In the age of AI and automation, small teams can achieve more -- and faster -- than ever before. But speed now depends less on technology -- and more on decision-making.
Big companies want to “move at startup speed.” But most can’t.
Why? Because decisions are slow. Managers become bottlenecks. Employees aren’t trusted, or they make poor decisions because the goals are unclear.
The solution isn’t hiring more managers. It’s enabling more people at every level to make good decisions.
And good decisions start with good goals.
👣 The HUMAN framework for strategic goals
At Portfoleon, we use a simple standard for strategic goals. We call it HUMAN – because that’s what strategy should be.
You’ve probably seen SMART goals before – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound. They’re great for execution.
But execution is not the whole game. Today, organizations need something more: clarity, trust, speed, and alignment across levels.
That’s where HUMAN comes in. It’s not a replacement for SMART – it’s a foundation beneath it. A way to make sure your goals aren’t just “correct,” but believable, shared, and worth doing.
Honest
“People don’t follow what they don’t trust.”
An honest goal isn’t just about admitting what’s hard. It’s also about being clear about your real priorities – even when they’re commercial or complex.
It’s tempting to phrase everything in mission-driven terms. But if your actual goal is to grow revenue or gain market share, say so. Pretending otherwise can backfire. If people misunderstand your intent, they may act in ways that feel noble – but don’t help your business.
Honesty builds alignment and prevents surprise. It’s not always pretty, but it’s always productive.
Understood
“A goal no one really gets is just background noise.”
This isn’t just about writing goals clearly. It’s about making the effort to help others absorb them.
Good strategists don’t just announce goals – they check for understanding. They repeat, rephrase, give examples, ask questions, use visuals, and seek feedback. They make goals palpable, not abstract.
Understanding is the gateway to alignment. And alignment is the gateway to speed.
Meaningful
“Strategy is choosing between things you could actually do.”
If there’s only one real option, it’s not a strategy – it’s a statement of hope.
Meaningful goals involve trade-offs. They reflect a real decision between alternatives. “We will be bug-free” isn’t a goal. “We will invest in better QA at the cost of shipping fewer features” is.
Ambitious
“Safe goals don’t win markets – or hearts.”
Ambitious goals stretch a team – not to exhaustion, but to engagement. The right level of stretch depends on the context. For a mature organization, ambition might mean bold transformation. For a startup, it could mean launching something radically fast.
Ambition gives people a reason to bring their best – especially when the goal matters.
Noble
“A goal worth fighting for looks different to everyone – but it matters to all.”
“Noble” can mean many things: doing good in the world, solving something no one’s solved before, making something that inspires pride, or boldly going into the unknown.
This isn’t about being altruistic. It’s about having a reason bigger than routine – a reason someone can connect to personally.
We chose “Noble” for the sake of the acronym. But we use it to mean: make it matter. Call it “noble,” “bold,” or “purposeful” – the point is: it has to matter to someone.
✅ What HUMAN goals unlock
When your goals are HUMAN, you get:
- Faster decisions at all levels
- Stronger alignment across teams
- More trust and ownership
- Clearer planning and prioritization
- Less management overload
🤖 But what about AI?
Yes, the AI revolution is real – and it’s changing how work gets done.
In the near future, it’s likely that task management, project decomposition, even parts of coordination will be handled – partly or entirely – by AI. Smaller, self-directed pods will take on work. Some tasks will flow straight from input to completion with little or no human involvement.
As execution becomes easier, alignment becomes harder – and more important. That’s exactly why strategy needs to be clear, shared, and visible – not locked in someone’s head or buried in a PowerPoint.
Whether it’s employees, autonomous teams, or AI agents doing the work, they all need to understand the same thing: Where are we going? What matters most? What trade-offs have we made?
This is where HUMAN goals become even more important. Not just for buy-in – but for coherence across systems.
We’re building Portfoleon with that future in mind.
💡 Want to try it?
You can use the HUMAN checklist as a tool:
☐ Is this goal honest about trade-offs?
☐ Is it understood by everyone it affects?
☐ Is it meaningful, with real choices behind it?
☐ Is it ambitious enough to stretch the team?
☐ Is it noble -- does it feel worth doing?
Start asking these questions. Then make them part of how you lead.
📚 Research and practice
Our thinking has been shaped by many sources – including the work of 🇧🇪 strategy execution expert Jeroen De Flander, and scientific research in the “Strategy as Practice” field.
🧠 Strategy is a human thing
Software can help – but only if it supports how people think and work. Portfoleon is designed to help teams create and work toward HUMAN goals.
Ready to see how?