Differences between Goal and Objective
Goals and Objectives
What are the differences between goals and objectives? Goals and objectives are the two terms which are commonly used in businesses and organizational environments. However, people often confuse the two. These terms may sound similar but there is a drastic difference between them. We can say that a goal is an idea and an objective is an action plan. The goal is something that you want to achieve and objective is a milestone on the way towards achieving that goal. Let's jump into details on goals and objectives and discuss their differences.
So, what are goals?
Goals are defined as the achievements or results towards which effort and ambition are directed. For instance, in our childhood all of us set some goals for our lives. To achieve these goals we usually have an idea of a timeline so that we can reach what we want in a desired time.
The term goal can be used in project management for the three most important target values such as time, performance and resources. Usually, a goal is the answer of what is the main target of the project.
What are objectives?
Objectives are defined as the targets that we want to achieve in a limited time. Hence, objectives are milestones that help us reach our goals. It is a step to reach something particular which is taken by an individual or a company. For instance, trying to have a good score to be offered admission to a university is an objective.
In project management, an objective should meet the decided budget, time and quality restrictions.
It is easy to measure the success of an objective. For instance, a company wants to increase its sales by 60% in the upcoming 6 months. The success can be easily measured after 6 months.
Comparison Chart
Importance of Goals and Objectives
Setting goals helps you define the direction that a business will take. Because of that, goals must be consistent with your business strategies and missions. The language used for defining goals might be more imaginative than the one used in objectives. Goals allow business owners to think conceptually.
At the same time, companies and organizations use objectives to measure their success and progress towards their goals. Without objectives, it seems that it would be impossible to reach the goals. Objectives should be motivational for business owners and employees. If your objectives are easy to write, that means your business is on the right way to achieve the goals. Let's take a look at more differences between goals and objectives.
Differences between goal and objective
| Goals | Objectives |
| A goal is a long term target | An objective is a short term achievement |
| A goal is broad in scope | An objective is narrow in scope |
| A goal is general | An objective is specific |
| A goal is incorporeal | An objective is corporeal |
| Goals are abstract | Objectives are solid and concrete |
| It is hard to measure goals | Objectives can be measured easily |
| Goals are huge in size | Objectives are small in size |
| Goals are end | Objectives are end in themselves |
| Goals are the result | Objectives are the means to end |
| Goals start with ideas | Objectives start with facts |
| Example: I want to discover something new in physics | Example: I will complete my degree project within 4 months |
Objectives and Key Results
So, we have talked about differences between goals and objectives so far. So what is OKR? OKR is a business management strategy for goal setting. The purpose of OKRs are to connect company, team, and personal goals to measurable results while having all team members and leaders work together in one, unified direction.
So in OKR system, objectives are the milestones to reach a goal. Key results are small steps to achieve these objectives. When we set our OKRs for our organization or company, these targets should not be so easy to reach. If you reach your goal with %100 success, that shows they are so easy to reach. To be more succesfull, you should set harder goals for your company.
With the development of OKR strategy, there are lots of software tools to set, analyze and track your OKRs. Every big company in all around the world such as, Google, Intel, Linkedin, Amazon etc. uses OKR strategy for their organizations. When we see the success of these companies, we can strongly suggest that every -small or big no matters- company should use OKR strategy.
You can set your first OKR by using Corvisio OKR!
In Conclusion
Based on the discussion above, we can say that the differences between goals and objectives are clear. However, we can also see that objectives and goals are related to each other.
Objectives are the steps you need to take to achieve your goals. For example, you need to get a college degree to become an officer. We can say that objectives are the actionable parts of the goal.