Flux around Stretch Goals!

When it comes to PFMS there are these few things which we consistently hear:

• Focus on Goal Setting
• The goals need to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time Bound)
• The goals need to be STRETCH GOALS.
• Focus on Rewards…. Distributive Justice v/s Procedural Justice.

There are quite a few questions which arise in my mind when we talk of stretch goals. What do we mean by stretch? When is a goal unstretched and from when does it start becoming stretched? How much stretch is adequate enough? Do you need stretch in goals at all? Is it possible to have stretch at all?

The dictionary meaning of stretch is “to extend beyond normal limits.”

There are 2 things:

• Setting of a goal
• Judgement whether a goal has been reached or not

Now let us assume that:

• The goal when it was set, was stretched (and hence was beyond normal limits).
• The judgement arrived on is that the goal has been reached.

What does it tell us about the performance of an individual?

So say a guy had to sell 100 units in a quarter (and it was decided that was the stretch goal). He sells 110 units in the quarter – what does it tell us? Can we say that the stretched goal was not stretched enough? Or has the guy stretched himself more than what is required to get to a stretched goal? What is the adequate level of stretch? Does stretch means the maximum stretch possible? How do you arrive at a judgement on the maximum stretch possible?

I agree that goal setting is important. But there sure is a lot of flux around this concept of Stretchness of a Goal. There must be another way of looking at this.

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Sourav