectives and Goals make it easier to execute Strategic Planning.

As an example, after carrying out the Analysis SWOT and market research, Company X identified an opportunity to offer a new type of services. Thus, it was possible to determine:

• Objective: To offer a new type of service by the end of 2020.
• Goal: To earn R$ 1,000,000.00 with the new service modality in 2021.

It is common for managers to know how to determine the Objectives, but they have difficulties in defining the Goals. But it's no use defining and controlling Objectives if there's no planned value for them. Therefore, knowing how to define a company's Goals is essential for the management cycle to be successful.

One of the most famous and used methodologies in the world is the definition of Goals SMART:

• S — Specific (Specific): Precise and specific in relation to parameters. There can be no room for double interpretation;
• M — Measurable (Measurable): Quantifiable and Tangible. They must be defined in such a way that they can be measured and analyzed;
• A — Achievable (Attainable): Despite the challenge, the parameters must be within reach. The implementation of what is proposed must be present;
• R — Realists (Realistic): The parameters must comply with reality. Do not seek purposes greater than those permitted by the means;
• T — Timeable (Time-bound): Well-defined deadline and duration. In addition to delimiting the time horizon, there is the motivational effect.

It is important to emphasize that, according to definition T above, the Goals are temporary and strictly linked to deadlines, meaning that they are small actions that must be carried out daily to achieve the proposed Objective.

Once the set of Goals is defined, they must be used as guidelines to be pursued by the entire team, helping to achieve the Strategic Objectives contained in the Planning.

All sectors and employees need to be aligned with the Objectives and Goals established by the Partners and Managers. Everyone must be aligned in order to strive to achieve these indicators, otherwise there is no reason to establish them. The simpler, the greater the chances that employees will understand the plans and the company will obtain the expected results.

After establishing the Goals, it is essential to draw up the Action Plans that will enable them to be achieved. Therefore, the periodic monitoring and monitoring of the Goals is essential, especially to identify errors in the course and correct the problem quickly.

The Performance Indicators, detailed in the article CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIS), are important allies in the periodic monitoring and monitoring of the Goals.

It is not recommended that Goals be changed because this action may demonstrate/generate: i) error in the definition of the Objectives; ii) weakness of the Partners and Managers; iii) dissatisfaction/demotivation of the team. When identifying that a Goal is below the indicated level for the period, the Action Plan must change, but not the Goal.

The importance of periodic monitoring is well known and without it, the effectiveness of the Goals will be compromised. There are several methodologies for the monitoring process, the most famous of which is the PDCA Cycle (Plan, Do, Check, Act), capable of identifying that something needs to be corrected to achieve the Objectives mapped in the Strategic Planning because it provides a logical sequence and allows for the increase of managers' knowledge, making decision-making more effective.

The PDCA was created with the objective of accelerating the process of identifying the cause of the problems and assisting in the proposal of solutions. This process is cyclical and in each repetition another result can be found, such as the identification of flaws and measurement of crucial management factors.

The Goals are essential for achieving the Objectives outlined in the Strategic Planning. Alignment with the entire team is essential, otherwise the desired results will be more distant. For the correct implementation of the Goal Plan, the monitoring and critical analysis of the Action Plans designed to achieve the Goals and Objectives will be the watershed. The Goals must follow the methodology SMART and its amendment must be discussed in extreme cases because, according to the market maxim: A given mission is a mission accomplished.

ARTICLE WRITTEN BY PEDRO FENATI — PARTNER OF FC PARTNERS

Go to our site: http://www.fcpartners.com.br