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FOR Walt Thorne, whose mind I can lean on;
Margo Hicks, whose help I can count on; John Warriner, whose infinitives I can split on; Jack Vaughn, who always knows one when he sees one; Sturmun Drang, who never knows one when he sees one; and Harnicky Hirsute, who has never been seen at all.
Preface Once upon a time in the land of Fuzz, King Aling called in his cousin Ding and commanded, "Go ye out into all of Fuzzland and find me the goodest of men, whom I shall reward for his goodness." "But how will I know one when I see one?" asked the Fuzzy. "Why, he will be sincere" scoffed the king, and whacked off a leg for his impertinence. So, the Fuzzy limped out to find a good man. But soon he returned, confused and empty-handed. "But how will I know one when I see one?" he asked again. "Why, he will be dedicated^' ' grumbled the king, and whacked off another leg for his impertinence. So the Fuzzy hobbled away once more to look for the goodest of men. But again he returned, confused and empty-handed. "But how will I know one when I see one?" he pleaded. "Why, he will have an empathetic understanding of his self-actualizing potential," fumed the king, and whacked off another leg for his impertinence.
So the Fuzzy, now on his last leg, hopped out to continue his search. In time, he returned with the wisest, most sincere and dedicated Fuzzy in all of Fuzzland, and stood him before the king. "Why, this man won't do at all," roared the king. "He is much too thin to suit me." Whereupon, he whacked off the last leg of the Fuzzy, who fell to the floor with a squishy thump. The moral of this fable is that. . . if you can't tell one when you see one, you may wind up without a leg to stand on. If your goals are important to achieve, then it is essential that you do more than just talk about them in "Fuzzy" terms. And that is just as true for organizational and community goals as it is for personal and family goals. Broad statements of intent can be achieved only to the degree that their meaning is understood; to the degree that you can recognize achievement of the goals when you see it. And that is what Goal Analysis is about. The goal analysis procedure can be very useful in helping you to describe the meaning of goals you hope to achieve, whether those goals deal with attitude, appreciation, understanding, success, or profitability. It is a procedure designed to help you determine the important dimensions or components of a goal, so that you will be able to make good decisions about how to accomplish the goal and about how to keep track of your progress toward goal achievement. It is not the object of this book to tell you what to achieve or what you should mean by the words you use. But if you have ever wished that you or the organizations with which you are affiliated could be better at accomplishing goals. Goal Analysis will give you the tools you need. Robert F. Mager Carefree, Arizona January, 1984 PART I
Why To Do It 1. What It’ s All About Almost everyone wants to be more successful. Individuals want to be knowledgeable, have poise, be able to communicate and listen, and a thousand other things. Organizations want their employees to provide good customer service, achieve high morale, conserve energy, be responsible, understand minority groups, and a thousand other things. Members of the clergy want to increase reverence, encourage unselfish devotion, provide merciful ministry, and a thousand other things. Almost all people want to improve these things either in themselves or in others. "They need to have a better attitude" and "We've got to teach them to be properly motivated" are commonly heard expressions. "We need to improve their self-concept" and "We want them to behave in a professi