The system of management by objectives assumes that because our concerns here are short-range, we should know quite well what our environment demands from us “…”

The idea behind MBO is extremely simple: If you don’t know where you’re going, you will not get there. Or, as an old Indian saying puts it, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” A successful MBO system needs only to answer two questions:

  1. Where do I want to go? (The answer provides the objective.)
  2. How will I pace myself to see if I am getting there? (The answer gives us milestones or key results.)

— High Output Management by Andrew S. Grove