Trigger Question #161:
There are two basic ways to push people to achieve more at work. Make them stretch or make them reach.
Most proffered wisdom seems to favor stretch. Boffins tell us to make goals big and hairy, make followers sweat and worry, so that they will be driven to deliver their best. Yes, indeed, if you want worn out nervous wrecks.
Or if you want them to stretch the truth as well.
I remember reading in the news a few years ago about a company that had fudged its profits. Yes, I know that is not really news. It happens all the time. But here is the newsy bit. The executives blamed its profit fudge on unrealistic performance targets.
Wow! As if the executives were not the ones responsible for setting unrealistic targets.
But let’s explore how those unrealistic targets played out. The employees who had to achieve the targets did not dare disagree with their savvy superiors. After all, their jobs were on the line. And so they did the next best thing. They lied.
I’m sorry. They did not lie as such. Here’s how the media explained their actions. The employees “carried out inappropriate accounting practices to meet targets in line with the wishes of their superiors.”
In other words, they stretched the truth to achieve the stretched goals.
Every kid knows that if you pull an elastic band beyond its stretch ability, it breaks. It is a scientific fact which many senior executives conveniently forget. And so they continue to set so-called stretch goals that break employees. And the bank, via the income statement.
Keep this in mind and you will never make that mistake: “We reached an agreement” is good news, but “We stretched an agreement” is pushing your luck.
Clearly, when setting goals, words matter. Which is why we say “reach for the stars” and not “stretch for the stars.”
Welcome to my side of the nonsense divide.
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