Why the Secret to Success is Setting the Right Goals?
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In his July 2018 TED Talk, John Doerr – who is an engineer and a venture capitalist – stated that organizations, leaders, and even institutions are failing because they are setting and pursuing the wrong objectives. Doerr argued that for leaders and organizations to change, they must set OKRs (Objective Key Results) that combine passion and purpose, and he further explained that Objectives define the “WHAT” and the Key Results define the “HOW.” So why is it important for organizations, leaders, and even individuals to set the right goals? This is the question that I am going to answer in my talk today.
Most individuals, leaders, and even organizations always have an idea of the goals they want to achieve, but they, in most cases, do not pay so much attention to the HOW to achieve the goals (Alamuddin, 2019). And while some goals can be achieved without so much struggle, more complex individual or organizational goals will always require a strategy to be in place. Doerr (2018) argues that understanding the purpose of setting goals (WHY) is very important. These goals or objectives should be significant, inspirational, and action-oriented. Once the WHY is understood, the focus should then shift to the HOW. The HOWs, according to Doerr (2018), are the key results and the strategy used to achieve them. Good results are time-bound, specific, realistic, specific, verifiable, and measurable.
Stoner (2017) describes goals as powerful milestones that mark the way on the journey that individuals, organizations, and leaders wish to embark on. This means, therefore, that setting the right goals increases the likelihood of performing at higher levels and achieving great success. When we set the wrong goals, we get sidetracked because we end up spending too much effort pursuing goals only for us to discover in the end that we were chasing the wrong ones. The only way for us to stay connected to a larger purpose is to set the right goals, which will, in turn, keep us motivated by linking our visions to those goals (Stoner, 2017).
Osman (2019) argues that setting the right goals helps individuals to lock themselves within specific mental boundaries and automatically avoid distractions that can lead to failure. This implies that not having the right goals is a recipe for distractions and failure. Additionally, good goals keep people committed to completing their tasks. Similar sentiments as those of Osman (2019) are shared by Tracy (n.d.), who argues that goals give people and organizations the focus to weed out idle movement and wasted effort by allowing them to zero in on what matters with laser precision. Tracy (n.d.) proceeds to explain that without the right goals, efforts become confusing and disjointing. Setting the right goals is the key to success. This is according to Kashyap (2018), who explains that when people commit themselves wholeheartedly into doing something, something magical happens. Magical things teach people to believe in themselves, become more hardworking, give direction, and take control, among other things.
In conclusion, I would like to state that without setting the right goals, our chances of success are reduced tremendously. Without goals, we lack direction and focus. But with the right goals, we are able to take control of our direction because goals provide us with a benchmark for determining whether we are succeeding (Mind Tools, n.d.). To accomplish our goals, therefore, we must set the right ones by carefully considering what we want to achieve and why, and then proceed to define the steps of the strategies that we will use to achieve our end results.
References
Alamuddin, N. (2019). Setting The Right Goals Is The Secret To Success. Retrieved from https://blogandgetpaid.com/success-means-setting-right-goals/
Doerr, J. (2018). Why the secret to success is setting the right goals (YouTube Video). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4N1q4RNi9I
Kashyap, V. (2018). Set the right goals for the life you actually want. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@kashyapvartika/set-the-right-goals-for-the-life-you-actually-want-37fcf14db79a
Mind Tools (n.d.). Golden Rules of Goal Setting: Five Rules to Set Yourself Up for Success. Retrieved from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_90.htm
Osman, B. (2019). 5 Powerful Reasons Why Goal Setting Is Important. Retrieved from https://www.codeofliving.com/blog/5-powerful-reasons-goal-setting-important/
Stoner, J.L. (2017). Don’t just set SMART goals, set the RIGHT goals. Retrieved from https://seapointcenter.com/set-the-right-goals/
Tracy, B. (n.d.). 6 Reasons Setting Goals is Important. Retrieved from https://www.briantracy.com/blog/personal-success/importance-of-goal-setting/