Alicia McKay
Are you aiming too low?
What are your most important goals right now? Do you have them written down? If you do, take a moment to pull them out—I have some words to share with them. If you're not up for putting your personal goals on the line, pull out your latest strategic plan.
I need to ask you this question:
Do your goals excite, inspire and scare the living sh*t out of you?
If not... you might be setting yourself up for failure. If you've listened to advice on setting achievable, realistic goals, this newsletter is for you.
The paradox of goal-setting
There is an interesting paradox in goal-setting: in short, bigger, scarier goals can be easier to achieve than smaller, more realistic ones.
Here are a few reasons why:
- Bigger goals eliminate potential pathways to their achievement. This focus drives more progress.
- There is more competition for incremental improvement than for transformation. Big goals eliminate competition.
- Big goals require more learning, pushing you to the edge of your potential and driving meaningful change. You get better, faster.
- Big goals require risky trade-offs that increase your commitment and create more motivation to succeed.
📗 Check out Dr Benjamin Hardy's book: 10X is Easier Than 2X
This theory is summed up nicely in this recent tweet by Tim Ferriss:
A formula for setting better goals
To nail this approach, you must be SMARTer in your goal setting - but not the classic SMART you might see bandied around (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound). Oh no. It's a much more powerful, fun iteration that I like to call Crazy SMART.
Specific. Meaningful. Aspirational. Risky. Transformational
Specific
The OG SMART goals had this nailed. However, this doesn't work if you're vague. If your big goal is to "thrive" (personal), "excel in your field" (professional), or "be a market leader" (organisational), then you're going to flap around in ambiguity.
It's better than nothing. You can use these goals as a lens to make decisions—i.e., 'Will this help me thrive?' 'Is this what a market leader would do?'—but the answer will usually be... sure, yeah, maybe.
But you can do better than that.
- "Thrive" --> "Be so fit I can run the November 2024 Queenstown marathon in less than 3 hours" or "Make ten new best friends and take them all on a trip to Fiji next winter"
- "Excel in my field" --> "Be awarded CPA of the year at the 2024 annual event"
- "Be a market leader" --> "Grow to $50 million in annual revenue by EOFY25"
Meaningful
If your goal were specific enough, it would be measurable. We don't need that kind of double-up around here. What we need is meaning.
You have to care about this thing. It has to be so aligned with your values and vision that you're willing to put things on the line for it. When people hear it, they should go, "Of course, that makes sense for you," because it perfectly reflects your core purpose and values. If it doesn't hit you in the heart, find a new goal.
Aspirational
Achievable goals are a fool's game, remember? There are too many potential options, and the competition is too crowded. That's why we have to blow the gates wide open. Your goal should be so aspirational that it makes you feel slightly sick. When you write it down and look at it, you should think, "How the f**k? Am I mad?" Perfect.
Risky
Relevant? What does that even mean? If you're not aligning your goals to what you want, you need more than an acronym to help you. Nope, Crazy SMART needs risk.
If you don't have any skin in the game, you won't pull this off. Your goal is Crazy SMART if you have to say no to many perfectly good things to pull this off. If you'll have to stop doing 80% of what you're doing now to make it happen. People might not get it. You might fail miserably. The options are narrow, and the risk is high - but the payoff is astonishing.
Transformational
Time-bound... should be covered in specificity. Do you think they just liked the acronym and decided to repeat themselves? Boring.
Your goal should be transformational—if you achieve it, you will be completely different. But here's the kicker: you'll have to start behaving like you're already that person to accomplish this goal.
And that's where the magic happens. Running a three-hour marathon is a one-day event. What will change you is living the life of an elite marathon runner, making the sacrifices of an elite marathon runner, and making the decisions an elite marathon runner makes (getting a coach, designing a nutrition plan, investing in gear, and getting regular physio).
Being awarded CPA of the year is a good night on the turps. Going above and beyond to serve your clients, building an incredible team, designing innovative solutions, and showing up as a leader in events, development, and advocacy are the choices that will change you.
Hitting $50 million in revenue will feel great when the numbers click over. But slashing your least effective product lines, creating an irresistible customer experience, building a world-class team, pushing the boundaries on marketing, securing new funding streams, and accessing expert advice - those things will change your business forever.
This is the most important thing about all of this:
It's not the goal that matters. It's who you become in the process. You can be a slightly better person, professional, or organisation than you are now - or you can be permanently transformed beyond recognition.
Up to you.
Til next week,
A