When Goals Can Get In The Way

Western society holds goal-setting in high esteem. But what happens if you decide to stick to your goal without seeing past it?

It came to me yesterday at the gym. It was cardio day and time for interval training. So I set the elliptical machine for a certain time, distance, and speed. This is what happened:

When I reached the goal I still had lots of juice left. What to do? If I stopped, I had reached the goal. If I decided to keep going I'd exceed it. (I kept going and stopped somewhere around "The Best of Otis Redding" on my iPod).

Here's the thing: You have to have something to shoot for at work and in life. I wonder how many of us who manage sometimes get so focused on "the plan" that we overlook its capacity to limit accomplishments?

All of us can, on a certain day, exceed what's been set.

I know a lot of places that have "stretch" goals. My observation: they cause confusion. Am I going to be rewarded or punished for the budgeted goals or the stretch goals?

For me, the decision was personal because it had a combination of achievement, satisfaction, and personal payoff.

What does your organization do to support those three inherent energizers?

It's what management is all about.

Are You Smart?

There's an interview with me in Investor's Business Daily about how to manage smart people. It's fascinating that "smart" people often present challenges to those managing them and those around them.

Comments

[Becky Robinson]

Steve - I agree that goals can sometimes be limiting and we need to be willing to exceed them instead of letting them hold us back. Speaking to your gym example, though, what effect will pushing past your goal have on your exercise today? If you gave too much, you may not be able to reach today's goal... and what happens when we set our goals too high, either personally or in business? I would love to hear your thoughts on that, too.

[Frode Heimen]

Hi Steve.
I see your comments are cluttered with spam, I hate when that happens. So I'll give you a comment to cheer you up after cleaning out the spam :) Anyhow.. Working with goals is very interesting. I do have a 3-step goal theory where I try to get people to make these goals:
1. Minimum
2. Good day
3. Great day

If you make it to minimum you have earned your money with a good feeling. I you have a good day you can be proud, and are allowed to brag about it. And if you have a great day it calls for celebration.

But goals can get in your way. I do not remember where, but I once read that setting a goal might set you up to fail, so you should rather set up a path. Changed my thinking. A path can have a de-tour without loosing track.

Many people also tend to set a goal. I am going from A to B. I do like to comapare it with driving from Kristiansand to Oslo, about 33 KM. You can get in the car, get on the highway and you can get to Oslo in less then 5 hours. Or you can stop along all the beautiful small towns along the shore and learn something, It might take days to get to Oslo, but you might be more experiences and wiser upon arrival...

[Steve Roesler]

Becky,

Not 100% sure what you mean by "not reaching today's goals". Perhaps I'd better check the wording. What happened was that I found the goal that had been set was, on that day, unbelievably easy once it was reached. So I kept on going, hitting a new "high" which has now bred new confidence and a different sense of what might be possible.

Let me know if that clarifies or muddies the issue.

[Steve Roesler]

Frode:

Spam is putting it mildly; it was über-spam! I didn't catch it for quite a while.
And yes, a little cheering up is welcome: I definitely had an attitude problem for about 15 minutes.

I very much like the "path" example and approach. The auto example highlights the fact that the journey can be more enjoyable than the actual destination, eh?