The Problem with Hard Targets
✏️ ON MY MIND
“Wait, your goals have hard targets? Like numbers and deadlines?”
My cousin asked, raising an eyebrow as she scrolled through my list during our monthly review session.
“Of course,” I replied, confused. “How else will I know if I’ve achieved the goal or not?”
She leaned back, her psychology degree practically glowing in the room. “Sure, but have you ever thought about what happens if you don’t hit them? Or worse, what you might compromise to make them happen?”
That conversation sent me down a rabbit hole of research. As a fractional head of marketing for startups, I see all too often how obsessed founders and their teams can be with hard metrics. Having worked in marketing for 15+ years, I’ve fallen into this obsession myself.
But I’ve learned this: hard targets—the kind we’re told are essential for success—might be doing more harm than good.
Why Hard Targets Can Backfire
Hard targets like “Increase revenue by 25% this quarter” or “Lose 10kg in three months” are designed to push us to perform at our peak. However, research shows they often come with unintended consequences:
They Encourage Unethical Behavior:
Aggressive goals can push people to cut corners or fudge numbers. A study in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes found that pressure to meet challenging targets leads to unethical behaviour like lying, cheating or stealing, which individuals wouldn't otherwise do.They Can Crush Self-Esteem:
A 2021 study revealed that missing ambitious goals leads to negative emotions, reduced self-esteem, and lower motivation. Over time, this can spiral into disengagement or burnout.They Distort Risk Judgments:
Setting hard targets can mess with your decision-making. Harvard research has demonstrated how people take unnecessary risks to meet goals, often with disastrous results.They Narrow Your Focus:
Rigid goals make you concentrate on one outcome, often at the expense of other important priorities. Researchers cite the 1996 Mt. Everest disaster as a tragic example, where the summit goal overshadowed safety concerns. That eventually led to the deaths of six climbers.They Stifle Learning:
When goals are overly specific, they limit adaptability and openness to new approaches—two qualities essential for growth.
Reframing Goal Setting: A Balanced Approach
Instead of scrapping goal-setting altogether, what if we approached it differently? Let’s explore three key strategies to make goal-setting more effective and sustainable.
1. Focus on Process Over Outcomes
Rather than fixating on results, shift your focus to the habits and actions that lead to success.
For example:
Hard Target: “Lose 10kg in three months.”
Process Goal: “Exercise 3 times a week and eat balanced meals.”
Why Salesflare organise their team around habits, not goals
In an episode of the Authentic Marketer podcast, I spoke with Jeroen Corthout, co-founder and CEO of Salesflare. During our conversation, he shared a fascinating insight about how his team changed the way they approached KPIs and goals.
His philosophy? It’s not about chasing numbers; it’s about building habits that naturally lead to those numbers.
In many organisations, goal-setting often looks like this: set a big, ambitious target (e.g., increase sales by 50%) and work backwards to figure out how to get there. While this approach may seem logical, Jeroen shared that it’s rarely effective.
“Sometimes, we think if we put this really big goal at the end of the year, it’s going to happen. Well, that’s not how it works,” he said.
Here’s the issue: when the focus is solely on end results, teams can lose direction. Big goals without clear, actionable steps can feel overwhelming or vague. Worse still, they can leave teams demotivated, especially if progress isn’t immediately visible.
Instead, Jeroen advocates for an approach centred on habits—the consistent actions and behaviours that drive long-term success.
“When you have habits—whether daily, weekly, or monthly—it creates that momentum. If you set the habits at the right level and do a really good job, you’ll probably end up doing far better than you thought you would.”
2. Build in Flexibility
Life happens. A rigid goal doesn’t account for unexpected challenges. Reframe your goals to allow for adjustments along the way. For example:
Rigid Goal: “Launch my product by July 1st.”
Flexible Goal: “Complete the top 3 tasks needed for launch in July.”
3. Prioritise Well-Being
Your goals should stretch you, not break you. Consider how your goals impact your mental health. Are they motivating or draining? If it’s the latter, pivot.
