High-Level Business Goals

To start the organizational process, it is helpful to break up business goals and objectives into different levels, or vantage points. Most organizations have high-level business goals, often referred to as the vision of the company, which is typically shaped by the key decision makers in the organization (the CEO, CFO, CIO, and so on); these goals are commonly called the 50,000-foot view. Business unit or departmental goals, or the 10,000-foot view, are typically shaped by the key executives and managers in the organization (the VP of sales, Director of Human Resources, site facilities manager, and so on). Most organizations also have well-defined 1,000-foot-view goals that typically are tactical in nature and are implemented by IT staff and technical specialists.

It is well worth the time to perform research and ask the right questions to help ensure that the Lync Server 2013 implementation will be successful. To get specific information and clarification of the objectives of the different business units, make sure that the goals of a technology implementation or upgrade are in line with the business goals.

Although most organizations have stated company visions and goals, and a quick visit to the company’s website or intranet can provide this information, it is worth taking the time to gather more information on what the key stakeholders feel to be their primary objectives. Often, this task starts with asking the right questions of the right people and then opening discussion groups on the topic. Of course, it also matters who asks the questions because the answers will vary accordingly, and employees might be more forthcoming when speaking with external consultants as opposed to co-workers. Often, the publicly stated vision and goals are the tip of the iceberg and might even be in contrast to internal company goals, ambitions, or initiatives.

High-level business goals and visions can vary greatly among different organizations, but generally they bracket and guide the goals of the units that make up the company. For example, a corporation might be interested in offering the best product in its class, and this requires corresponding goals for the sales, engineering, marketing, finance, and manufacturing departments. Additional concepts include whether the highest-level goals embrace change and new ideas and processes or want to refine the existing practices and methods.

High-level business goals of a company can also change rapidly, whether in response to changing economic conditions or as affected by a new key stakeholder or leader in the company. So it is also important to get a sense of the timeline involved for meeting these high-level goals.