Develops new strategies
When you set a goal, you need to think about how you are going to achieve it. Completing this process will develop helpful new strategies. For example, a golfer who wants to improve their ball striking, may book a series of lessons with a professional golf coach, start a fitness programme to become more flexible, and/or try a new method of practising, etc, etc.
Latham and Baldes (1975) completed a year long study where the task was for truck drivers to increase the total weight of their trucks, when transporting logs from the woods to the mill. A company analysis had found trucks where frequently completing runs well under their legal weight, which was costing the company in productivity.
The truck drivers had always worked within a 'do your best' environment, but the researchers set the drivers a challenging goal of attaining 94% of the total maximum legal weight. As part of the process in trying to attain the goal, the truck drivers discovered new ways of modifying their trucks that allowed them to judge the weight of it more accurately. Therefore they could get closer to the desired weight without being concerned of going over the legal limit.
As a result of the goal setting project, the consequent improvement in performance was equivalent to the company spending a quarter of a million dollars (i.e. the cost of buying more trucks and drivers to achieve the same outcome!). The goal setting process encouraged the develop of new strategies which provided huge benefit to their performance.
MODULE GOAL SETTING
How does goal setting work?
References
Latham, G.P., & Baldes, J.J. (1975). The "practical signficance" of Locke's theory of goal setting. Journal of Applied Psychology, 60 (1), 122-124.