Structured Goal Setting

FACe and PACe

In the book Scaling Up, Verne Harnish and his team introduce two concepts that are important for Structured Goal Setting: The Function Accountability Chart (FACe) and the Process Accountability Chart (PACe).

The tools are used to help leaders clarify their personal goals, define senior leadership accountabilities, key performance indicators, and outcomes.

FACe

The FACe tool is another way for leaders to make sure that

the right people are in the right seats⁠

. Harnish explains, “An organization is simply an amplifier of what’s happening at the senior level of the company, which is one of the reasons our coaching partners do a quick employee survey as they start working with a business. If the survey reveals that the IT people are upset with marketing, there is likely an issue between those two functional leaders at the top.”

The FACe tool provides a set of functions that must exist in every business. The chart allows leaders to figure out which function should be delegated to whom. The functions are:

Head of company

Marketing

R&D/Innovation

Sales

Operations

Treasury

Controller

Information Technology

Human Resources

Talent Development/Learning

Customer Advocacy

According to Scaling Up, each of those tasks should be delegated to a leader who passes two tests: they don’t need to be managed and they regularly wow the team with their insights and output.

The chart then has you list two KPIs for each function. The KPIs are another set of measurable activities that each leader needs to perform on a day-to-day basis. Finally, the chart captures the outcomes expected for each function, or who is accountable for things like revenue, gross margin, profit, and so on. The outcomes usually correspond to items on the financial statements.

The completed chart helps leaders determine where any people or performance gaps on the leadership team might exist.

PACe

The PACe tool is a People tool. It helps the leadership team determine who is accountable for each process that drives the business and how each process will be measured to ensure it is running smoothly and efficiently.

Some examples that are used in Scaling Up include: developing and launching a product; generating leads and closing sales; attracting, hiring, and onboarding new employees; and billing and collecting payments.

What is important about these processes is that each of them cuts across the various functions of the company and requires a coordinated effort from the company’s leaders. This coordination becomes more complicated as the company grows.

In order to use this tool, the Leadership Team should assemble (along with some middle managers and other leaders that have been identified within the organization) and decide what processes are driving the business. Certain processes will be the same for most companies (”How do we bill and collect from customers?”) while others will be more specific.

Once the processes have been identified, the team must decide who in the organization will be accountable for those processes. “These people are then accountable to the head of operations,” Varnish writes.

Then, between one and three KPIs for each process should be created. The KPIs should measure speed, quality, and cost, according to Harnish.

Once the KPIs have been determined, bring together the people responsible for each process and list, debate, and decide on the best steps and decision points for that process. Once the processes have been effectively mapped out, the responsible parties can ensure that they are followed by creating checklists.

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