The book Hope is Not a Strategy, by Rick Page, got me thinking about setting goals. It is that time of year, and I’m wondering where you are with the goals you set last year. Did your hopes and dreams turn into reality this year? If not, maybe this Tip can help you in turning your hopes and dreams into a reality in the coming year.
What role does hope play in goal setting? To use hope effectively as a resource for achieving goals, it’s important to distinguish between two types: blind hope and real hope.
Blind hope is when we make a wish and believe that simply thinking about it will make it come true. It relies on wishful thinking rather than action. In contrast, real hope is rooted in an inner state of clarity and conviction. This involves understanding the compelling reasons behind our goals, which drive specific, intentional actions. Real hope also fosters confidence—the assurance that we are doing the right things, regardless of the immediate outcome.
Here’s an example to illustrate this: A client set a goal for every employee to fully understand and embody the Company’s Values in their daily work by the end of 2024. Their belief was that if employees could connect the Company’s Values to their roles, those Values would naturally guide their actions. As a result, employees would become more self-directed, empowered, and engaged in their work. This goal wasn’t based on blind hope that employees would simply adopt these behaviors; instead, it relied on real hope—a clear plan, driven by purposeful actions and a belief in the transformative power of aligning values with daily tasks. Here’s what they did throughout the year to reach their goal.
- Introduced and kicked-off the initiative.
- Gained buy-in and set expectations for the role the managers were to play in keeping the Company’s Values top of mind for their employees.
- Started quarterly one-on-one manager check-ins with their team members on progress being made on their goals, their performance, and highlighting how the team members were demonstrating the Company’s Values.
- Emphasized a Company Value monthly through leadership team communication and manager and employee Shout-Outs when they noticed team members demonstrating the Value of the Month.
- Held Quarterly Company-wide meetings and highlighted the Shout-Outs, celebrated progress being made with Company and Department Goals, and had two to three departments share how they were demonstrating the Company’s Values.
- Checked in twice a year on Employees’ engagement with the Values and rated how team members and management were doing demonstrating those Values.
Have they accomplished their goal? They have made progress but realize they need to still work on it in 2025. Their clarity, conviction, and confidence that the goal is the right goal hasn’t changed and that caused them to carry the goal forward into 2025.
Here’s another example. A salesperson hoped to increase his sales by 25% in 2024. He believed that he had the skills and experience to do it and his pipeline was healthy going into 2024. He knew that his chance of hitting his goal would be significantly increased if he defined and committed to consistently doing these behaviors:
- Following the company’s sales process
- Asking the right questions when with clients and prospects
- Uncovering the buyer’s core buying reasons
- Discussing investment (budget) and how and when the decision will be made
- Presenting to the buyer’s core buying reasons, and
- Setting mutual agreements along the way.
This salesperson achieved his goal in August of this year!
If we set a goal, define the right attitudes and behaviors, and consistently act on those behaviors, will we succeed every time? Unfortunately, not always. Why not? It comes down to where we focus our attention. Even when we diligently commit to the necessary behaviors and complete every action step, success may still elude us.
What might be missing is real hope. This isn’t just about focusing on the outcome, attitudes, behaviors, or action steps. It’s the essential ingredient of an inner state which is the combination of clarity, conviction, and confidence.
Clarity and conviction stem from deeply understanding the compelling reasons behind our actions. Confidence grows from knowing we’re doing the right things, regardless of the immediate outcome. Together, these qualities sustain motivation and keep our focus on why the goal matters and what’s personally meaningful about achieving it. This inner state helps ensure that our efforts remain aligned and purposeful, driving us toward success even when results take time to materialize.
So, when setting goals for 2025, know what you desire, dream, and hope for AND be sure you add all the ingredients for success – attitudes, behaviors, actions AND clarity, conviction, and confidence. We’ve developed a guide to be sure you include all of these in your goal setting for 2025. Are you ready to get started? Click here to purchase our 2025 Goal Setting Booklet for $20. We offer a 10% discount for orders of 5 or more booklets.
Let us know if you have any questions. We’re here to make sure your goals become a reality in 2025!
