Demand Better Results – And Get Them

This article contests that most executives fail to establish expectations of performance improvement in ways that get results. To set high goals that employees respond to and are accountable for, managers must invest their own time and energy. The first step is to set a modest, measurable goal concerning an important organizational problem. If this goal is met, management uses the success as a springboard for more ambitious demands.

One of HBR’s most requested articles. A pioneering article that explains why managers avoid setting high performance expectations and that outlines a strategy for demanding more from their people and achieving it.