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02Principle · Group 1

Principle of the Objective

Setting strategic objectives

“Every action needs a clearly defined, decisive and attainable objective; otherwise your strength is spread over many things and achieves nothing.”

The purpose says why you act. The objective says what exactly you want to achieve.

Group 1: Purpose and ObjectiveT1 Classical Theory of War
Go to the in-depth section ↓
Small dots shoot off as short lines in every direction and go out. A golden circle appears, its edge sharpens, and it moves to the top of an arc; a staircase of lines connects it with the dots, and the dots move together, step by step, toward its center.
In short

Every action needs a clearly defined, decisive and attainable objective; otherwise your strength is spread over many things and achieves nothing.

What it’s about: The purpose says why you act. The objective says what exactly you want to achieve. The principle demands three things at once. An objective is clear when everyone can say when it has been reached. It is decisive when reaching it really changes the situation. And it is attainable when you can achieve it with your means within a foreseeable time.

In depth

The principle in detail

Three steps through the principle: grasp it, place it, put it to work. Open each topic on its own.

The core messageCore statement and 3 clarifications
In essence

An objective needs three qualities at once. It is clearly defined, decisive and attainable.

It does not say
That more objectives achieve more. Many objectives at once spread your strength until none is really pursued.
It does not say
That an objective is set in stone. If you cling to it long after the situation has changed, you are mistaking stubbornness for perseverance.
It also says
An objective is valid only together with the purpose it serves.
The explanationHow the principle works and what matters

If one of the three is missing, the objective falls apart. A clear but unimportant objective produces busywork, an important but unattainable one produces frustration, and an attainable but vague one provides no direction.

  • A good objective concentrates strength.
  • It makes it easier to say no and allows many people to coordinate without constant instructions, because everyone knows what matters.
  • In the end, it shows you honestly whether you did enough.
The question

How will everyone know that you have arrived, and does arriving change anything?

The signs3 signs when you heed it · 2 when you overlook it
When you heed it
  • Everyone on the team can say how you will know the objective has been reached.
  • You say no to tasks that do not lead to the objective.
  • At the end, you openly check whether you did enough.
When you overlook it
  • You pursue many objectives and fully reach none of them.
  • Objectives are called “get better” or “grow.” Unrealistic objectives are proclaimed and later quietly buried.
The backgroundFrom John Frederick Charles Fuller’s “The Foundations of the Science of War” (1926). · T1 Classical Theory of War
  1. 1926
    OriginJohn Frederick Charles Fuller

    The Foundations of the Science of War

  2. 1990
    SupplementedEdwin A. Locke and Gary P. Latham

    A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance

  3. Tradition T1
    TraditionClassical Theory of War

    Carl von Clausewitz, Antoine-Henri Jomini, Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, Frederick William Lanchester

    See the tradition on the Origin page
Read more: the full background

From John Frederick Charles Fuller’s “The Foundations of the Science of War” (1926). Supplemented by the goal-setting research of Edwin A. Locke and Gary P. Latham.

The research4 sources: 2 reviews, 1 classic, 1 theory · 1926–2009 · with limitations of the research
4 sources1926–2009 period2 reviews1 classic1 theory
Strength of evidence
  1. weak
  2. moderate
  3. strong

That specific, challenging goals achieve more than vague intentions is widely documented in goal-setting research; “decisive” and the consequence “achieves nothing” come from military doctrine.

  1. 1926
    Classic
    John Frederick Charles Fuller

    “The Foundations of the Science of War,” with the chapters “The principles of war” and “The object of war”: the principles of war that armies adopted after the First World War.

  2. 1990
    Review
    Edwin A. Locke and Gary P. Latham

    “A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance”: specific, challenging goals lead to better performance than “do your best,” especially with feedback and goal commitment.

  3. 2009
    Review
    Lisa D. Ordóñez, Maurice E. Schweitzer, Adam D. Galinsky and Max H. Bazerman

    “Goals Gone Wild”: six side effects of goals set too narrowly, including a narrowed focus, distorted risk-taking, more unethical behavior, inhibited learning and less intrinsic motivation.

  4. current
    Theory
    U.S. Army

    Field Manual 3-0, Operations: the objective comes first among the principles; every operation is to be directed toward a clearly defined, decisive and attainable objective.

Where the research reaches its limits
  • Goals that are too narrow can narrow your focus, tempt people into risky or dishonest behavior and crowd out the joy of the work itself.
  • In uncertain situations, a rigid objective can prevent you from adapting.
  • Goal-setting research documents the effect of specific, challenging goals on performance; that without such an objective your strength is spread over many things and achieves nothing is an overstatement.
  • The principle therefore holds only together with the purpose the objective serves.
Read more: what research shows

After the First World War, John Frederick Charles Fuller set out principles of war, most fully in “The Foundations of the Science of War” in 1926. Armies adopted them into their doctrine. To this day, the U.S. Army lists the objective as its first principle: every operation is to be directed toward a clearly defined, decisive and attainable objective. Psychology has studied part of this thoroughly. In 1990, Edwin A. Locke and Gary P. Latham summarized a large number of studies: specific, challenging goals lead to better performance than the instruction to do your best, especially with feedback and when the people involved accept the goal. In 2009, Lisa D. Ordóñez, Maurice E. Schweitzer, Adam D. Galinsky and Max H. Bazerman described the side effects of goals that are set too narrowly.

