Goal Setting: How CIOs Can Avoid Pitfalls

CIO - "Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I'll give you a man who will make history," James Cash Penney, founder of the now-famous chain of eponymous retail stores, is reported to have said. "Give me a man with no goals and I'll give you a stock clerk."

For decades, business schools have extolled the virtues of goal setting-the more audacious the better. Entire corporate cultures have been built on the merits of setting towering targets for performance. After all, throughout history, setting lofty goals has led to landmark success. What was the moon landing 40 years ago if not a stretch goal amazingly achieved? But contrary to popular opinion, goal setting does not always yield positive results. Quite the contrary, in many cases, says Maurice Schweitzer, associate professor of operations and information management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Management.

Look no further than today's more besieged American industries, cars and financial services. Many of their problems can be traced not to goals met, but to "goals gone wild," Schweitzer says.

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