Alignment within organizations and within teams is essential " everyone has to be pulling in the same direction.

Objectives help us to:

• define where we want to go

• plan the route

• check to see how close we are to our final destination

• confirm that we have arrived.

The words objectives, aims, targets, goals or outcomes all mean the same thing and are completely interchangeable.

Worthwhile objectives are SMART:

• Specific: clear and easy to understand

• Measurable: so that you can see whether or not you have achieved what you set out to achieve.A non-measurable objective would be:'Write enough letters'.A measurable objective would be:'Write twenty letters'

• Achievable: because setting objectives which are unlikely to be achieved is a waste of time and effort

• Realistic: external factors may mean that changes have to be made

• Time-related: so that you can see the time-frame for achievement.An objective which is not time-related would be:'Complete the arrangements for the annual conference'.An objective which is time-related would be as follows:

  • 'Complete the arrangements for the annual conference by 28 July 2005'.

Planning involves:

• clarifying the SMART objective

• organizing available information and obtaining the required information

• identifying the individual tasks involved and assigning a completion date to each

• prioritizing tasks into logical sequence

• completing each task in turn

• achieving the SMART objective.

Prioritizing using the Urgent or Important approach:

• Priority 1: Urgent and important

  A task which is closely related to a high-level objective...