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đź“ť The Goal Translation Framework

Published 2 months ago • 1 min read

Issue #17

đź“ť The Goal Translation Framework

Hi Reader

Most managers receive goals. Great managers translate them.

Here’s the exact process I use:

STEP 1: Decode the Executive Intent

Executives communicate in outcomes. Your job is to figure out the “why behind the why.”

Ask yourself:

  • What metric is leadership actually trying to move?
  • What’s the business problem this solves?
  • What does success look like to them (not to me)?

Example:

  • Executive says: “We need to accelerate our AI adoption.”
  • The real question: What’s driving this? Competitive pressure? Cost savings? A board mandate?
  • Your decode: “Leadership wants to show 20% cost reduction in operations through automation by Q3.”

STEP 2: Map Your Team’s Sphere of Influence

Goal Translation Worksheet
Company Objective: [Write it exactly as stated]
Leadership's Real Intent: [What metric or outcome are they actually measuring?]
My Team's Connection: [Which part of this can my team actually influence?]
Our Concrete Contribution: [The specific, measurable thing we will deliver]
Monday Morning Action: [What changes about how we work starting now?]

STEP 3: The “So What” Filter

Use this filter to think through if your goals are concrete.

Level Statement Pass?
Company "Improve customer satisfaction" Too vague
Department "Reduce support tickets by 15%" Better, but...
Team "Implement self-service password reset by Feb 15" âś“ Actionable
Individual "Build the password reset UI this sprint" âś“ Clear

STEP 4: Examples of Bad vs. Good Translations

Company Goal Bad Translation Good Translation
"Drive innovation" "Let's be more innovative" "Ship 2 experiments per month, track learnings"
"Improve efficiency" "Work smarter, not harder" "Reduce deployment time from 4 hours to 30 mins"
"Enhance collaboration" "More cross-team meetings" "Joint sprint planning with Platform team"

See you next week!

-Frank

590 Highway 105, Monument, CO 80132
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