I have seen many different ways in which organizations go about Target setting. One company I visited had a target of implementing the Balanced Scorecard within two weeks of the announcement. They got just two weeks of notice - and the CEO expected this to happen? I advised them to go back to the CEO and tell him that this is not doable, but they refused. "A target which is dictated has to be delivered".

I don't know what type of business you are in but from a Strategy Execution methodology perspective, it matters. When I read management literature I find good generic models for forming and executing strategy. And, they all apply the same way for every type of businesses. Whether you are a convenient store or you are a software company.

Are your employees living up to the strategy of the company? If not – they are not alone. Only 5% of employees understand the company’s strategy and hence,  they are not able to live up to the strategy.

How is it in your company? Are your heads chopped off if you set ambitious targets and don’t reach them?  If your company’s performance culture is characterized by "head chopping," you will most likely have experienced how people do not take the trouble of establishing demanding targets.

When is your budget outdated? The day you write it. I have worked with creating budgets in large corporations and was amazed that we still adhered to the old way of allocating resources. Luckily there are individuals and companies  that have examined this under a magnifying glass and have changed the way they allocate resources.

More and more companies find that  ”business is war.”  Either you beat the competition, or you are beaten by the competition.

Companies start early to prepare the next year's budgets. Normally there is a pre-process during the spring or summer where the foundations are laid.

There is a lot of unrealized value in your organization, especially employees who are close to customer and customer requirements.

Most companies with a Performance Management (PM) initiative ask themselves the questions if and when they need software to support their PM initiative.

Business people want influence. When executing strategy it is important that people are engaged in the process of rolling out and cascading strategy.