Recently, our management team set about firming up the goals for the year. Everyone chipped in; there was plenty of whiteboard action and we found ourselves with some targets that were very compelling indeed. Job well done!

Except we then started breaking it down and adding timelines and responsibilities; it became very obvious to everyone that this was three years’ worth of work, not one. With the current resources in the organisation, the goals that we had set – much as they were highly compelling – were nothing more than pipedreams.

You Can Change The Goals Or You Can Change The Way You Play The Game

I was reminded of something a mentor of mine once said: “If you had a gun to your head, if this was life or death, could you achieve those goals?”

Or course, with an incentive like that then the answer is a definite yes. Pesky non-life-threatening things, such as time with family, personal health, social life, sleep, and so on, could all be sacrificed in the short term to save our lives and hit those goals.

So the goals remain. But the way you play the game can change. Gun to your head time again. Life or death, how would you achieve those goals whilst only working four days a week? Or three weeks a month? Or working entirely from home?

Ask Better Questions, And You Get Better Answers

Killing yourself by putting in more hours might be the easiest answer, but it’s definitely not the best answer. The goals that we had set were very compelling, but there are still only 24 hours in the day. We can’t achieve our goals by trying to find more time; we can only do it by trying to find more team.

Team can be the people you work with on a daily basis or it can be the people you partner with. There is no shortage of people out there who would be happy to partner with you if you can help them achieve their goals.

The most effective way to change the game you’re playing, is to find new partners. Look at the success of any company and you can see the inflection points where they have formed great strategic partnerships.

“Gun to the head” might not be the analogy that works for you, but understanding that there are more ways to play the game will always help you hit your goals.