In setting such high expectations leaders have psychologically committed to making the goals happen. To counter the problem of employees not trusting the goals, management must make an open sign that the goals are real. The best visible sign that a goal is to be taken seriously is the allocation of resources to that goal. You can talk and talk and talk, but the fact is that you are going to have to commit to the goals. There must be genuine dedication of resources to make big, bold goals a possibility. Another technique is the designation of responsibility and accountability for the success of the goals. Goals are looked at with a more critical eye if people realize early in planning that they will be held accountable.
In working through the details of the strategic plan there must be validation of the strategic goals through the use of data. Market trend analysis, customer surveys, professional reports, and other reports are sources of critical information. You base goals on the synthesis of these pieces of information. Adding a dash of good old-fashioned intuition is also acceptable after you have done your homework. Don’t ever go into a planning session with a blank sheet of paper, throw up some numbers, and expect to be successful. Wild, unsubstantiated numbers turn people off. You counter panic by calmly demonstrating mastery of the facts. One reason that big, bold numbers are not used is that managers are too lazy to do the analysis to determine the potential. It is too convenient to fall back on the industry average. Those numbers are easy to determine and the supporting numbers are equally easy to fabricate. It is hard work to do risk assessment, potential assessment, and probability analysis.