Is That Goal Really Impossible?

As regular readers of this blog know, I advocate setting Almost Impossible Goals as a way to drive innovation and creativity for individuals, teams, and organizations (read here for further info).

A question I am often asked is, “We have been working on this goal without much progress, how much longer should we try before declaring it Fully Impossible (versus Almost Impossible)?”

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First, once you think and feel that the goal is Fully Impossible, then it is time to restate the goal – either with a longer timeline or a smaller magnitude.  This is because once you think and feel that it is Fully Impossible, you will not try as hard – which is part of the point.

However, I encourage you not to give up too soon!  If you are not making the progress you want, that simply means that you have not yet invented the way to make it happen!  Even four years into a five year goal, you may invent something new and amazing that will help you accomplish the goal – or at least get really close.

The point is, none of us can predict the future.  We have no idea of what we are truly capable of.  So let’s keep our minds open as long as we can.  If we get to the end of the time we set for accomplishing the goal and we don’t make it, then let’s see what we have learned, be proud that we tried hard, and set a new goal for the future.

In 1970, Congress set a goal to cure cancer by 1976 as a fitting way to celebrate the bicentennial.  And they put a lot of funding behind it.  While we have not fully accomplished the goal, we have made great progress in cancer treatments.  Many people are alive today due to those new treatments.  And, there are thousands of people across the country who have not given up and are still working tirelessly to cure cancer.  I greatly appreciate their relentless effort toward the goal.

Be careful not to declare your goal Fully Impossible too soon.  And if you don’t make it, get recharged to continue the pursuit.  Lives might not depend on it. But then again, maybe they do.

For more ideas on how you can lead breakthroughs in your organization, follow this blog and check out my web site.  You will find free resources you can download, including a Breakthrough Strategy Workbook that you can download at no cost.  You can also check out my book, Mission Impact:  Breakthrough Strategies for Nonprofits, and buy it if you are interested.  And you can follow Sheehan Nonprofit Consulting on Facebook.

Lean Innovation

Once I was teaching a group of executives about generating innovation through the power of setting almost impossible goals (read more here if you are interested).  One executive responded:

“So, you want me to risk bankrupting my organization by placing a big bet on a new idea?”

“Uhhh, no," I responded.

Some people think that innovation is an all or nothing deal and they catastrophize possible failure.  When you set an Almost Impossible Goal here are three SMART things you can do.  These ideas are inspired by Eric Ries’s book, The Lean Startup:

1.  Spend lots of time brainstorming over multiple sessions.  You want to generate lots of new ideas.  From my last blog and Adam Grant’s book, Originals: “In fact, when it comes to idea generation, quantity is the most predictable path to quality.”  “Many people fail to achieve originality because they generate a few ideas and then obsess about refining them to perfection.”

2.  Experiment.  Select what you think is the best idea and run very small experiments.  Create what is known as a Minimal Viable Product (or Program/Service) that you can test out in the real world.  Important – collect DATA from REAL possible users of the product/program/service.  Make the product/program/service as “minimal” as possible.  Test various options.

3.  Be agile and nimble.  Be prepared to “pivot” – to make changes, small or large, to your original idea.  If the data shows that you have an idea that does not work, try something else!

Innovative ideas do not require tens of thousands or even thousands of dollars to test in the real world and give you an idea if an idea might work.  Use the Lean Innovation approach to create even more effective ways to make a Mission Impact.

*Check out these articles from Stanford Social Innovation Review to learn more:  “Is Your Nonprofit Really Ready to Use the Lean Startup” (March 5, 2014), “The Promise of Lean Experimentation” (Summer 2015).

For more ideas on how you can lead breakthroughs in your organization, follow this blog and check out my web site.  You will find free resources you can download, including a Breakthrough Strategy Workbook that you can download at no cost.  You can also check out my book, Mission Impact:  Breakthrough Strategies for Nonprofits, and buy it if you are interested.  And you can follow Sheehan Nonprofit Consulting on Facebook.