Your Organization’s Path to Success

By Eric Britten

Four basic elements will help private sector, public sector and non-profit organizations steer toward success.

1. Develop clear goals. Experts have noted that organizational success happens when everyone is focused on the same goals. There are several important elements that must be present to enable this focus. First of all, everyone needs to hear what the organization's mission, vision and goals are...and hear about them repeatedly. The second part includes a plan for everyone in the organization to follow so that they understand how performing their job successfully helps the organization meet its objectives. Everyone from top to bottom should feel like they own a piece of the process. Finally, employees need regular feedback about how the organization is doing and about the contribution of their efforts to organizational success.

2. Create accountability. Linking employees to organizational goals through their job function and providing them with periodic updates on progress toward those goals builds an atmosphere of accountability. Accountability is a critical key to success, not just in the private sector, but in both the public and non-profit sectors as well. Private sector organizations work toward their goals to deliver results to their customers and to the company’s owners. Public sector organizations deliver results to the public, but are also responsible for delivering those services in a cost effective manner consistent with their organization’s mission and goals. Non-profits serve their own constituencies. Like the public sector, they are responsible for delivering those services in a cost effective manner consistent with their organization’s mission and goals.

3. Measure progress. In order to know how a particular organization is progressing toward fulfilling their mission and meeting their goals, clear measures and milestones need to be in place. Creating the right metrics and milestones is more easily said than done. They need to be more qualitative than quantitative. They must pass rigorous tests to ensure they are aligned with desired outcomes. They need to be meaningful, not only to program owners, but to customers as well. They should not consume extensive resources just to generate the results.

4. Make adjustments. If the milestones and metrics indicate that acceptable progress is not being made toward mission and goals, leaders need to search for systemic reasons for this. They should adjust the tactics, activities and processes they are using to achieve their goals and meet their mission. Adjustments should not be made to the metrics or milestones themselves.