Should Goals Be Stretch or Safe?

How high to set goals is a debate that’s raged for years. Some say to set the targets so that all of them can reasonably be attained.  Others advocate setting aggressive stretch goals with the expectation that not all of them will be met but more progress will be made than if the goals had been set lower.

Be very careful about setting stretch goals if your staff’s compensation or individual performance reviews are based on hitting those goals. People are driven to achieve goals. When goals can’t be achieved within the rules, people are strongly tempted to violate rules.

Look at Wells Fargo, who set high targets for cross-selling products to customers. The drive to achieve caused Wells Fargo employees to create millions of fake accounts. Wells Fargo was fined $185 million and faced billions of losses in lawsuits.

The obvious solutions include creating a culture of honesty and a strong internal control system.  A less obvious solution involved insights from behavioral finance. People perceive losses much differently than gains. The pain of loss is twice as strong as the pleasure of similar gains. When people see themselves as “losing”, they take big risks, including cheating, to not lose.

A compromise solution to setting goals is to set stretch goals but set the bulk of performance compensation at a level that’s achievable. This limits the feeling of loss. Allow further bonuses to create “gains” that promote reaching toward the stretch goal.

- Rob Stephens


Further Insight


CFO Perspective Resources

  • Free Download: KPI Dashboard - Achieve your goals and monitor your company’s performance with this free key performance indicators (KPI) dashboard. This is an easy-to-use KPI dashboard for tracking your key performance indicators (KPIs).
  • Free Download: Objectives and Key Results (OKR) Template - My free OKR template for Excel or Google Sheets lets you quickly build your list of objectives and key results. You can then easily monitor your progress toward achieving your goals.
  • Video: Setting KPI Targets - Setting KPIs is an important step towards achieving success. The right targets will stretch your company to achieve more. Poor targets confuse and demoralize employees. I’ll help you overcome common struggles with setting targets.
  • Course: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and KPI Dashboards - KPIs are more than metrics. They’re the foundation of your most important decisions. KPIs define success to drive success. This course explains: how to choose metrics,  KPI dashboard tips, the process of implementing KPIs, and managing with KPIs.
  • Course: Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) - What performance secret can you learn from Google, Intel, and Intuit? Objectives and Key Results, also known as OKRs, have become very popular for improving company performance. OKRs can improve focus, engagement, innovation, and performance. I'll walk you step-by-step through how to implement OKRs at your company.
  • Book: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and KPI Dashboards - With well-defined and well-managed KPIs, you can align your company’s vision from the ground up and maintain steady progress toward your goals. Get tips on dashboard best practices. Avoid common mistakes managers make with KPIs. I’ll guide you through the implementation process so you can start achieving your goals ASAP.

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