How do you set ambitious goals?
When the external world presents the most significant opportunities and risks, there's value in broadening the global context internally.
How do you set ambitious goals?
Based on what’s possible in your organisation?
Continuing to meet the needs of your existing market?
Based on other known factors in your sphere or control?
Setting ambitious goals often hinges on understanding your organisation's potential and the current needs of your market. Yet, sticking to these parameters may cause you to miss out on additional value, leaving it for others to capture. Worse, it may expose you to unseen risks.
Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, shared an important insight: "When the rate of change inside an institution becomes slower than the rate of change outside, the end is in sight. The only question is when."
This highlights the risk of being outpaced by external changes, which often present more opportunities and challenges than what can be managed internally. As these changes become more complex and global, adopting an expanded context and worldview becomes invaluable.
An expanded context means identifying the most significant external forces that could impact your competitive advantage. By also recognising what can be leveraged within your organisation, you can set goals that are ambitious and appropriate for the current times.
The result: you set more ambitious goals and achieve clarity on the actions required to achieve them.
The interplay between the world's impact on us and our ability to influence the world is central to setting ambitious goals. These objectives have the potential to shape the world. We can do big things when we aim beyond existing limitations.
This approach was at the heart of a client strategy offsite I held in Bali last week. The choice of Bali was intentional. When we step away from routine pressures and reference points, it easier to adopt an expanded context. Away from the compulsion to maintain the status quo, it becomes possible to envision and set goals that are both bold and achievable.
I believe there is more to the world than what we see. When we see more, we are compelled to do more, and we unlock a universe of possibility. It starts with questions:
Do your ambitious goals conform to what you believe is currently possible?
Are you compelled to continue with the status quo?
Can you quantify the value being left for competitors to capture as they focus on emerging possibilities to create new, next, needed solutions, products, or services?
If you're looking to expand your context and set ambitious goals, feel free to send me a message below for further information.
As usual, I like the topics you're addressing. Today's article sparked some comments if you allow.
1. Ambitious goals should, in my opinion, also be related to your own personal ambitions. If you don't think about that, related to your business, you most likely will run sooner rather than later into mental discrepancies which may influence your decisions (in life AND in business). Syncing your personal and business ambitions are key.
2. I hear that quote from Jack Welch often. What I (most of the time) miss is what he did about that at GE? He put pressure on GE employees to accept lower salaries on order to be competitive (other companies were performing better...), otherwise they were fired and replaced by people who do accept lower salaries. How do his ambitions relate to the ambitions of GE? Think about the consequences for the families of these employees, depending on a certain level of income (education, food, housing, etc.) In my opinion a questionable leader despite the fact that people found that he was a great leader...