Contingent use of stretch goals: considerations of workflow integration and risk deviation

Stretch goals or targets ask an employee to go beyond the possible (and merely difficult) to the impossible. This performance requirement violates the generally accepted criterion for goal setting that require goals to be verifiable and attainable, with difficulty. Yet, stretch goals are an accepted management tool in organisations such as General Electric. The present paper discusses the potential for the successful implementation of stretch goals based on considerations of workflow integration and risk deviation.