Second, you may find that one of the strengths of this book
is that it can stimulate employee and management thinking
about goal setting. These phrases provide good starting points
for reflection and discussion. Just keep in mind the point—per-
formance improvement and coordination.
Generally, we suggest that you use this book prior to sitting
down with employees to set goals. Before meeting with each
employee, take a few minutes to go through the sections you
think are relevant to him or her and take note or jot down any
goals you think may be applicable.
Consider sharing the book with employees beforehand. To
reduce the time you spend in goal-setting meetings, you can
provide a copy of this book to the employee and ask him or her
to go through and identify a certain number of goals—let’s say,
10-15 goals—that might fit his or her job. This will work only if
the employee understands the job well and also understands
where your work unit and company are going in the next year, so
consider spending a few minutes with the employee before the
goal-setting meeting to discuss those issues.
What’s Next?
Now that we’ve covered some of the basics, we’ll guide you step
by step through the goal-setting process and provide you with
valuable suggestions for ensuring that everyone benefits from
the investment in goal settng.11Using This Book to Write Better Performance Goals