What are some long term occupational goals?

Do companies like Amazon or Google have quarterly goals or they just focus on the long term?

• In my current startup we have quarterly goals of revenue and stuff, but a lot of things need to be built first before we can realize long-term revenue benefits. So my question is for companies like Google or Amazon (which are perceived as having a good long-term strategy), do they have short-term goals too or they simply focus on the big picture?  For example, Google may say they want to capture the mobile market by 70% in 3 years as opposed to "we want to capture the market this quarter by another 5%"...or do they?  Wouldn't focus on short term metrics impair the long term strategy?

• Answer:

  You need both. Most would certainly argue that long-term strategy is paramount.  But short-term execution to achieve that strategy is also highly important.  Setting up a set of metrics to gauge progress on shorter-term tactical needs simply makes sound business sense.  Most transformations in the technology ecosphere are not step changes where everything suddenly changes at a single point in time.  Rather, they are the function of a deliberate set of actions over a period of time from both the technology companies, the consumers and the retailers.  Whether you call it Key Performance Indicators, simply align to Revenue #'s, or have a product milestone schedule, having short-term tactical goals to realize a long-term vision are absolutely crucial for most companies. Such goals are certainly set, measured and tracked at Google.