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Written Goals = More Success...Yes? or No?

by Rick Baker
On May 10, 2012

For many years, self-help and business gurus have cited a Harvard Business School study summarized as follows:

In the 1950's, Harvard interviewed students in the graduating class of its business program. They found 3% had written goals while 97% did not. Harvard followed up about 20 years later to measure the financial success of these students. Harvard found the 3% of students who had written goals were earning as much as the other 97% combined.

Many authors of self-help books and business-help books have cited this study. Sometimes the dates change. Sometimes it is Yale and not Harvard. Always, it's 3% written goals = 97% without written goals.

But...here's an eye opener. 

The fact is, there has been no such study...it is like an urban myth1.

So, with that huge-justification-for-having-written-goals myth busted...

Can we link written goals to greater success?

The simple answer is Yes.

Written goals help people achieve greater success.

We know this from everyday life:

  • we know it when we read a STOP sign
  • we know it when we make a grocery list
  • we know it when we mark a friend's birthday on our calendar
  • we know it when we make a reservation at a restaurant

When it comes to business and job success, we should have no doubt about it:

WRITTEN GOALS HELP PEOPLE ACHIEVE GREATER SUCCESS.

In business, we do not need astonishing 'facts' like 3% delivers 97%. We already have the 80/20 Rule. People can buy into the 80-20 Rule because we can illustrate it to them by digging into the facts of their roles and their businesses. When we make hyperbolic claims, like 3%=97%, people intuitively know we are talking about getting them in over their heads.

We need to be realistic when we talk about Goal setting

For business and job success the Top 2 questions leaders and planners need to ask are:

  1. What Goal Culture do we want? [What form will our written goals take? How much detail do we want in those written goals?, etc]
  2. How do we create and communicate that Goal Culture? [so people buy-in and people feel good about doing the Actions we desire]
 

Footnote:

  1. We know this because my friend, Lois Raats, and I are working on a 'time management' presentation. As part of our preparation work, Lois researched this topic and discovered the frequently-quoted Harvard study never happened.
  2. If you want to learn more about what people have written and placed in their websites about 'The Harvard Study visit Google and search "Harvard 3% success".

Tags:

80/20 Rule | Goals - SMARTACRE Goals | Questions?: The Art of Asking Good Questions

Comments (7) -

rick baker
5/4/2012 8:52:52 PM #

"From my experience with thousands of people I have concluded that it is much better to conceive of planning as "writing" than as "thinking"."

Alan Lakein
'How To Get Control of Your Time and Your Life', (1973)

rick baker
5/12/2012 11:01:39 PM #

“There is no great secret about success. It is just a natural persistent exercise of the commonest everyday qualities.”

Orison Swett Marden
‘Pushing to the Front’, (1911)

rick baker
6/13/2012 9:14:43 PM #

"More talent has been squandered by the low expectations that result from lack of purpose than from any other cause. Purpose marshals talent."

Laurence G. Boldt
'ZEN and the art of making a living', (2009)

rick baker
8/11/2013 9:47:58 PM #

Root causes behind failures to Execute

1. Lack of clarity around the goals.

2. Lack of commitment to the goal.

3. Accountability 81%, not held accountable

And a far more fundamental problem...your day job, "The Whirlwind".

McChesney, Covey, & Huling
'The 4 Disciplines of Execution', (2012)

rick baker
8/11/2013 9:58:43 PM #

What doesn't work for achieving planned goals:

• will power or discipline alone
• education or know intellectually I should change
• pressure and fear
• wishing and hoping without follow through and action steps
• To Do Lists

What works...
• structure or behavioral cost (hide remote batteries and unplug the TV)
• brainstorm and write down or audio tape steps you can take to break bad habits

Neil Fiore
'The NOW Habit at Work, (2010)

rick baker
8/14/2013 10:18:20 PM #

"A goal properly set is halfway reached."

Zig Ziglar
American Author, Salesman, & Motivational Speaker, (1926-2012)

rick baker
12/12/2015 4:24:52 PM #

"Goals are not only absolutely necessary to motivate us. They are essential to really keep us alive."

Robert H. Schuller

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