“If your goal doesn’t change how people think, it isn’t big enough”
Goal setting is dead easy.
Achieving them is the tricky part.
I’ve never been convinced by the logic of traditional thinking like SMART goals. They sound good on paper, but I think they miss the mark.
Stable and predictable environments are great for SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound).
That’s definitely not the world we live in now.
We need leaders today who can navigate from one massive challenge to another.
Like it or not, the mindset needed to achieve huge goals is the mindset we all need to make sense of the world and move forward.
I think that unreasonable, demanding and hugely stretching goals force us to get creative and think in ways we never would do otherwise.
I’ve seen it in far too many organisations, the behaviour of learned helplessness, and the mindset that there’s no way we can do this without more resources.
Here’s the truth with hugely demanding goals (and a reason why people shy away from them)
You will fail a lot.
You will feel vulnerable, exposed and uncomfortable.
But, you will stand the best chance of navigating what’s coming next in the world.
There is strong evidence that the environment leaders operate in today has fundamentally changed.
Fifty years ago, companies entering the Fortune 500 could expect to stay there for around 75 years. Today that number has fallen to roughly 15 years and continues to decline.
Industries are being reshaped by new technologies, new competitors and entirely new business models.
Many organisations are still trying to solve the problems of today with the thinking of yesterday - navigating a new world with an old set of charts.
I learnt this lesson the hard way at sea.
Sailing across the oceans you quickly discover something uncomfortable.
You can have a clear destination. You can have a plan. You can even have a chart.
But the sea doesn’t give two monkeys.
The wind changes.The weather turns.Equipment fails.
Something unexpected always happens.
If you insist on sticking to the original plan, you’ll get into trouble very quickly.
Good sailors don’t navigate that way.
They set their destination, keep their eyes on the horizon, and then constantly adjust. Tack. Trim. Experiment. Adapt.
The goal stays the same, but the path changes constantly.
Big goals force exactly that mindset.
When the goal is modest, teams optimise what already exists.
When the goal is huge, they are forced to rethink the problem entirely.
The conversation changes from
“Can we do this?”
To
“What would have to be true for this to work?”
That’s a question that unlocks creativity and fresh thinking.
It forces experimentation, and in our highly volatile world, the teams that learn fastest are the ones that win.
In stable environments, leadership was about planning.
In unstable environments, leadership is about direction.
Set your bold destination. Run experiments. Learn quickly.
Change course as needed and keep moving.
Want to play? Here’s 3 experiments to try with this idea:
Experiment 1 — Two Minutes
Think about the biggest goal you or your team are working on right now.
Ask yourself “Is this goal big enough to change how we think?”
If the answer is no, the goal probably isn’t ambitious enough.
Experiment 2 — Five Minutes
Take a goal you’re currently working on write down two columns.
Column one:“Can we do this?”
Column two: “What would have to be true for this to work?”
Notice how different the thinking becomes when you switch the question.
Experiment 3 — Ten Minutes
What’s a bold goal you’re working on right now?
Brainstorm three experiments you could run in the next month to make progress towards it.
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