Setting strategic goals is a major step in the ongoing process of managing and evaluating organizational performance. In our last blog we began addressing nine questions to help ensure that each developed goal, embedded in an organization's strategic planning process, is, in fact, obtainable. We looked at the first three questions: Is the goal SMART? Does the goal align with the mission and core values of the organization? Does the goal address both opportunities and challenges? In today's blog we address the next three questions (stay tuned for additional blogs that will continue our topic). 4. Does the goal take into consideration the organization's strengths and weaknesses? In concert with the external opportunities that a career school's environment presents, as well as the potential risks and challenges associated with outcomes, the institution must also examine its own, internal strengths and weaknesses. This way, a school's strengths can be used to maximize external market opportunities and its weaknesses can be identified and improved to help alleviate the impact of potential risks and challenges. 5. Have adequate budget and personnel been allocated to support the goal? Even the best planned goals have been undermined when an organization fails to allocate the necessary resources for successful implementation and accomplishment. Plus, it is frustrating to employees when lack of funds and/or lack of human capital stifle the chance of achieving a positive goal outcome. 6. Are responsibilities for individual tasks, related to the goal, clearly described and assigned? In order for a goal to leave the paper and become an action, an organization must make sure that the action steps are clearly defined and that the responsibilities assigned to employees are supported by the appropriate amount of authority and accountability. Otherwise, implementation is undermined. My next blog will address the last three questions to ask about a goal.