“A goal should scare you a little, and excite you a lot!”
Are you setting goals the right way?
We are taught to set ‘SMART’ goals by the management books – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
But it fails to address an important point – the criteria for ‘choosing the goals the right way.
I hope to address this important aspect of setting goals based on a benchmark that not only scares you a little, but also excites you to wake up in the morning to achieve those goals.
Ready? Here we go:
There are three types of goals you can set for yourself:
- “Safe” goals: These are based on your past performance. For example, a 10% increase in the income you generated last year. This is what management consultants tell you to do, to base your current goals based on your past performance. But this is lame according to me.
- “Revenge” goals: You set this goal to prove to someone that you CAN do it.
When others tell you that you can’t do something, you do everything you can to prove them wrong. There is nothing wrong with this goal, but once you achieve this goal, you should wait for someone to challenge you for another
one! - “Aspirational” goals: You set this goal purely based on your own capabilities and the appetite of the market. For example, you want to grow your business 10X next year because you have learned how to find a huge need in the market and have built a product that can fulfill the need. You’re not benchmarking your past year’s performance, and you’re not trying to prove someone wrong. You are setting this goal only to prove to yourself that you can make it happen.
Now folks, what kind of goal drives you, and how will you shift them towards Aspirational Goals?
