​​​​Christopher Sopko

Perhaps one of the best explanations on the importance of goal setting comes to us from Michael Jordan in his book entitled, “I Cannot Accept Not Trying -  Michael Jordan on the Pursuit of Excellence”.    

“I approach everything step by step....I had always set short-term goals.  As I look back, each one of the steps or successes led to the next one.  When I got cut from the varsity team as a sophomore in high school, I learned something.  I knew I never wanted to feel that bad again....So I set a goal of becoming a starter on the varsity.  That’s what I focused on all summer.  When I worked on my game, that’s what I thought about.  When it happened, I set another goal, a reasonable, manageable goal that I could realistically achieve if I worked hard enough....I guess I approached it with the end in mind.  I knew exactly where I wanted to go, and I focused on getting there.  As I reached those goals, they built on one another.  I gained a little confidence every time I came through.”

“... If your goal is to become a doctor and you’re getting Cs in biology then the first thing you have to do is get Bs in biology and then As.  You have to perfect the first step and then move on to chemistry or physics. Take those small steps.  Otherwise you’re opening yourself up to all kinds of frustration.  Where would your confidence come from if the only measure of success was becoming a doctor?  If you tried as hard as you could and didn’t become a doctor, would that mean your whole life was a failure?   Of course not."

"All those steps are like pieces of a puzzle.  They all come together to form a picture....Not everyone is going to be the greatest....But you can still be considered a success....Step by step.  I can’t see any other way of accomplishing anything.”

Every organization needs to find people like this.  Hiring people like this and helping them achieve their goals will lead to the success of everyone.

Unfortunately, very few people are taught the importance of goal setting at an early age.  Thankfully, it is a skill that can be developed.  Many people need to be taught the importance of goal setting and they need to ask themselves what they did each day in order to meet their goals.   If you have people on your staff that have the attributes that make up the base of our pyramid then spend the time with them explaining the importance of goal setting.  Talk to them about Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Steve Jobs or Thomas Edison.  Show them how the utilization of small achievable goals enabled these people to achieve greatness.  Heck, as you just read…Michael Jordan got cut from his high school basketball team and look what he was able to accomplish!