In his book What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School, Mark McCormack shared a Harvard study concerning MBA students who set goals. Harvard asked the graduating students, “Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?”
It turned out that only 3 percent had written goals.
Ten years later, the researchers interviewed the students with written goals. These students were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other 97 percent altogether.
If you want to make greater strides in life, write your goals and make them clear. Goals can help in every facet of life including financial, spiritual, physical, and relationships, to name a few. Let’s look at three goal mistakes that dilute the potency and potential results.
1. Fuzzy goals. Great leaders and achievers are absolutely clear about what they wish to accomplish. Underachievers lack clarity about where they want to go and how they will get there. Fuzzy goals are safe but vague and ambiguous.
Here are some fuzzy goals:
Improve our customer service.
Become a better project manager.
Increase sales by end of 4th quarter.
Increase our membership.
These goals need specificity. When writing goals, consider these 4 questions:
What action (e.g., increase, decrease, or maintain) will you take?
What is the focal point (e.g., membership growth)?
What is the target (e.g., 10,000 new members)?
What is the deadline?
Using these questions, let’s refine the goals mentioned previously. The revised goals below are clear, engaging, and motivating.
Increase customer service rating from 85% to 92% by 6/30/x5.
Pass the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam by 9/30/x5.
Increase private passenger auto insurance sales by 5% by 12/31/X6.
Add 10,000 new members between 1/1/x5 and 12/31/x5.
2. Competing goals. Another problem is conflicts between goals. A family may have a goal to save money for their next vehicle and a goal to send two children to an expensive college.
An executive may require two different projects be completed at the same time with the same resources and a limited budget.
How can we address competing goals? Analyze and recognize the conflicts. Prioritize the deliverables and associated tasks. Break the goals into manageable tasks. See if the lower priority items may be delivered at a later date.
3. Stretch goals. Stretch goals challenge people to reach beyond their normal capacity. If done properly, stretch goals can be helpful. However, when management sets unreasonable expectations, people feel manipulated, used, and abused.
Team members burn the candle at both ends. Some individuals may take unethical actions. Others take excessive risk.
How can we set goals in a manner that challenges team members but makes the goal achievable? First, engage the team members in the goal process. Ask for their input. Second, find ways to enhance the team’s efficiency with appropriate tools and resources. Third, recognize and reward results. Say thank you.
Questions: What other mistakes do people make with goals? Please provide your insights in the comments section below.