
“Moonshots.” ?
“Big hairy audacious goals.” ?
“Focus on the monumental, not incremental.” ?️
We hear this advice all the time.
Company leaders, motivational speakers, and self-help books preach it. ??
These stretch goals are deliberately set out of reach.
They’re to inspire and counter complacency.
We’re told even achieving a substantial fraction puts you ahead.
But there’s a dark side that’s often overlooked.
Research shows that when goal failure occurs, we perceive our abilities as inadequate. ?
And ourselves as incompetent.
Missing a goal affects self-esteem and motivation.
It causes disengagement from challenging future tasks. ?
Worse, it leads to increased risk-taking and unethical behavior.
Suppose you set a stretch goal to lose 100 lbs in 6 months.
You diet and exercise and lose 60 lbs (a significant feat). ?️♂️
How likely are you to be happy you lost 60 lbs,
Versus disappointed you missed the goal by 40 lbs? ?
Think about business.
You set a stretch goal to grow revenue by 100% YOY.
Everyone works their tails off for 12 months.
By year’s end, you have grown 60% (still tremendous growth). ?
Is management happy?
How does that make the team feel? ?
I’m all for goal setting and having a Northstar.
But be careful of the potentially detrimental effects of the big hairy stretch moonshot.
Remember, there is power in tiny gains. ⚡
Small wins, small projects, and small differences often make huge differences. ?
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