How to Start Setting Unreasonable Company Goals
Written by Kyle Nakatsuji | 7 minute read
Recently, I read a Tony Robbins quote that gave me pause: “The purpose of a goal is not to get it. The purpose of a goal is who you become in pursuit of it.”
I was initially skeptical of this thinking because it didn’t fit my experience. At my car insurance company, we invest heavily in goal-setting and measurement. Our focus on output keeps our attention on the right things at the right times, and I strongly believe our bullheaded dedication to achieving goals has been a large part of our early success.
But after considering Robbins’s concept, I changed my mind. He isn’t saying we shouldn’t care about achieving goals. Instead, he’s clarifying the reason to set goals in the first place. He suggests, since the purpose of a goal is bigger than getting to the finish line, think hard about how to set the right kind of goals — goals that will stretch your abilities, strengthen your teams and reap dividends far into the future.
From my perspective, this line of thinking is spot-on. My company's identity and culture have been completely formed by the "unreasonable" goals we set in the beginning. We were already leveraging Robbins’s insight — albeit, inadvertently — to produce great results. And I saw how it might be possible to use his mentality when setting goals to more consciously foster team growth and achieve even more.
Below are the two principles of "unreasonable goal-setting" that have made our company what it is. I believe these principles, when applied intentionally and courageously, can impact the trajectory of your business, too…
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