- MGMT Playbook
- Posts
- Why You Should Spend More Time on Goal-Getting Than Goal-Setting
Why You Should Spend More Time on Goal-Getting Than Goal-Setting
3 steps that make evolution the only resolution that matters.
Dave Kline
January 04, 2024
This iconic image of Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston
Read Time: 3 minutes
Business is often like being in the ring with a boxer.
We strategize. We analyze. We plan. We prepare.
Then we step into the ring and get a right hook to the jaw we never see coming.
We know this. We've lived this.
And yet, many of us will spend the next several weeks or months setting SMART goals and translating them into color-coded Gantt charts.
Spring will arrive, and then we'll be ready to start.
But there are two problems.
We just gave anyone we're racing a three-month head start.
The world changed faster than our plan, so it's already outdated.
“It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe.”
How different would this year look if we spent one day on goal-setting and devoted the rest to goal-getting?
Here's how I'm doing it.
Discount + Bonus = MGMT Accelerated
Our partners at Maven have made the MGMT Accelerator their featured program this week.
We wanted you to hear about it directly from us
The code MAVEN250 will give you a 10% discount on our next cohort, which begins February 6th.
All students have access to a 30-minute 1:1 coaching session with me.
If you enroll by the end of the day on Monday, January 8th, we will offer you a second 1:1 coaching session.
More time together to ensure you exceed the lofty expectations you have set for yourself.
Goal-Setting
You and your team already know what you need to do.
Just ask them.
Seriously. Have each person write down 1 page describing what's true for the team at the end of a wildly successful year.
What did they deliver?
What's it like to work on the team?
What did they keep doing? Stop doing? Start doing?
When I've done this exercise, there is typically a 75-80% overlap. Sure, some of the details might vary. But unless you're doing a radical overhaul, the logical goals for most teams will be obvious.
Codify them. Socialize them. Refine them.
Now get after them.
Goal-setting is like water - it will fill whatever space you give it.
And no team has ever been rewarded for setting perfect goals.
So let's turn our attention to what really matters...
Goal-Getting
There is no one-size-fits-all system for ensuring your team maximizes its impact. It depends on the state of your team and the goals you're chasing.
Here are three questions I use to optimize my leadership system to match that reality.
1. Will "business as usual" deliver the goals?
Here's a tricky thing about humans: we crave stability and instability equally.
When things get too predictable, we get bored and unconsciously self-sabotage to inject variety.
When things get too chaotic, we get stressed and try to simplify to restore order.
As the leader, chances are you'll need to be the counter-force whether your team needs to change or hold its course.
If the answer to this question is "Yes," then your goal-getting system needs to keep people focused and motivated.
Focus means saying No to all the shiny objects that will tempt them. You will want to keep revisiting the goals often and develop an accurate scoreboard that's public.
Motivation should come from within each person, but there are levers you can pull to help.
Knowing you people well
Giving them consistent coaching
Ensuring they're growing and developing
If the answer is "No," there are usually two culprits...