Southwest achieved that stretch goal

The a longterm goal that was achieved ahead of schedule. In business one notable example was Southwest Airlines stretch goal in . At that time the airline was in financial trouble and had even sold one of its four planes to make expenses. As a result Southwest had to meet its flight schedule with only of the carrying capacity it needed. So the company set an ambitious stretch goal calculating that it could fulfill its schedule if it reduced the onehour turnaround time to get a plane in and out of the gate to a mere minutes. Though it was considered impossible  through a complete revision of staff practices and a reset of customer expectations.

The bold move turned the company around and Italy Mobile Number List Southwests diminished fleet has since grown in number from three to approximately planes. When a stretch goal is actually achieved it sometimes makes history. What constitutes a stretch goal for your company depends on your unique situation. A small business could consider it a stretch goal to open a second brickandmortar shop while a customer service team handling phone contacts might focus on reducing customer wait time from minutes to one minute. If you run a nonprofit organization your stretch goals might include increased fundraising while a marketing team may set a stretch goal of reaching million qualified leads within a quarter.



Benefits and risks of stretch goals Stretch goals can be beneficial if you have a team thats ready to take them on. For many organizations stretch goals are exciting. Team members become enthusiastic about possibilities theyve never considered before and they become confident as they begin to see results complacency washes away. Stretch goals also bond teams together and help enhance loyalty to the organization in part because everyone feels theyre contributing to a larger goal. These goals encourage creativity and blue sky thinking.