In the past I have set some big, hairy, audacious business goals. Then I’ve freaked out! Unless and until I revisit the ‘why’ question I won’t have the motivation to implement the goal. And a lack of drive puts a damper on creativity.

We need our creative juices to flow if we are to come up with new approaches. Also, we rely on them if we want to increase the likelihood of delivering on our outcomes. And if, like me you’re a ‘high achiever’ then you’ll approach new business goals in the same ambitious way you tackle other challenges.

As a result, we create a situation where we are highly likely to miss out on what we’ve stated we want. And that can be damaging psychologically; tapping into any feelings of insecurity or ‘not being good enough’.

Big picture business goals need detail-oriented thinking  

Being creative, strategic and visionary in identifying your business goals is a great skill to have. And unless you are one of the lucky few who do both equally well; you will also need to pay conscious attention to the detail involved in delivering on them.

This is the point where big picture thinkers switch off; and what seemed like a great idea falls by the wayside. In addition, they may not have the resources at their disposal to hand off the idea for implementation; and that can lead to further disappointment.

So, what can you do about that?

Make business goals easy

Having defined the large ‘umbrella’ outcome set yourself some easy goals; quick wins if you like. And by ‘easy’ I really do mean something that is so simple to do you can action it quicker than writing it down.

For example, I want to write a book and tend to think of that as something I’ll have time for in the twilight of my career. Part of the problem has been thinking I need to devote an hour a day to writing (there’s the achiever in me coming out); and that simply isn’t realistic. So instead I’ve committed to writing down one headline or idea each day.

By keeping it simple – and taking the pressure off, you will find that you make frequent and incremental progress towards the larger goal. Small steps build momentum and once you start your instinct will be to do the next step automatically.

It’s worthwhile remembering that often, it’s the small incremental steps that lead to the biggest and most impactful changes. So, give yourself permission to keep it simple and do the small things consistently. The chances are that you’ll keep on going and that you’ll have delivered on that hairy outcome before you know it!