It’s been said that if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there. It has also been said that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. These two “adages” emphasize the importance of goals. Managers are typically judged on their ability to achieve goals. If individuals or units in the organization lack goals, there can be no direction or unity of effort. So successful managers are good at setting their own goals and helping others set goals.