About the Objectives of an Organization

I have noticed, in the last few projects I have worked on, that companies face great difficulty in understanding and defining their goals. This is not a difficulty restricted to a specific niche. Recently, I have observed this happening in gaming companies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which end up without a clear idea of what they want to achieve in a given period.

I see that the goals of an organization are limited to its mission or to the development of a product. For example, when developing a marketing plan, the goal of the organization that emerges is to "achieve success as soon as possible." But what is this "success"? How will it be measured? What does "as soon as possible" mean? Is there funding available for this "as soon as possible"?

These are questions that can even hinder the team's motivation, as they don't know if they are on the right track. In these cases, it is important to remember SMART objectives (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound). Every objective must be realistic, achievable, specific, measurable and time-bound.

Furthermore, it is important to set goals that are not just oriented towards "increasing profits by x%". Think about your customers, employees and collaborators, and even the environment you want to create for your company. We cannot forget that, after defining the goals, it is important to list their importance for the company.

For example, reducing the number of employee absences is an important objective for increasing productivity and can be achieved with good internal communication, but it cannot be prioritized over increasing the customer base when allocating personnel and resources.