I pay attention to what sticks with me after an event is over. As I mentioned last week, I recently attended ICF’s Converge 2023 conference, and the core message from the session I attended on the final morning has resonated since: goal setting is often as motivational as goal achievement.
Seb Terry is the founder of 100 Things. He shared some remarkable stories about his journey toward achieving 100 things on his bucket list that he wrote in his mid-twenties (including marrying a stranger in Las Vegas, which wouldn’t be on my list, and attending the birth of a baby, which would be). He talked about the motivational power of setting goals — how we can feel successful even in the pursuit of small things that are meaningful to us — and that doing so can serve to motivate those around us. Achieving goals is satisfying, but setting them and pursuing them are both deeply energizing too. That message certainly squares with my experience.
In passing, he mentioned that the same can be true at a corporate level, and it set me thinking about organizational goals. I help organizations set strategic goals all the time — but how different might our energy be, and our outputs, if we thought about corporate goals as a “corporate bucket list”? It has a completely different vibe, doesn’t it? What are the specific things that your organization would go to great lengths to achieve in its corporate lifetime and would be disappointed if it didn’t? I find that a more energizing reframe of the typical “what are your goals?” question.
As you head into this new season of goal setting, what might be on your list of 100 things — or even 10 things — not just individually but corporately? You’ll be surprised at how successful you might feel in articulating those — not to mention how great it will feel to achieve them!
P.S. I’m finding it remarkably difficult to think of 100 things I want to do — which surprises me. Almost all of mine involve travel. What might be on your list?
P.P.S. Thank you to those who put your hand up to attend the pilot event I’m running on October 2, even without knowing much about it. It’s happening in partnership with Brent Klassen of Heartwood Gatherings and we’re calling it Through the Chrysalis. We’ve filled the seats, but are taking a waitlist now that we can say more about what it is. Let me know if you’d like to be on that list. If we end up with lots of interest, we’ll consider adding a second date.