Stop Setting SMART Goals

Dare To Set Outrageous Goals Instead

January can be considered infamous for its New Year resolutions, the month of “new year, new me.” Getting back into a routine after the holiday months, many of us are hunkering down with our goals, ready to put plans into action. With our personal and professional goals alike, we’re looking forward to the feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment that achieving our goals will bring. However, the unfortunate reality is that only eight percent of people actually achieve the New Years goals they set. We all relate to the joke that by the second week of January, most resolutions have been abandoned. I'm sure you know a few people who fall into that category. Have you ever wondered why this happens and what action you can take this year to accomplish a flawless follow-through? 

Many of us undercut ourselves when it comes to goal-setting. It’s much easier to set a goal we know we can deliver on than it is to set one that we may fall short of. What’s fascinating about this is that we set these “realistic” goals based on what we think we’re able to accomplish, which oftentimes is a lot less than we’re really capable of. Take a look at the story of one of Marcel’s clients as an example. We’ll call him Anthony for the sake of privacy. Anthony and his friends decided one year that they would all set their annual income goals to be one million dollars, a number much higher than any of them had ever made before. Upon making the commitment to themselves and each other, they all internally agreed it was crazy, yet they were set on making it happen. By the end of the year, in December, Anthony smiled as he realized he had accomplished his goal. He had earned one million dollars in just one year. What we can learn from this story is just how capable we are as human beings. We’re able to accomplish so much more than we can imagine. 

Organizations often experience the same process in goal setting. As organizations and teams come together to set performance goals for the upcoming year, many undercut themselves as well. Much like in setting personal goals, it’s much safer to set a goal they know they can deliver on than it is to set one they may fall short of. The famed saying: "It's better to underpromise than to under-deliver" is one you've surely heard many times in business.

In fact, many leaders and managers tout using ‘SMART Goals’ as a guide towards their annual goal setting. SMART is the acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. Even though SMART goals can be a great guideline for developing a strategy toward meeting goals, unfortunately, they also run a risk of confining us to play within the bounds of our comfort zones. Think about it, if you can measure it, if you know it's already attainable, and it lives in the realm of reality, chances are it's a SAFE Goal that is not very inspiring. When confining ourselves to being SMART, we can quickly find ourselves operating in an uninspiring space where very little dreaming, creation, and innovation can happen. As smart as they may sound, many times SMART Goals hold us back from pushing through the imagined ceilings of our full potential. If setting uninspiring SMART goals for yourself, your team, or your organization is your standard operating procedure, and you want to push beyond your ceiling of potential this year, then we recommend setting three types of goals first, instead of just one. We call these goals your A, B, and C Goals.

Dreaming Big with ABC Goals

Bob Proctor, one of the founding figures in the area of personal development, uses a great acronym to distinguish between three different types of goals. He notes there are ‘A-Goals,’ goals we know we can achieve, ‘B-Goals,’ goals we think we can achieve with a little extra time and effort, and ‘C-Goals,’ the big, scary monster goal that we would love to accomplish but feels so far out of reach because we have no clue how to accomplish it. It's the "Getting a manned mission to Mars in 4 years" goal or the "I'm going to triple my sales this year" goal. Whatever that goal might be, your ‘C-Goal’ is a life-changer.

Sadly, when setting personal and professional goals, most of us tend to hang around the ‘A-Goal’ and ‘B-Goal' areas because they are comfortable and feel safe. 

What if this year you were to set a ridiculously big goal? Not because you have to or need to, but just because you know you, your company or your team are capable, even though you don't yet know how to achieve it? What could be possible in your world if you pursued that goal? What could be different, for you, your career, your team, your business, or even your loved ones even if you only got half-way to achieving your C-Goal? What more could you accomplish from pursuing a C-Goal than if you stayed safe inside your A- or B-Goals?

If you want to set a Big C-Goal and actually pursue it this year, then here are a few tips:

Set Behavioral Goals

There’s a piece to setting big C-goals that most people miss. In fact, it’s the reason why people rarely achieve the big goals they set. Oftentimes, when people decide to set a C-goal, it can feel extremely daunting. This feeling of overwhelm can bring on feelings of doubt, disbelief, and fear along with it, none of which contribute to the successful follow-through of a goal. In situations like this, people tend to either avoid the goal or try to force it through sheer willpower.

