Hi guys! I have decided to start a blog where I discuss the content of my Spotify & Apple Podcast in written form. Hope you enjoy it! :)
I was at a friends’ house in the weekend and I saw a whiteboard with their fitness goals on it. I am a huge fan of whiteboards and, in that moment, I decided the 4th episode will be on setting goals in the right way.
I have noticed indeed that the difference between successful and not successful people is not always connected to intelligence. Many times, it is due to the fact that successful people know what they want and plan for it.
In this Episode, I will give you three powerful rules to set your goals.
Rule 1: Be specific!
Neuroscience studies show that most successful people use the same recipe to achieve their goals.
You are 42% more likely to achieve your goals just by writing them down because your brain is a supercomputer that focusses on reaching the objective.
People are 10X more likely to it their goals if they write them down.
There was a research that showed that only 2% of Harvard MBA students wrote their goals down. They followed up with all the students after 2 years and these 2% had become very successful. They were 10X more successful than the 98%.
However, you need to be very specific.
When you set goals you need to be extremely clear on exactly what you want in your goals.
“Have more money” is not a good goal, because if you get $1 more you have reached it.
I hope I will be a Manager -> Poor Goal! Rephrase it with: I want to be a Manager by the age of 28.
If you want to lose weight say “I want to get below 10% body fat”.
For instance:
· I want to get a job at Bain before I turn 25.
· I want to read 10 books by 2021
· I want to grow a six pack by next summer.
Rule 2: Be strategic!
Most of the companies try to make their Managers set SMART goals: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-based goals. A KPI is, for instance, a SMART goal.
However, SMART goals are not enough because they are task-oriented and not ambitious! Managers set Smart goals, Leaders set Strategic goals.
Besides SMART goals, you must set strategic goals, bigger and more ambitious goals that can drive your work and bring value to your team and the planet.
For instance, in 2019, my Smart goal was hitting all the Excelling KPIs (4/5) consistently.
But the strategic goal was bigger than that, it was establishing myself as a sine-qua-non member of the Dublin office. I needed to become an even more important partner for both my teammates and my alignment partners, because all of them will support my future promotions and/or my internal mobility endeavours.
The reason why you must focus on a Strategic goal is that it dramatically changes the way you work. Many colleagues asked me “Oh why are you not putting more work into 5/5 KPI?”. And the reason was that getting internal visibility was way more important than hitting a target.
If you are a Manager, your SMART goal is probably making sure that the Team you lead excels.
But your strategic goal will be creating new leaders and seeing that your Team drives Corporate Culture. Strategy is an important part of a Leader’s life. A good Leader is proactive about the future and points the team towards ambitious strategic goals.
Now, what does a strategic goal require? Two things: creativity (dreaming - the Vision) and practicality (the strategy, - the Mission).
Reaching a strategic goal requires two things: impact + engagement.
Many Managers think that since they are great at defining goals and have clear in mind the direction that the Team should take, the team will accomplish the strategic goal.
However, it does not work like that. Has it ever happened to you that you train people and then still do as they wish? Reaching a strategic goal requires mastering the science of persuasion and Purpose.
I realized very quickly that Managers can outline all the ambitious goals in the world, but if they are not Change Managers, if they cannot inspire everyone to achieve those goals, the possibility of accomplishing is pretty low.
Follow the 80 10 10 rule
If you had 100 hours to invest in yourself, would you invest them in something you are good at, average at, or bad at? The most successful people in the world split 100 0 0 or 80 10 10. There was a study about this. You invest where you are already naturally good at. When you do that, you go from good to great!
Rule 3: Be ambitious!
Whenever you set a goal, you must follow the 10X rule. This rule was created by Grant Cardone, bestselling author and very active in real estate.
When I designed the goal for the T1 Growth Academy, I thought “what could be kind of realistic?” and it was impacting 5M people by 2025. I therefore said, “Perfect, we will go for 50M".
People thought I was crazy! They asked me man, come on do you really expect impacting 50M people? And I said no, of course not. But if my goal is 50M, if I fall short I impact 30 Million, which is always better than my initial goal of 5 Million.
Had I aimed at 5M, how many would I have impacted? You know the answer, maybe 4M.
Remember, you will never, ever, ever hit higher than what you are aiming for. If you aim at 60%, if you are perfect you achieve 60%. If you aim at 100%, you will probably hit 90-95%.
I am not saying go crazy, I am saying be ambitious. Be ambitious. You never know what will happen between today and 2025, therefore set a big goal and keep grinding towards it.
Start giving a thought on what kind of goals you are setting for your life!
Make your life a masterpiece, I appreciate you and I hope you have an amazing day.
Comments