I have to laugh, because my "goals for the ride" are typically limited to "go that way" and "have a good time." I guess I'm not as specifically goal-oriented as others. Sure, occasionally I set out solo to work on climbing or sprinting, group rides invariably have pre-determined distances to cover, and of course in races my goal is to finish in front, but regardless of whether I might do better in the long run with one approach over another, I always choose the approach I feel like taking at the time.

Attack? Well, my favorite approach is this: Say the hill is steady for about half a mile/1km. Sneak up on it. Just keep the legs warm. Don't pedal too hard, but avoid "easy" gears - keep cadence medium-low, i.e., 75-85 tops (I find this is ideal for keeping the legs warm but comfortable and the heart rate under control). Eventually the legs will say "enough dawdling, let's go!" Then I will say "OK," gradually increasing cadence as I drop to smaller cogs, and blast my way over the top in the big ring. That is the most fun!
Longer hills, I'll take a similar approach, gauging effort according to the variations in grade to maximize efforts at the end of the steep bits.