The Map: turning vision into goal alignment for your company

Part 2 of 3 in the series: The Compass, The Map, and The Journey for companies.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome aboard flight 123. We’ll be heading west and figure out where we land on the way.”

Would you run for the exit?

In aviation, that kind of vagueness is unthinkable. Yet in business, it’s surprisingly common.

Why?

1. False consensus. Everyone (including leadership) thinks they’re moving in the same direction, but in reality, they’re not.

2. Too busy to prioritize. Many companies are swamped with day-to-day work and don’t carve out the time to define and align on vision.

3. Poor communication and follow-through. Even when vision and goals are set, they’re not communicated clearly or embedded into day-to-day execution.

The result: misalignment at scale. According to Gallup, only 41% of employees know what their company stands for and how their role connects to its goals.

I’ve seen it firsthand. In some founding teams, everyone agrees the company should "exponentially grow", but is it clear on where, and by how much exactly? Others assume they’re aligned on whether (or when) to sell the company, until the question is explicitly hitting the board room. These aren’t minor details. They’re radically different destinations. Same company, same table, surprisingly different maps.

But how does practical and efficient goal-setting look like?

Long horizons need ambition, not vagueness

The further away a goal is, the more ambitious it should be. A ten to 15-year vision is where companies can (and should) think boldly. And strategic vision and ambition do not always have to be growth-driven, by the way. There are many great examples of companies that stayed intentionally "small", mostly with a visionary focus on quality over quantity.

A shared and motivating set of ambitions is a useful starting point: they give shape to what the company ultimately wants to strive for, what the most essential focus is. In practice, the key is to phrase long-term vision in a way that can be measured, even loosely. Ask: “How will we know we’ve arrived?” The answer should be specific enough to unite people, while broad enough to inspire. Some fun examples of long-term, ambitious, and clear goals?

• "Win the World Bread Awards for sourdough by 2030"

• "Be acquired by a Fortune 100 company within 10 years."

• "By 2035, host Europe’s most-attended jazz festival, with 500,000 annual visitors."

• "Become the official kit sponsor of a Champions League team by 2035."

In context with "matching" values, company purpose, and domains, these are pragmatic, bold and therefore unifying goals.

From vision to near-term goals

As horizons shorten, goals must sharpen. A ten-year vision can stay ambitious, but a three-year outlook needs clear markers, and a one-year plan must break into quarterly goals that are unambiguous.

The discipline here is essentialism. Every short-term goal should be a stepping stone toward the long-term vision. If a quarterly objective can’t be traced back to the ultimate goal, it doesn’t belong. That doesn’t mean teams can’t innovate or pivot. But innovation without direction and a clear rhythm risks becoming noise.

This is also where many professionals trip up: they confuse goals with tasks.

A task is what you do: “Call 20 potential clients.”

A goal is the outcome you’re aiming for: “Win 5 new clients this quarter.”

Tasks are means. Goals are destinations. And the destinations need to line up with the company’s long-term horizon. Otherwise, you may end up moving fast in the wrong direction.

The two enemies of good goals

Whether we’re talking ten years or one quarter, two obstacles consistently undermine good goal-setting: quantity and quality.

Quantity. Professionals are great at inventing goals. Every team has its wish list, every idea sounds promising. Before long, you’ve got dozens of “top priorities.” But having too many goals is actually worse than having none. None at least creates urgency. Too many create paralysis. That’s why I recommend no more than five core goals per company, team, or person in a quarterly cycle.

Quality. Even when the number of goals is limited, they often lack clarity. “Expand in Europe.” “Improve customer experience.” They sound strategic, but they leave room for interpretation. Expand how? Into one market, or five? Improve by what margin, and by when? Without clarity, teams create their own versions of success and drift apart.

The process of narrowing down and sharpening goals applies across all time horizons. Long-term ambitions get translated into mid-term markers, then into short-term, crystal-clear goals. The through-line is non-negotiable: every goal, regardless of timeframe, must be anchored in the company’s long-term vision.

Why company goal alignment matters

Kaplan & Norton found that 9 out of 10 companies fail to execute their strategy. Mainly because of poor goal alignment.

That gap is costly. You may have employees deeply aligned on values and purpose, but if they can’t see how their day-to-day work connects to the company’s broader goals, you’ll lose them along the way.

Your Map closes that gap. It ensures long-term ambition is translated into clear, achievable goals at every level.

And yet, most companies don’t stumble in planning, they stumble in execution. That’s what we’ll explore in the final part of this series: The Journey. How to take a well-drawn Map and actually move forward with accountability, consistency, and momentum.

Want to assess your company’s Map?

Curious whether your team’s goals really connect to your Compass and long-term vision?

Just reach out if you have any question or for a 5-minute Map assessment survey. It gives you a quick read on whether your team is truly aligned on long-term vision and short-term goals.