Manager’s Toolkit Cascading Goals and Objectives Many organisations fail to reach their full potential simply because the people lower down do not share the vision of the leaders or understand how their own efforts contribute to overall success. If you have completed Tool 1.1, you will have explored how your organisation’s vision and mission is translated into practical tasks and activities. This Tool shows you how you too can begin to cascade goals and objectives to your team. It is a very participative process, and we suggest that you involve your team to derive the maximum benefit and understanding. An Example Before you involve the team, though, let’s see how the process works in theory. Imagine you are in an engineering company and one of the high-level objectives was defined as:

High Level Objective Drive down the costs of delivery of Project X by 10 per cent by the end of the financial year.

When this objective was cascaded to the head of the projects department, it was focused as follows: Projects Departmental Objective Identify and implement cost-saving activities on the XY model assembly process to produce overall savings of 10 per cent of budget by the end of the financial year

When this was in turn cascaded to the component purchasing team, the objective was focused yet again: Team Objective (component purchasing) Review current and potential suppliers of the seven components for which your team is responsible, to identify opportunities to achieve overall cost savings across the seven components of 10 per cent that could be realistically implemented by year end.

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We have now reached the lowest point in the chain, when the team objective is passed to an individual. The objective might now be expressed in this form:

Individual Objective Component Z: working with your supply development leader, evaluate your current supplier and work towards price reductions on component purchase. With the supply development group help your supplier to make a price reduction of 10 per cent with no reduction in component quality. Summarise findings by 20 April.

Now It’s Your Turn This Tool now shows you how you can do this process with your team, using the following proforma. For this exercise to work best, it is helpful if you can work in three groups – each group will need a copy of the proforma. If you are working with fewer than three groups, you will have to modify the process accordingly.

1. Strategic direction:

2. Strategic initiatives 2.1 Detail plan

3. Tactical implementation 2.2

2.3

2.4

3.1 Detailed

3.2

3.3

Action

Measures

Dates

tasks

Action

Dates

by

by

1

2

3

2

Get the team together and set the scene by saying something like: ‘A winning team must understand how their efforts contribute towards the overall success of their organisation – otherwise, it may be difficult for individuals to become motivated on a daily basis. The relationship between goals and objectives at the highest level and what people do lower down on a day-by-day basis is often lost. We’re going to explore how corporate objectives are cascaded down, and why it is so important for every element to be achieved successfully.’ Strategic Direction Say that they are about to become board members and you want them to consider one aspect of the organisation’s strategic objectives and to define how it could be implemented.

  

Give each group a copy of the proforma. Allocate each group a different aspect of your organisation’s mission statement. Ask them to discuss and agree one sentence of between 15 to 20 words which



describes one element which the organisation might take to achieve its overall strategic direction. Once they have agreed, ask them to write the sentence in the top box of the proforma, headed Strategic direction. Try to ensure that each of the three groups focuses on a different element of



strategic direction, so that the subsequent work is more varied. Once they are all done, briefly discuss what they have written before moving onto the next phase of the process. Strategic Initiatives Ask each group to pass its planning proforma to the next group. Tell them that for the next phase they have all had a demotion – instead of being board directors, they are all now senior staff who report directly to board directors. They have all just been passed a directive from their director which shows an element of strategic policy that they are required to implement. Their task now is to develop some strategic initiatives that will turn this specific directive into reality. They should: 

Consider the overall strategic direction they have been given and develop between one and three strategic initiatives which fulfil that overall goal. They should be itemised in column 2.1, in the appropriate box (1, 2 or 3)

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For each strategic initiative, consider who should take action, and record the details in boxes 2.2, headed ‘Action by,’ for each strategic initiative



Then consider what measures could be used to monitor progress towards the goal. They should enter brief details in boxes 2.3 headed ‘Measures’



Finally consider target dates or key milestones and record details for each initiative in boxes 2.4, headed ‘Dates’.

Once the groups have finished, open up a discussion on what they have written and encourage them to reflect on the process so far. Tactical Implementation Ask each team to pass their planning proforma to the next team. Say that for the next phase they have all had a further demotion – instead of reporting directly to board directors, they have fallen by one further level in the organisation! They have all just been passed one or more strategic initiatives which they are tasked to turn into reality. They must now consider the set of initiatives and develop tactical plans for day-to-day implementation of the initiatives. Ask them now to: 

consider their strategic initiative(s) and develop one or two tactical plans which will meet that strategic initiative. They should be itemised in column 3.1 (Detailed tasks), alongside the relevant strategic initiative.



for each tactical plan, consider what action should be taken by whom, and record the details in boxes 3.2, headed ‘Action by’



(The measures for monitoring progress towards the goal have already been given, so no new work has to be done here.)



finally consider target dates or key milestones and record details for each initiative in boxes 3.3, headed ‘Dates’.

Closing Review Once they are all done, display the three sets of planning proformas on a wall because this clearly shows the cascading process at work. People can see that as the high-level objectives cascade: 

Functions pick up a different ‘slice’



They become more focused



They become more detailed



Timescales become shorter 4

Some of the questions you might wish to discuss include: 

How effectively are corporate goals and objectives currently cascaded down?



Is it done in such a way as to be motivational for those on the receiving end?



Can everyone get excited about the part they play, however modest, in achieving the ‘big picture’?



If not, how could the process be improved?



Who needs to be told, and by whom, so that meaningful changes can be made?

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