Credit for the concept goes to Molly Graham articulated in this absolutely fantastic podcast. I’d strongly recommend taking time to go through the whol talk.
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How can there be alignment when folks don’t know what they’re supposed to be aligning on? This lack of clarity seems to be almost by design when you look at the numerous metrics being tracked on multiple spreadsheets, dashboards that really don’t help employees know what to prioritize the moment they sit at their desks. Rigorous goal-setting is more of a communication tool, not a tracking mechanism.
The Six Rules for High-Value Goals
Limit to Three: No company, regardless of complexity, needs more than three primary goals. Facebook’s model — Growth, Engagement, Revenue — governed a global empire.
The “Win in a Fight” Rule: When goals conflict, one must be the established tie-breaker. You must know if engagement wins over short-term revenue.
The Five-Year-Old Test (ELI5): Goals must be jargon-free. If an intern who started on Monday cannot understand the goal, it has failed as a communication tool.
Strategy Should Hurt: Real strategy requires painful trade-offs. Avoid “Letter Bombs” — promises made to avoid short-term pain (like promising a specific title or role to a new hire) that are guaranteed to explode in your face a year later.
One Goal, One Owner: Every number must have one specific “ass on the line.” Crucially, the owner should not be the CEO; the CEO cannot own the goal if they want accountability to scale.
Process Over Setting: Setting the goal is only 10% of the work. The remaining 90% is the system of follow-up and accountability that ensures the goal is pursued.
