Goal setting: a review of common approaches There are many approaches to setting goals. In this section, we review five commonly used strategies for goal setting along with the pros and cons of each. This way, you can make an intentional decision on which approaches to use when creating and assigning targets. In iAlign we call goals, targets. Targets are goals with their work boots on. We like the terminology of targets because it indicates direction, intention, and aspiration. A target is a main focus area, ultimate goal, or key outcome.