The related principles01 Primacy of Purpose · 05 Power of Proximate Objectives · 06 Center of Gravity · 24 Simplicity
Primacy of Purpose

The principle serves 01 Primacy of Purpose and must be measured against it

Power of Proximate ObjectivesCenter of Gravity

It becomes tangible through 05 Power of Proximate Objectives and decisive through 06 Center of Gravity (start at the point on which everything else depends)

Simplicity

24 Simplicity shows that only a clear objective allows simple plans that everyone understands

Read more: the full text

The principle serves 01 Primacy of Purpose and must be measured against it; it becomes tangible through 05 Power of Proximate Objectives and decisive through 06 Center of Gravity (start at the point on which everything else depends), and 24 Simplicity shows that only a clear objective allows simple plans that everyone understands.

The action steps5 action steps: Phrase your most important objective so that everyone can say when it has been reached.

  1. Phrase your most important objective so that everyone can say when it has been reached.

  2. Test it against three questions: Is it clear? Does it change the situation? Can we achieve it with our means in the time we have set?

  3. Cut or postpone objectives until one clearly comes first, and tell your team what has to wait for it.

  4. Talk the objective through until the people involved make it their own. Nobody gets behind an objective that only you know.

  5. Set a date on which you check whether the objective still fits the situation and the purpose.

The reflection questions3 questions: How would everyone on your team know that your most important objective has been reached?
  1. How would everyone on your team know that your most important objective has been reached?
  2. Which of your objectives is clear and attainable but changes nothing?
  3. What would you have to cut so that one objective really comes first?

Take your time with one question. Write down your answer – or talk it over with someone you trust.

To finish
The picture to rememberThe animation once more, with an explanation
  1. Small dots shoot off as short lines in every direction and go out
  2. A golden circle appears, its edge sharpens, and it moves to the top of an arc
  3. A staircase of lines connects it with the dots, and the dots move together, step by step, toward its center
Strategy Check

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In context

Group 1: Purpose and Objective

Guiding question: What are you fighting for, and what should be left standing at the end?

Stage 1 of 5: Clarify

Where the 92 principles come from: eight traditions of strategy, from classical war theory to dealing with uncertainty.

More about the origin

Background: WEGVISOR’s own selection from the strategy literature · More about the origin

Examples

The principle in practice

From the different spheres of society.

GovernmentEducation

The Eradication of Smallpox and the Principle of the Objective

In 1967, the World Health Organization sets itself an objective that has never existed before: wiping a disease off the face of the earth entirely. In 1980, it declares smallpox eradicated, because the objective was clear, decisive and attainable.

Principle of the Objective
Culture & Sports

Roger Bannister, the Four-Minute Mile and the Principle of the Objective

On May 6, 1954, in Oxford, the medical student Roger Bannister becomes the first person to run a mile in under four minutes. Behind the 3:59.4 lies an objective that could hardly be clearer, and training that was entirely geared to it.

Principle of the Objective
GovernmentEducation

John F. Kennedy, the Moon Goal and the Principle of the Objective

On May 25, 1961, John F. Kennedy puts an objective before Congress: landing a man on the moon and returning him safely before the end of the decade. Eight years later it has been achieved, and to this day the moon goal is regarded as a model of a clear, decisive and attainable objective.

Principle of the Objective
Culture & SportsFamily

Movie: King Richard

Richard Williams has a plan for the tennis careers of his daughters Venus and Serena even before they are born. “King Richard” (2021) shows a father who holds on to a clear objective for years and turns down obvious opportunities for its sake – and who has to learn to share the objective with his daughter.

Principle of the Objective
FAQ

Questions about the Principle of the Objective

What does the Principle of the Objective say?

Every action should be directed toward a clearly defined, decisive and attainable objective. Such an objective concentrates your forces, makes it easier to set priorities and makes success measurable.

Where does the Principle of the Objective come from?

From the British military theorist John Frederick Charles Fuller, who set it out in “The Foundations of the Science of War” in 1926. The U.S. Army still lists it first among its principles, and Edwin A. Locke and Gary P. Latham studied the effect of goals from a psychological perspective.

What are some examples?

Well-known examples include the eradication of smallpox, Roger Bannister’s four-minute mile and John F. Kennedy’s moon goal. On film, “King Richard” shows it.

How well is the Principle of the Objective supported by research?

Evidence: strong – that specific, challenging goals achieve more than vague intentions is widely documented in goal-setting research; “decisive” and the consequence “achieves nothing” come from military doctrine.

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