As you can imagine, neither of these tactics are effective. This process is referred to as The Stretch Goal Paradox, in which an individual sets a really, really big goal and then falls short due to the nature of the goal being large and extremely difficult to achieve. 

Instead, what we’re suggesting here is that achieving a C-goal is about the mindset, habits, and practices we cultivate on the way there. So, instead of focusing on the goal itself, known as Outcome Focused Goals, find what habits you need to create to get there, also known as Behavioral Goals. What action needs to be taken every day to move you one percent closer to your goal? Once that’s determined, let go of the goal. The most successful people are the ones who commit to the behaviors, not to the goal. 

When you can ensure your time and energy is spent on following through on the actionable habits you’ve set for yourself, this is where having a big C-Goal comes in handy. We use our C-Goals not so much as our focal point, but rather as our starting point. A big goal requires big action. When we’re planning the action we’re going to take toward our goal, we’re going to show up in a much bigger and bolder way when we’re aiming at a C-Goal rather than a small one. Creating habits based on pursuing a C-Goal ensures we’re going to show up to our fullest potential. 

Apply The 3 C’s of Success

Once you have your C-Goal and the daily actions you’re going to take towards it, all that’s left is the follow-through. This part is what determines which goals make it to the end and which don’t. The follow-through of C-Goals is a culmination of three areas of practice: Conviction, Commitment, and Consistency, a formula we like to call The 3 C’s at Level V Partners. In order to achieve anything fully, you must first be a 10 out of 10 on all three of the C’s. 

Conviction

The first C, conviction, is all about your mindset, belief system, and willingness to do what it takes to achieve your goal. Being a 10 out of 10 in your conviction is having an unwavering belief in your ability to do whatever it takes to achieve your C-Goal and the willingness to show up and make progress toward it every day. Dare to challenge yourself in this area. When you strengthen your conviction, it becomes easier to follow through on your daily habits.

Commitment

The second C, commitment, is all about the ability to jump in with two feet without holding back. Very few people actually jump into things with both feet. In fact, many are constantly trying to put the least amount of their bodies into the water as possible. The surface is where it’s safe, but it’s in the deep end where we make things happen. Having strong conviction is essential to having strong commitment. The belief in yourself and willingness to do what it takes naturally leads you to full commitment in the process of achieving your goals. The questions to ask yourself here are, “Am I going all in?” and “What does going all in look like for me?” "If I am holding back, what's stopping me from going all in?"

Consistency

The third, and final, C, consistency, is all about the ability to show up every day. Practicing the habits that will lead you to your goal every day is where progress begins to show. Doing something with full conviction and full commitment is great, but when you add consistency into the mix, the results start to stack over time, and before you know it, you’re just an arm’s length away from achieving your big C-Goal. Being consistent means turning what needs to be done into a daily ritual, without compromise.

This year, challenge yourself to be Bold instead of ‘SMART.’ Dare yourself to dream big and connect with a goal that inspires and excites you. Find a C-Goal that feels scary and out of reach, not because you need to, but because you’re capable. Narrow down the actionable habits you need to practice daily in order to move towards your goal and focus all your attention and energy on those. Commit to the follow-through by using the 3 C’s, and in no time, you’ll find yourself moving in the right direction. As the old, slightly cheesy, and the true saying goes, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”

Help your team achieve their C-Goal this year! Reach out to us here for a FREE consultation.

Level V Partners Ltd is a boutique Management Consulting and Executive Coaching firm by Marcel Daane and Kilani Daane, a Father-Daughter Coaching Duo. We partner with leaders to help them streamline how their people work and perform together so they can do more in less time while being happier and healthier in the process.

Using a full suite of psychometric assessments, leadership and culture surveys, customized workshops, and coaching programs, you can find comfort in knowing that Level V Partners has a solution for every level of your organization that helps your people work even more effectively together no matter where they are based in the world.

Have you tried our Five Energies Assessment Yet? Try it now for FREE