Both the terms “goals” and “objectives” are quite interchangeable, as they refer to the primary outcome a business strives to achieve. But what is the difference between goals and objectives? They have major differences and understanding these nuances is essential for setting clear goals and attainable objectives.
Setting business goals is crucial for every organization. These specific goals determine the broader vision and right direction for a successful business plan. An organization’s goal must align with its mission, vision, and culture while also describing its longer-term ambitions before laying out any specific actions.
On the other hand, objectives are the specific milestones a company plans to achieve in short term. They are time-based, precise, easily measurable, and specific actions that contribute to the achievement of the goals.
In this article, we will explain the definition of goals and objectives, their examples, important differences, and how to measure them.
Definition of Goal
A goal is a short statement of the desired outcome to be achieved over a long period of time, usually three or more years. They are abstract, overarching and a big picture of the general ambitions of a business. Business goals act as a driving force that directs the organization to make maximum efforts to achieve them. However, it doesn’t describe the methods and all the nitty-gritty details to accomplish the end result.
Setting smart goals is an important step of business planning. As the primary outcome has a great impact on areas including a business’ financial objective, mission statement, marketing strategy, and corporate culture.
In simpler words, goals are:
- Based on abstract ideas
- The end result
- Broad in nature
- Difficult to measure
- Long time frame
- Valuable for a broader vision and right direction
Examples
Some of the common examples of business goals are:
- Creating a new brand
- Maximizing profits
- Growing revenue
- Becoming an industry leader
- Increasing the management efficiency
- Providing the best customer service
- Raise the business’ profile
Benefits Of Setting Business Goals
Setting clear goals for your business offers the following benefits:
- Helps to identify and set your business’ priorities.
- Gives the right directions to your efforts.
- Supports decision-making and motivates people to take a specific action.
- Increases conviction in achievement.
- Allows businesses to realize their full potential.
Definition of Objective
Specific targets or aims that need to be achieved in a smaller time frame, usually a year or less, or a set of different activities to be completed in order to reach an ultimate goal are known as objectives. They are also termed as ‘subgoals’ because they are the milestones to help reach the desired goal.
Clear objectives should always be created with the business’ ultimate goals in mind. This way, it is easier for everyone in an organization to understand what actions are expected from them, why, and what part they play in the overall business performance.
In simpler words, objectives are:
- Measurable
- Short term or even medium-term
- Important means to an end result
- Narrow in scope
- Specific actions
- Associated with a time frame and schedule
- Based on facts
Examples
Some of the examples of objectives are:
- Increase a minimum of 10% ROI in a twelve-month period
- Add a few new product lines by the end of the year
- Increase the company’s market share by 12% till December
- Reduce the operating costs by 15% within a year
- Cut down the response time for customer queries to 15 to 30 mins by the end of the quarter.
Benefits Of Planning Clear Objectives
Planning clear and precise objectives for a business offers the following benefits:
- Allows measuring progress made towards achieving a goal.
- Creates a sense of accomplishment.
- Confirms confidence in the overall strategy.
- Helps in making difficult decisions while pointing in the right direction.
- Translates expectations.
7 Key Differences Between Goals And Objectives
As described above, the notable difference between goals and objectives is that the first one is the WHAT and the second one is the HOW. A goal is a long-term outcome a business intends to achieve, whereas objectives are specific actions and measurable targets that help to achieve the overall goal. Both goals and objectives work in tandem to achieve maximum success. In order to reduce the risk of not accomplishing a goal, create any goal with clear objectives. This helps the organization to make the right decision at the right time.
Following are the major differences between goals and objectives:
1. Alignment And Order
Smart goals are set in order to achieve the mission of an organization. While clear objectives are set for the accomplishment of the ultimate goals. Thus, goals are higher in order than objectives.
2. Specificity
Business goals are the broad statement of what must be achieved in the long run. They don’t describe any methods of how to accomplish the end result. On the other hand, the job of objectives is to briefly describe the specific actions that need to be completed within a short time frame.
3. Language
The language used to describe goals is a lot more focused on conceptual thinking, whereas the language used in objectives is more on the actionable and creative side.
4. Scope
Goals are broad statements or intentions that are incapable of being measured in quantifiable units. Objectives, on the contrary, are narrower than goals and can be easily described in the frame of specific actions.
5. Tangibility
Most goals can be intangible and non-measurable. But objectives are best defined in terms of tangible targets.
For instance, if your business goal is to provide better customer services in the future then you will need a tangible objective, such as reducing customer wait time a minute every month. This will help in achieving the ultimate goal.
6. Timeframe
As mentioned previously, goals are expected to be achieved over a longer time frame while objectives are meant for a short time frame. Usually, a specific goal is further divided into several objectives spread out in various time frames.
7. Materiality And Actions
The materiality of goals is abstract and they require general actions to attain them. While the materiality of objectives is concrete and needs specific actions.
How To Measure Goals And Objectives
Understanding the difference between goals and objectives and setting them is one separate thing; measuring your progress towards them is another critical aspect.
Few ways to determine if your specific actions yielded the desired outcome of a goal are:
• Ask A Close-Ended Question
The easiest way to measure a goal is by asking whether you met it or not. It can be fairly simple if the goal is written clearly.
Example: Let’s say your goal is to hold a quarterly meeting between two departments to resolve any issue, you can answer this question with a simple yes or no.
• Use The Points System
In case, you make a guideline to follow when setting the goal then measure that same guideline to measure it. Use the points system to make sure it is specific to your organization and aligns with a larger measurement system.
Example: Suppose your goal is to launch a website by a certain time, you can divide this goal into two measurable parts i.e., the action and the deadline. Measure the two parts by awarding a point for each. If you succeed in launching the website on time, measure the goal by awarding two points – one for the action and the other for the headline. However, if you miss either of them, award it with only one point.
• Use A Rubric System
For goals without any strict deadlines, use the rubric system. This system gives an opportunity to evaluate the context surrounding the goal and adjust how it is measured, accordingly.
Example: Let’s assume you were working towards a process-oriented goal which unfortunately didn’t work. Because it resulted in longer workflows. In such a case, a rubric system will help determine what you expected and what actually happened in order to report the goal unsuccessful.
As objectives are more specific than goals, they are easier to measure. Utilize the different concepts mentioned below to measure individual objectives:
• Measure Past Performance vs. Current Performance
Specific objectives in which one can measure past performance and current performance holds valuable insight. For this, one has to get creative and define their own metrics to measure the desired result.
Example: If you want to measure brand awareness, one way to do it is by comparing how many branded search terms you’re receiving now compared to a point in time in the past.
• Measure Attainment
The majority of the attainable objectives feature quantitative data like numbers, units, and figures. In this case, progress can be measured with small steps.
Suppose, your team wanted to generate 1000 leads from a marketing campaign and they managed to get 850. The attainment of the original 1000-lead goal is 85%.
850/1000*100 = 85% Goal Attainment
• Measure Data With Surveys
For a clear objective that aims to change or improve customer behavior, surveys, focus groups, and many other behavior measurements can provide the data to measure the final result.
To Sum Up
Goals and objectives are used interchangeably but have many major differences. Although both the terms are two different concepts, don’t get too caught up in that. Just remember the most important part of goal setting and planning effective objectives is getting work done and showing great final results.
