I believe and fervently advocate that in order to achieve our goals, both in personal and professional life, we need to learn to set goals. I know that what I am saying may seem simple, however, many people think that setting a goal is just writing down what they want to achieve on a piece of paper and that's it, it's done, but they do not suspect that it is a more complex process
For example, in the workplace, when we set a goal for the team, that must be fulfilled by a certain period, we need to discover and map out the paths we will use to achieve it. And for that, we need to know the level of difficulty and if we – next to the team – we have the necessary tools to put theory into practice
However, for me, the problem is precisely when we reach the goals too easily or too quickly. You must be wondering: but isn't this something positive? Not always. In some cases, can demonstrate the commitment of employees to achieve the expected result, but in others, reaching the goal with such agility may mean that it was a lazy goal in light of the team's potential
A goal that I consider lazy is one that we are almost 90% sure we will achieve, it doesn't matter the path or the tools, but we insist on defining it so that we can give a 'check' at the end of the year and say that it was fulfilled. This behavior should no longer be adopted by companies, because it gives that false impression of a challenge completed, when in fact, there was no challenge at all
The importance of having clear and ambitious goals is not a new topic. From 1979 to 1989, Harvard University asked its graduates: Have you set clear and written goals for your future? You have established the plans to achieve them? Only 3% of graduates had clear goals, written and with action plans; 13% had goals, but they did not have them in writing and, they also had no action plans to achieve them. The other 84% had no specific goal, unless to finish the school year and enjoy the summer
Ten years later, in 1989, the researchers interviewed the same people again. They found that the 3% who had clearly defined goals and plans, in writing, they earned, on average, ten times more than the other 97% combined! That is to say, this only shows the importance of what I am saying, and what ambitious goals can indeed make a difference in the results we expect to achieve
This is a concept embedded in a management that adopts OKRs – Objectives and Key Results -, because it helps you avoid the goals I consider lazy and set more ambitious goals. Of course, I am not saying to include things that are impossible to achieve, but from the moment we raise the level, we began to explore different skills
The OKRs will greatly assist in this process, because when working with shorter cycles, usually three months, make it possible to identify any errors that may arise in the execution plan of the strategy. In this way, it is feasible to recalculate the route, always remembering to work for results, with focus and clarity to meet the goal within the previously established timeframe
As Steven Kotler says, some goals are impossible, but others are impossible until someone reaches them. Focus on these
Are your goals ambitious or lazy
