Goals! I just love goals!

One of the most famous lines in theater history was

written by Shakespeare and, if I recall correctly, is about goals: “The goal’s the
thing, with which to accomplish the agenda of the Queen.” Remember? Macbeth was
trying to develop a new laundry detergent to remove spots from fine clothing. It
was one of the great moments in the performing arts, apparent even to someone like
me, who has no training in the history of theater. Whatsoever. (I just know genius
when I see it).

In prior episodes, we’ve discussed the difference between outcome goals and process
goal and when you should use each. We’ve explored how to set goals to give you the
life you want. We’ve explored goals from many angles. But we’ve never reviewed the
very basics of how to set goals. So just like we recently reviewed the very basics
of how to use a to-do list, today it’s back to basics with goal setting!

Make Goals Specific

Bernice decided that her plant store Green Growing Things needed an updated look.
So she called her team together and said, “Our new goal is to revamp the store!
Bring me your proposals!” The staff jumped to work and came back with several
proposals.

Europa suggested we install barbed wire around the outside, to protect against
political dissidents trying to steal plants. Melvin was in favor of installing a
server farm, so in the event civilization collapsed, the IT systems would still
work. While these ideas have merit (in some alternate universe), they don’t move
the team any closer to anything useful. That’s because Bernice’s goal is too vague.
“Revamp the store” could mean anything.

Having listened my episode on IS/IS-NOT lists, she quickly realizes her error and
makes the goal more specific. It also helps to specify a timeframe. “We’re going to
update the store to have a modern look and feel by December 31 of next year.”
It’s also important to make goals measurable. Otherwise, you won’t know if you
reach them. “Revamp the store” is not measurable. “Have a modern look and feel” is
more measurable. “Modern look and feel” isn't perfect because it's subjective, but
it could be measured with an informal survey of customers as they walk into the
store. Without a way to know the goal has been reached, you run the risk of working
forever, even after you’ve reached the goal.

Lots of people make this mistake with life goals, by the way. They set goals like
“I want to be rich,” or “I want to succeed,” or “I want to be happy,” but never get
specific or measurable, so they don’t know when they’re there.

Also make sure that your goals are under your control, or if you’re a manager, are
under your organization’s control. A goal of building a model of Kim Kardashian out
of toothpicks is under your control. A goal of getting Kim Kardashian to build a
model of you out of toothpicks is not under your control.