The Proximate Objective
Set objectives close enough at hand to be feasible - targets the organization can reasonably be expected to hit, even overwhelm
A proximate objective is a target that the organization can reasonably be expected to hit, even overwhelm. It is close enough at hand to be feasible. One of a leader's most powerful tools is creating good proximate objectives, because feasibility does wonders for organizational energy and focus.
The concept rests on a key insight: an important duty of any leader is to absorb a large part of the complexity and ambiguity of a situation, passing on to the organization a simpler problem that is solvable. Many leaders fail at this responsibility, announcing ambitious goals without resolving ambiguity about the specific obstacles to be overcome. To take responsibility is more than a willingness to accept blame. It is setting proximate objectives and handing the organization a problem it can actually solve.
Proximate objectives cascade both down hierarchies and through time. High-level proximate objectives create goals for lower-level units, which create their own proximate objectives in a cascade of problem-solving at finer levels of detail. What is proximate for one organization may be far out of reach for another, depending on accumulated skills and resources. Skills at coordination are like rungs on a ladder, with higher rungs only in reach when lower ones have been attained.
In dynamic and uncertain situations, the proximate objective takes on special importance. The more uncertain the future, the more proximate the strategic objective must be. The essential logic becomes one of taking a strong position and creating options rather than looking far ahead.
- A proximate objective names a target the organization can reasonably be expected to hit, even overwhelm. Feasibility does wonders for organizational energy and focus.
- An important duty of any leader is to absorb complexity and ambiguity, passing on to the organization a simpler problem that is solvable.
- The more dynamic and uncertain the situation, the more proximate a strategic objective must be. In uncertainty, the logic is taking a strong position and creating options, not looking far ahead.
- What is proximate for one organization may be far out of reach for another. Skills at coordination are like rungs on a ladder, with higher rungs reachable only when lower ones have been mastered.
- Proximate objectives cascade down hierarchies and through time, creating progressively finer-grained problem-solving.
- Assess what is feasibleHonestly evaluate your organization's current skills, resources, and capabilities. Determine what is genuinely within reach given your present position. An objective that requires capabilities you do not possess and cannot quickly develop is not proximate for you, even if it would be proximate for a more capable organization.Pro tipThink of skills as rungs on a ladder. A start-up that has not mastered basic coordination of engineering, marketing, and distribution cannot productively focus on international expansion.WarningDo not confuse desirability with feasibility. No matter how worthy an objective is, if it is not achievable within your current framework, it is not proximate.
- Absorb the ambiguityAs a leader, take on the hard work of resolving uncertainty and complexity. Do not pass ambiguous, ill-defined challenges downward. Create specifications or constraints that are specific enough for your team to work with, even if they involve judgment calls under uncertainty.Pro tipPhyllis Buwalda at JPL specified the lunar surface as hard and grainy, like the southwestern desert. This was not proven truth, but it gave engineers something they could design for. Her reasoning: if the surface is far worse than this, the whole moon program is in trouble anyway.WarningAnnouncing ambitious goals without resolving ambiguity about specific obstacles is not leadership. It is abdication.
- Choose a single pivotal objectiveIf you could have only one objective, and it had to be feasible, what single accomplishment would make the biggest difference? Force yourself to prioritize ruthlessly. The power of a proximate objective comes from its focus and its achievability.Pro tipWhen Rumelt asked a business school's leadership to name just one feasible objective that would make the biggest difference, they landed on 'get students into better jobs' - an obvious yet powerful focal point that connected to multiple positive outcomes.
- Make it more proximateTake your chosen objective and make it even more concrete - more like a task and less like a goal. Specify measurable targets, timelines, and specific actions. The more proximate and task-like the objective, the more it drives coordinated action.Pro tipThe business school turned 'get students into better jobs' into selecting ten specific target firms that should be hiring graduates but were not, and creating faculty committees to study their recruiting practices.
President Kennedy's call to land on the moon seemed audacious to laymen but was actually a carefully chosen proximate objective. Werner von Braun advised that while the Soviets had a lead in heavy-lift rockets for near-term space achievements, landing on the moon required such a large performance jump that the United States' larger resource base gave it an excellent chance of winning. Kennedy diagnosed the problem as world opinion, chose a guiding policy of dramatic space achievement, and set an objective that was strategic and feasible.
At JPL, engineers were paralyzed because no one knew what the moon's surface was like. It could be powder, needle-sharp crystals, or giant boulders. Phyllis Buwalda resolved this by specifying the surface as hard and grainy with gentle slopes - essentially like the southwestern desert. When challenged that this was a guess, she replied that if the surface was far worse, the entire moon program was in trouble anyway.
Rumelt developed this concept through experiences ranging from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to business school consulting. At JPL, he watched engineer Phyllis Buwalda resolve paralyzing ambiguity about the lunar surface by creating a practical specification that engineers could work with, even though the truth was unknown. She understood that engineers cannot work without a specification, just as organizations cannot work without feasible objectives. From a helicopter pilot in Baja California, Rumelt learned that what is proximate depends on layered skills - you cannot concentrate on landing on a ship at sea until flying has become automatic.