(In an upcoming newsletter, I’ll share my framework for slow growth. Watch this space.)
Alternative Frameworks to Consider
The SMART framework—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound—is a popular approach to goal setting. But I’ve found it often misses one key element: how I want to feel about the goal while working toward it and once achieving it.
If SMART goals don’t work for you, consider alternatives:
Desire Map: Danielle LaPorte’s method focuses on identifying core desired feelings rather than specific outcomes. Create a life that feels good on the inside, not just one that looks good on the outside.
CLEAR: Collaborative, Limited, Emotional, Appreciable, Refinable. A great option for group goals, ensuring they’re adaptive and meaningful.
PACT: Purposeful, Actionable, Continuous, Trackable. Focus on continuous growth rather than fixed achievement.
For instance, let’s say your goal is to grow your newsletter:
SMART Goal: “Get 2,000 subscribers in 12 weeks.”
PACT Goal: “Publish 10 newsletters over the next 10 weeks.”
The PACT approach focuses on the process—letting you enjoy the journey rather than obsess over the destination.
Focus on Systems, Not Goals
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” — James Clear
This insight from Atomic Habits author highlights the importance of prioritising systems over traditional goal-setting.
, author of Rejection Proof and a second book he’s currently writing (working title - “The Art of Achieving Ambitious Things”), expands on this with his concept of being system smart.Here’s a post Jia shared on LinkedIn:
Am I the only one who can waste an entire day on unplanned YouTube binges? 🙋♂️
(Did you know I once spent hours exploring the history of Armenia? True story.)This happens because we are naturally prone to distraction and procrastination.
But I've found a way to combat it: being "system smart." 🧠
What’s "system smart," you ask?
It's about using systems, tools, and routines to generate actions toward outcomes, even when your natural tendency is inaction, fear, and procrastination.
For instance, to overcome my YouTube rabbit holes, I developed a beach writing ritual:
↳ Leave my phone at home
↳ Drive 45 minutes to a remote beach
↳ Write distraction-free for 3 hoursThis system transforms me from a distraction magnet into a focused creator.
People talk about "book smart" and "street smart," but we don’t pay enough attention to being system smart. Yet, every great achiever has their own set of systems.
From Ernest Hemingway’s strict writing schedule to Serena Williams’ pre-match rituals, systems are the silent force behind extraordinary success.
The good news?
You don’t need to be born a genius or have superhuman willpower. Being system smart is about working smarter, not harder.It’s like having a personal success GPS that keeps you on track, even when life throws curveballs your way.
Want to achieve ambitious things? Start small:
↳ Identify an area where you often procrastinate or feel stuck
↳ Create a simple system to overcome itIt could be a daily goal tracker or a morning routine to boost your energy.
Your ambitious dreams are waiting. It’s time to get system smart and make them a reality!
Over to You
The science is clear - hard targets can motivate in the short term but often come at a cost. Process-focused systems, flexibility, and well-being offer a more sustainable path to success.
What’s one goal you could reframe today to make it more rewarding? Let’s chat in the comments!
…
(This newsletter was drafted with the help of ChatGPT-4 and edited by yours truly. Image by Dall-E.)
👍 PUBLISHED + WORK IN PROGRESS
1/ Playing Marketing Director is costing founders time, growth, and sanity
2/ Excited to share that I’ve graduated from Airtree’s Explorer Program!
3/ 7 Copywriting Mistakes That Guarantee You Won’t Get Sales
👍 3 THINGS THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION
1/ Read: 11 Reasons not to become famous by Tim Ferriss
2/ Watch: John Rudolph Drexler: Stone Soup - How trying ridiculously hard on things that fail can produce amazing results
3/ Listen: Rob Moore - How to Improve Your Relationship with Money (Slow Mo podcast)
This conversation really helped me reconsider how I think about money, and the examples shared present the concepts in a practical, easy to grasp way.
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See you next week,
Anf Chansamooth
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