When we develop plans and goals, we talk about 'how to' but we often avoid discussing 'why not.’ In a growth-focused environment, it is easy to develop a sense of bravado about taking on a goal that is way bigger than anything we have ever achieved. This is particularly true in a top down planning environment because founders and CEOs tend to be eternal optimists. They are typically bold and confident, and sometimes they drive too hard for unattainable results. It is important for the team to at least discuss ‘is this goal possible, and is it necessary for success?’ It forces everyone to support their optimism with facts and discuss their assumptions.
Small goals are easier to achieve, so the probability of success is high. Conversely, larger goals generally have a lower probability of success. At some point, the goal is so big that it is totally unattainable and the likelihood of success drops to zero. A good practice is to balance the probability of achieving the goal with the value of achieving the outcome. Find the sweet spot that aligns with the team’s risk profile. The equation may show that setting a large goal with a low probability of success is too risky and less valuable than setting a more modest goal with a higher probability of success. If we truly understand what success looks like, then we can construct achievable goals that get us there.
Here is a thought exercise: If 35% growth is considered success by our investors, but we set our goal at 50%, what happens when we deliver 40%? We failed to achieve our goal and we all feel bad, and we may have put the company in jeopardy. However, we actually delivered more than we needed. In other words, we snatched failure from the jaws of success. Nobody likes failure, and it is demoralizing for the team when we consistently fail to meet outsized goals.
By contrast, we cannot set low, easily attainable goals just to make us all feel like winners. The team needs to acknowledge the expectations our investors have set for the arc of the business trajectory. In a dynamic company, things change every day, but the objective is to follow a journey that is generally ‘up and to the right’ along a pretty steady growth curve. If we do tomorrow only what we did yesterday, then our business is stagnant and nobody will be happy, so growth-stage companies are by definition not a steady-as-she-goes predictable environment.
One of my favorite descriptions of life at a growth company is: 'if you are not living on the edge then you are taking up too much room.' Often, it feels like reaching for our goals might tip us over the edge, but that is where the 'how to' moment comes in. Figuring out 'how to' stay right on the edge creates the excitement of being in a dynamic company.
Planning ‘how to’ live on the edge often means stepping back from the status quo to question what we do and how we do it, and to consider what we should stop doing. It may inform us that it is time to forge a new path to our goals. We should not be afraid of the often dreaded word ‘pivot.’ Being nimble is an attribute of dynamic companies, and sometimes you have to detour or change paths to get around an obstacle to growth. It may mean changing a process or practice, or shifting spending, or just looking at problems differently and doing deeper analysis to understand how to get the job done. Whatever form ‘how to’ takes, we have to be able to adapt and adjust and be willing to change in order to achieve a stretch goal. As long as we remain true to our mission and vision, pivots can be a positive thing. For a dynamic company, status quo is rarely the answer.
Leaders also need to recognize that big goals can be a challenge for the rank and file to accept. Just because managers and executives drink the Kool-Aid and get comfortable with big targets, it does not mean everyone will just fall in line. Building consensus and buy-in is critical for the culture of the business, and that means providing space for everyone to have a voice in the process, even if they start with 'why not' instead of 'how to.'
The leader’s job is to engage the team and win their hearts and minds. The first step is to provide context so that the entire team has a shared perspective. Help the team to recognize that the goals are not random or just plucked out of thin air. Team members may be suffering from siloed thinking and limited awareness. Take the time to show them the bigger picture. Explain the context and the impetus behind each goal. Help team members develop trust and belief that their input is heard, and the goals are being set rationally and with careful thought and analysis. Acknowledge the 'why not' and share the analysis of the scale of the goals and the probability of success. Make it clear that we are all in this together, and nobody wants to fail. Most importantly, enable the team to craft a bottom-up approach to achieve the goals. Empower them to own the 'how to’ that will achieve the optimal available outcome, and not just to succumb to all of the reasons for 'why not.'