Edition #9: Why Specific Goals Breed Success
The focus of the Hail Mary Friday Club has always been less about the outcome, and more about having the guts to try.
Of course success matters.
But it all starts with getting out there and doing something bold.
Which is why we flex our guts every Friday !
“You can’t hit a target you can’t see.”
~Zig Ziglar, author, salesman, motivational speaker 1926-2012
The Problem: Setting vague goals
The reason why vague goals don’t work…
I like being vague about my definition of success. I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket. I want to leave as many opportunities for success open as possible. Surely this increases my chances… right?
Not quite.
Vague goals like “I want to see my business grow” don’t have clear measures of success. Growth can look like a lot of things. Money is an obvious one. But how much? And how quickly? Growth could also mean expanding your team. Or developing a new product. Both would decrease your profits in the short term, but lay a strong foundation for the future.
So which definition of growth is it?
Vague goals may feel like they are giving you more options for success when in fact they are holding you back.
The Solution: Be Specific
If you know what you’re aiming at, you’re far more likely to get there…
Vague goals don’t work because:
You’re left with infinite ways to fail - if the definition of success is left wide open, so is the definition of failure
You’re left without clarity, wasting time doing the wrong things
You’re left unable to learn or grow because you can’t track progress
It can feel counterintuitive. But being specific is powerful. It doesn’t guarantee success. But it certainly limits the size of the failure.
Jeff Dodds, former COO of Virgin, current CEO of Formula E, tells his team “Aim big, miss big. Aim small, miss small”.
And by small he means specific. Even if you miss the mark, you won’t miss catastrophically because you’ve been steering and watching the whole way.
When you are specific, you create feedback loops that turn failure into data.
When you bring success and failure into clear focus, you can figure out how to get the result you want.
The Application:
The painful truth that transformed my athletics career…
Early on, I wanted it all.
I wanted to dominate:
the 100m
the 200m
the 400m
and the long jump
Ambitious? Yes.
Realistic? No.
I was good at all of them, but there just wasn’t enough time to be really, really good at any of them.
After yet another terrible 200m, the Team GB head coach walked over. I thought she would say something like, “It’s okay, everyone has a bad spell”.
Instead, she said:
“You should consider dropping the sprints. You’re not good enough to win gold. But if you focus on the long jump, I think you could win that.”
It stung. I cried the whole car ride home.
But she was right.
And her honesty changed everything.
I dropped the sprints.
I changed coaches.
I changed my training.
I grieved the dream of doing it all.
And then I got to work.
The following year, I became European Champion.
The next year, I broke the world record.
The year after that, I became World Champion.
I thought doing everything increased my chances of success.
But in reality, it diluted them.
Specificity doesn’t limit. It unlocks.
What project, relationship, or idea would change the fastest if you focused on it?
It is an act of boldness and courage to say no to good things, in order to focus on the excellent things.
We can’t do it all. But we can do a few things really well. So choose wisely, and back yourself.
Catch you in your inbox on Dec 11th.
- Stef
