Confusing the Goal with the Metric

Setting goals has become quite a science, particularly at performance evaluation time.  We set SMART goals, making sure they are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely.  But we don’t always continue to ask if they are relevant.

Continuing to question our goals is part of being a learning organization.  Chris Argyris was one of the pioneer thinkers about learning organizations, and he described single loop and double loop learning.  Single loop learning is typified by our reaction when we fail to meet a goal - we get a bit defensive, look for people to blame or problems to fix, and put in place a new plan to achieve the goal.  We push ahead because we want to succeed and meeting our quarterly or annual goals feels good.  But it narrows our thinking.  Double loop learning occurs when we also evaluate the goal.  When we fail to meet the goal we take an honest and hard look at what it is we're trying to achieve and learn from that examination.  We may change not only the goal but our own behavior in trying to achieve it, because we also learn about our own impact.
   
Humans evolve towards the line of inquiry.  If we focus on just one thing, then all our effort will be on that one thing.  If that goal is just a metric (revenue, new members, tweets) then we may lose sight of other important aspects (quality, relevance, renewals).   

The ultimate goal should be  vision of the future.  One that changes over time if needed.  And one that has metrics which evaluate how close we're getting.  So the goal of an energized membership may have several metrics such as number of active volunteers, member satisfaction, revenue from programs.  But they just point to the ultimate goal, that of a membership which values and sustains the organization. 

Take losing weight as an example with which I'm very familiar.  Plenty of studies show that people who lose weight often regain it.  Because once they achieved this wonderful body, they found they were still the same unhappy people inside.  Instead of a goal to lose 30 lbs, how about a goal to accept our bodies instead of hating them.  To have a vision of being comfortable in our bodies, and using not just diets and exercise but maybe meditation, some interesting hobbies, and some cute new clothes too.   

Here's the thing - if we focus on the metric, then that may be all that we achieve.