Management by objectives, or MBO, is a technique by which a team identifies goals to be reached and then develops multiple objectives that, when fulfilled, will result in achieving the goals.

It also allows measurement of progress toward those objectives, and the need for any revision of those objectives to be communicated back to the management team controlling the progress of the multiple tasks and activities being performed. This feedback loop and evaluation step causes the development of new or modified objectives and the cycle continues until the goal is achieved. And it works well, be it at an emergency scene, or within an operations or training division. The problem is, most of us don't know how to set objectives correctly. And without clear and well-defined objectives, MBO fails quickly.

Let's start with the difference between goals and objectives. Goals are simply the end state to be reached. In planning a special event or a training conference, the goal might be “to provide a safe and profitable outcome with no injuries and critical incidents.” At an emergency scene, the goal might be some variation of “protect and safeguard life, property and the environment while mitigating and controlling the incident.” Why is this last statement not an objective? Goals are broad statements describing the desired end state; an objective should be assignable, measurable and easy to communicate clearly.

Most objectives I see in incident action plans are poorly developed. The initial incident commander lists two or three activities that he or she wants completed and calls them “objectives.” “Rescue,” for example, is not an objective. Rescue can be a motorized vehicle, a staffed fire company, a fireground activity or a fireground priority, but it's not an objective.

An ICS planning section frequently will attempt to take poorly developed ideas and priorities and make them less vague, more understandable and truly measurable. We call this step developing SMART objectives, which are Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Reasonable and Time-specific. For example, a poorly developed list of objectives might be “rescue,” “fire suppression” and “treat victims.” The SMART versions of the same objectives would probably be something more like “perform surface rescue of all lightly trapped victims on the south side of building 2”; “extinguish all fires in Division 1 using exterior fire attack while remaining outside of collapse zones”; and “perform triage, treatment and transport of all clean victims leaving decontamination on both the A and C sides of the incident.”

In these examples, the SMART objectives make the commander's intent clear. We also now know the mission, boundaries and limitations of the assignments. We can measure every activity to see if our team is on track toward completing the tasks in the allotted time. In developing an incident action plan, all of the objectives developed and included for each operational period are expected to be completed by the end of that assigned period. For example, if we're working a 12-hour operational period, we should be at least 50% completed with fire extinguishment in Division 1 and 50% completed with the surface rescue of lightly trapped victims within six hours into that shift. If we aren't, we need to reconsider the scope of the assignment or request more resources to complete the task.

Every well-written objective can be assigned to a team to complete. A valuable exercise to perform after you've prepared a list of what you feel are good objectives is to take your incident management organizational chart and draw a line from every objective to the person, unit, group, division or branch responsible for giving that objective the attention it requires. If you have sections with no direct connection to an objective, they may need to be demobilized or reassigned. If you have objectives with no resources focused on them, you may need to activate or establish another branch to handle them and request the resources needed.

One technique I find useful in getting a handle on a non-emergency project is to establishing three main objectives: scope of work, assigned budget and project schedule. If I can put into words those three objectives, I can brief other team members and support personnel on the task or mission. The project goals then can be developed. The goals are the end state that we envision at the completion of the project. A training project goal for your department might be “to certify 100 new trainers for a National Fire Academy hand-off course.”

To complement that goal with SMART objectives, we must first break down the main components of the “scope” category. Some of the activities might include: procure or access the curriculum, identify the master trainers, select the participants, and so forth

The second step would be to create a list of activities from the “budget” category, such as: confirm available project funding, purchase curriculum and contract for classroom venue.

The third step would be to create a list of activities from the “schedule” category: schedule project team meetings, schedule curriculum review and purchase, schedule course delivery dates and times, and the like.

You now can create written objectives for each step of the project. For example, if your project goal is “to certify 100 new trainers for a National Fire Academy hand-off course,” your schedule might look like this:

• Phase 1: Preparation (January — February)
• Phase 2: Procurement (February — March)
• Phase 3: Participant registration (March)
• Phase 4: Classroom delivery (April)
• Phase 5: Administrative activities (May)

With a schedule created, your Phase 1 objectives might be to:

• Review and confirm project funding by Jan. 5.
• Identify and select team members and project leaders by Jan. 12.
• Develop meeting and communication process and schedule by Jan. 15.
• Identify criteria for selecting master trainers by Jan. 16.
• Identify criteria for selecting participants by Jan. 17.

You then would continue to identify and describe the objectives of all the project phases. Using this process, this long-term training project can be broken down into manageable activities that can be specifically communicated, assigned, measured and managed by objectives.

Management by objectives is a process for managing projects, both emergency and non-emergency and both large and small in scope. Getting started is simple if you know the difference between goals and objectives and if you can take vague priorities and activities and transform them into SMART objectives.

When all members of the team know the expectations of the boss and the end goals, then the quantity, quality, scope, budget and schedule are common characteristics that can be verbalized by all. Clear, measurable objectives will simplify both project and incident management. We can all work a little “SMART-er,” both in the office and out in the field.

John Linstrom is executive director of The Linco Group, an emergency services consultancy. He's an adjunct faculty member for Texas A&M University and the National Fire Academy. Linstrom currently serves as a battalion chief/paramedic in Apple Valley, Calif. He also serves as commander of the DHS/FEMA DMORT for Region IX and has been involved in the national USAR program since 1996.