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Increasing the difficulty of goals and objectives generally amplifies the challenge, which, in turn, raises the effort to meet the challenge. This concept of goal difficulty creates confusion and is where defining the difference between goals and objectives becomes important. Because goals have a long‐term time horizon, it is useful to set goals, and, thus, expectations, high. In the best‐selling book, Built to Last, Collins and Porras’s research shows that one of the things that highly successful companies have in common is that they set BHAGs – Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals. The authors write: “A BHAG should be so clear and compelling that it requires little or no explanation. Remember, a BHAG is a goal – such as climbing a mountain or going to the moon – not a ‘statement.’ If it does not get people juices going it is just not a BHAG.”²⁴ One of the 18 built‐to‐last companies was Merck. Its BHAG was “to become the preeminent drug maker worldwide, via massive R&D and new products that cure disease.”²⁵

On the other hand, short‐term objectives set by salespeople and their management should be set to make people feel like winners, a deep‐seated need. Unfortunately, management often set BHAGs, or “stretch,” short‐term objectives, believing that they motivate people. Figure 4.1 shows the relationship between motivation and objective difficulty. Setting a very low objective has no motivating effect. On the other hand, setting an objective too high demotivates people because they give up the moment they realize that the objective is unachievable. Working hard to achieve an impossible objective creates cognitive dissonance, so people quit making an effort in order to bring thinking and action into internal harmony.

As you can see from Figure 4.1, the best objectives are moderately difficult, yet provide a challenge because they are perceived as attainable and are, thus, motivating. Contrary to what many managers believe, the trick in setting objectives is to set them on the low side of the moderately difficult peak to ensure that they can be reached with a strong effort and, thus, allow people to feel successful. Unfortunately, too often managers set objectives on the high side of the moderately difficult peak and, thus, unintentionally reduce people’s motivation. It is better, in fact, to be a little on the low side than to be a little on the high side because you want to make sure that the salespeople feel like winners.

Figure 4.1 Objective difficulty and motivation

Interestingly, people with low self‐esteem often set unrealistically high goals because they expect failure. Already viewing themselves as losers, they are more comfortable reinforcing this view in advance. Claiming that “the objective was too high,” allows them to quit before trying rather than attempting something difficult that they think they are bound to fail at.

The ideal is to set a series of moderately difficult, challenging objectives that get progressively more difficult and challenging as each objective is achieved (a critical element in deliberate practice). This series of realistic step‐by‐step, increasingly more difficult objectives will eventually lead you to your BHAG.

In 2018 in his annual letter to stockholders, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos related a story that reinforced the importance of setting realistic goals. The title of his anecdote was “Perfect handstands,” and read: “A close friend recently decided to learn to do a perfect free‐standing handstand… In the very first lesson, the coach gave her some wonderful advice. … ‘The reality is that it takes about six months of daily practice. If you think you should be able to do it in two weeks, you’re just going to end up quitting.’ Unrealistic beliefs…kill high standards.”²⁶

Setting objectives and goals that achieve high standards is an art. Achieving high standards takes work, analysis, thought, and incredible persistence when faced with an unpredictable future.