A goal and an objective are interchangeable terms, even some dictionaries define a goal as an objective, but strictly speaking they mean different things.

1. Vision and Goals vs. Strategy
Map and Objectives

2. A goal and an objective are
interchangeable terms, even some
dictionaries define a goal as an objective,
but strictly speaking they mean different
things. On BSC Designer we talk a lot
about strategic things, including goals
and objectives, so let’s have a clear
understanding of the difference and why
it is important.

3. It’s good to have your team speaking in
the same business language. Moreover,
business owners and executives that
understand the difference will be able to
come up with more balanced ideas about
where their business wants to go and
how it will get there.

4. What’s the difference between a goal
and an objective?
A goal is a general direction where a
company or an individual wants to go; a
goal is broad, intangible, and abstract. A
top level goal for the company is a
vision. In the
contrast, an objective is specific,
tangible, and measurable item. A
company might have several important
goals and many more objectives.

6. Example
Your goal might be: Learn the Balanced
Scorecard method.
This goal is intangible as it is not really
clear what “learning” and “Balanced
Scorecard” in this case mean. Does it
involve reading books, passing courses,
learning best practices, taking part in the
real BSC project or something else?

7. Your objectives might be: Name all the
steps of the Balanced Scorecard
according to “Strategy Maps” book
by Norton and Kaplan; Pass a BSC
Designer software proficiency training
with 80% score result.
These objectives are specific, tangible
and measurable.

8. Why is the difference important?
It is obvious that any executive needs to
have both goals and objectives in his or
her toolbox.
Without goals all the business will be
about having long to-do lists with no
focus on the big picture;
Without objectives an organization will
have a good wish list with no action plan.

9. They say that goals are
great motivational tool. The trust is
that different people are motivated in a
different way. For example a vivid
Amazon’s vision “to be Earth’s most
customer-centric company for four
primary customer sets” might be
really inspiring for marketing people, but
some technical person might say “Great!
And how do we know that we are there?
How are we supposed to do that?”

10. I would say that for some type of
persons clearly defined objectives
motivate even more than a company’s
goals. Both goals and objectives need to
be defined not only for motivation
purpose, but for building a clear picture
of where a company wants to go, how it
will get there and how it can know if it is
on the right track.

11. Goals and objectives in the business
Talking only about goals and objectives a
company won’t change a situation. Let’s
see the way that one needs to go from a
vision statement to get end results.

13. 1. We start with a company’s vision. A
vision is a top-level goal of the company.
Technically this statement is correct,
that’s what numerous books on
management define it as, but in the real
life it is hard to find
any meaningful vision statement. Check
out some thoughts by Bernard Marr on
the topic.

14. 2. Next, we are moving on to goals.
Here is no need to squeeze all the ideas
about the future of the company into one
vision statement; hopefully the company
has a solid list (or map) here.
3. The question, “How these goals
supposed to be achieved?” is answered in
company’s strategy.

15. 4. The strategy is built from
specific objectives - steps that a
company needs to follow. To focus on a
strategy, a company puts objectives on
a strategy map and, if we follow the
Balanced Scorecard method, it links them
with each other with cause-andeffect connections.

16. 5. As we discussed above, objectives are
measurable, so any objective can and
should be aligned with a KPI that will tell
to what extent an objective is achieved.
6. Objectives tell us about the result that
should be achieved, but they don’t tell us
how exactly this result will be achieved.
We need a tactical tool on this stage;
let’s call it an action plan, it might be a
general one or a detailed to-do list.

17. 7. Once an action plan is executed
an end result is achieved, and
management can revise a situation as
needed and set new goals and
objectives.
I was writing about a similar topic in “The
big picture about Balanced Scorecard.”
Check it out to see how the ideas from
this article apply to the Balanced
Scorecard concept.

18. Cultural context might be different
Another reason why the explanation
above is important is that in some
languages there is no adequate
translation of words “goal” and
“objective.” For example, in Russian
there is just one word for both “goal” and
“objective:”

19. The difference between two ideas needs
to be explained and cannot be simply
translated. The next time you will be
sharing your strategic goals and
objectives with your team, make sure
that you have explained the difference
between these two terms first.

20. “Business Goals” tab in BSC Designer
Here are a few words for users of our
BSC Designer software. In BSC Designer
we have a tab called “Business
Goals.” Obviously, it should be renamed
to something like “Business Goals and
Objectives.” We did not do this because
we simply don’t want to take up all the
free space by using long names for tabs.

21.  Using “Business Objectives” is not an option
either, first the word “Objectives” is longer
than “Goals,” and the main reason is that it
will confuse users again this is tab where
one can add both goals and objectives.
 Steps 1-6 as described in the paragraph
“Goals and objectives in the business” can
be automated in BSC Designer. On the
“Business Goals” tab one can map business
goals and objectives, align them with KPIs
and action plans and represent them on the
strategy map. Here how it works.

22. Conclusion
Terms “Goal” and “Objective” are
different. It is important to know and
use the difference to talk in the same
business language, to motivate your
people better and to come up with a
more logical strategic plan. What do you
think? How do you use these two terms?
Probably you can share your favorite
example of a good goal or objective.
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