Why Objectives Without Outcomes Create a Plan, Not a Strategy
Last month, I sat in a boardroom reviewing a client's three-year strategic plan. On paper, it looked impressive—ambitious, comprehensive. But as I read through it, I felt that familiar sinking feeling.
It was full of objectives with no real direction.
"Secure two new strategic partnerships." "Diversify revenue streams." "Strengthen volunteer engagement."
These weren't throwaway activities. They were thoughtful objectives that had clearly been debated and refined.
But they were missing the one thing that transforms good objectives into strategic choices: clear outcomes.
The Objective Trap
Here's what I've learned after fifteen years of strategy work: objectives without outcomes create the illusion of alignment while actually driving organizations in different directions.
Take an objective like "secure two new strategic partnerships." One Executive Director might hear this and immediately start pursuing corporate sponsors. Meanwhile, the Program Director explores partnerships with other nonprofits to expand service delivery. The Board Chair? She's thinking about partnerships with government agencies to influence policy.
All valid interpretations of the same objective. All completely different strategies. All leading the organization down divergent paths.
This is the objective trap: when you stop at "what" without defining "why" and "to what end," everyone fills in the blanks differently.
Why Objectives Alone Aren't Enough
When I'm working with leadership teams, I use this framework:
Objectives tell you what mountain you're climbing—they give you a target to aim for.
Outcomes define the summit—they tell you exactly where you're trying to get to and why that destination matters for your mission.
But here's the crucial part: outcomes are what force you to make real strategic choices.
Roger Martin, whose thinking has shaped how I approach strategy work, puts it perfectly: "Strategy is about making choices, trade-offs; it's about deliberately choosing to be different."
Objectives point you toward action. Outcomes anchor that action to purpose and give you criteria for making strategic choices.
What Happens When You Add Outcomes
Let me share a real example from my practice. I was working with a community health organization whose plan included this objective: "Secure two new strategic partnerships."
During our strategy session, I asked the team: "If you achieve this objective perfectly, what difference will it make for your clients and your mission?"
Three different visions emerged:
The CEO wanted partnerships that would reduce client wait times
The Programs Director wanted partnerships that would make service delivery more seamless
The Board wanted partnerships that would expand their geographic reach
All of these are reasonable outcomes. All of them could be strategic. But they can’t all be pursued at once.
And that’s the moment when strategy comes alive — when leaders are forced to make a choice.
Which path is most aligned with our vision?
Which outcome will create the greatest impact for the people we serve?
We landed on this outcome: "Reduce average wait time for services by 20% through strategic partnerships within 18 months."
Suddenly, the objective had teeth. The objective stayed the same, but now it had strategic direction.
The Revenue Diversification Mirage
Here's another pattern I encounter constantly. Organizations set this objective: "Diversify revenue streams."
I worked with an arts organization whose Executive Director was incredibly proud of landing a large foundation grant for a new program. "We hit our diversification objective!" she announced at the board meeting.
She wasn't wrong. But when we dug deeper, that grant actually made them more vulnerable, not less. It was restricted funding that required them to hire new staff and commit to programming they weren't sure aligned with their core mission.
The objective was achieved, but the strategic intent was missed entirely.
With a clear outcome—"Increase financial resilience by growing unrestricted revenue to 30% of total budget"—everything shifts. They stop chasing any new funding and start focusing on the kind of revenue that actually strengthens their foundation: individual donors, earned revenue, and flexible grants.
Same objective, completely different choices.
From Good Objectives to Strategic Clarity
After working with dozens of organizations on strategic planning, I've developed a simple test I use with every client. When you look at your objectives, ask yourself:
If two reasonable people read this objective, could they pursue completely different approaches and both claim success?
Does this objective give our leadership team clear criteria for choosing between competing opportunities?
If we achieve this objective, will we know whether it actually advanced our mission?
If you're answering "no" to these questions, you have good objectives that need outcomes to become strategic.
What Makes the Difference
The organizations that achieve the most impact don't necessarily have better objectives than everyone else. They have clearer outcomes.
They know exactly what success looks like. They can articulate why their chosen outcomes matter. And most importantly, they use those outcomes to transform every objective into a series of strategic choices.
Their objectives tell them what to work on. Their outcomes tell them how to choose between competing approaches to that work.
This is the difference between planning and strategy. Planning says "we're going to diversify revenue." Strategy says "we're going to grow unrestricted revenue to 30% of our budget to increase financial resilience"—and then uses that outcome to guide every funding decision.
Planning says "we'll improve volunteer engagement." Strategy says "we'll increase volunteer retention by 40% to reduce training costs and strengthen program delivery"—and then says no to engagement activities that don't move that needle.
Roger Martin was right: strategy is about making choices.
Objectives without outcomes don't force choices—they defer them.
And when you defer strategic choices, you end up with everyone making different choices based on their own interpretation.
Your strategic plan needs both.
Objectives that point you toward important work. Outcomes that anchor every choice you make about how to do that work.
Without both, you're not doing strategy. You're just staying busy with intention.