There was a joke in the corridors of the fifth floor at Editora Globo, in the old headquarters on Av. Half of the floor was for Circulation, that is, sales of titles via newsstands and subscriptions.
The joke was: "A goal award is like a codfish head. We know it exists, but nobody has seen it."
This is because the company set the criteria for departmental performance rewards, starting with the CEO and cascading down to the third-party salesperson on the street.
These criteria were surreal. Internally nobody reached the VR - Variable Remuneration. That's why we called the VR a codfish head.
We used to call it that, but the department grew by 10 to 15% digits every year. I am talking about something massive and pulverized. Growing double digits years in a row is not a matter of will.
It's a matter of blood, sweat, tears, beatings, and a "we're far away" atmosphere. It's a matter of imposing and believing in "unrealistic" goals.
I remember that I spent time with the team putting together a year's planning and delivered an 80-page workbook containing in detail what would be achieved in the coming year, and on the last page there was the total expected revenue.
We spent about 40 days preparing this planning.
My CEO, received the material, went straight to the last page, crossed out the $180 million figure and scribbled above the same 200 MM and said. "There. It's great and approved."
Since I already knew he would do this, I had left under the rug about 15 MM for contingency and in the end it all worked out. No one was stressed by this change.
But the general culture was to impose and charge surreal and even antagonistic goals such as: Improve the profitability of the portfolio, improve the quality of subscribers (less cancellation) and grow (new subscribers). Not even the fantastic quartet could do it. But we ran after them.
And it worked. You couldn't catch up, but the results were very good compared to previous periods.
Setting challenging, big, unimaginable goals is one part of the equation. The other is to believe in them and actually pursue them.
It is in this part of the equation that the doers separate from the dreamers. This is where the chaff separates from the wheat and the men from the boys. This is where life becomes thoughtful and monotonous.
That's all you think about.
On your goal.
🙂
Goodbye balance, regulated life. That's when the little boxes get messed up: the family, the gym, the box of good nutrition and healthy living, and all the little boxes we are "taught" to keep well cared for. Everything becomes a mess.
Unrealistic, but credible goals. They will take you to another level.
You will be frustrated, you will be "p" about 95% of the time. You will live with an itchy viscera that will make even the Brazilian nun want to leave.
I even believed in the detachment of some sublime classes of people, like the Buddhist monks until I saw the shattering scene of dozens of them in their orange robes breaking the stick between them in the middle of the street over political disputes.
Nietzsche was right: In his will to power, man will always want more.
So, since I'm always going to wish, I'd better wish up there, wish at the top. And believe that I will get there.
Now it cannot be a mere wish. It must be a goal. It must have coupling of how to get there and how we will know we are on the path. Then you have to look at the bug daily. And measure it. And think about how to improve. All the time.
A lot of people will tell you, "Oh but you could set smaller goals and not live in frustration."
I know. (zzzzzzz... zzzzzzz...)
In corporate sales, we have new customer targets.
Proposal targets issued and closing targets.
This is how the billing target is born. Billing in the portfolio and billing new customers.
This week, we will complete 20% of the year. 20% of 2018 will be gone by this Friday.
I know that your figures are probably not very pretty yet. No one's are.
Not that we are incompetent. Quite the contrary.
It is that we have realistic goals.
The ones that realize our best potential.
