Goal setting

think through what you wish for

Annual planning time, to me, is the most fascinating balance of analysis and synthesis. If you are hyper-analytical you'll end up low balling yourself and yet if you are too creative, you are plain bullshitting.

So where do you draw the line?

Four years ago I took the first real holiday since starting my deli concept. I came to California with a dear friend and we drove from Los Angeles to San Francisco.

We stayed in Echo Park, Santa Barbara, Pismo Beach, Monterey and Redwood City. It was the first time for me to visit any other north American city beside New York City.

Our host in the valley was a lovely German lady and her shepherd dog. Her husband is a professor at nearby Stanford working in nuclear physics. Airbnb truly has redefined the business of overnight hospitality, love it.

Talking about my background I told her I was running a food start-up. She lit up and said: “what kind? My husband's friends are working on this vegetable based patty that taste like real beef”. She was talking about impossible foods.

It was one of these moments when you realize that you thought you were into something and kind of good at it to then realize there are some real pros out there that kick ass at a whole other level. It’s was a humbling and inspiring experience, one that has ultimately culminated in my current career path.

Whether you have a coach or not, you should always set your own goals. The way I do it for myself and the way that I run all my friends through is simple.

I call it the horoscope. Tell me about your health, wealth and personal life five, ten and twenty five years from now. What would you like to see?

Then work you way backwards, take the first step to wait until you have ~80% understanding of the situation and run the framework again.

You may decide is time to push you team focus towards different strategies or maybe it's time to wait and let the seeds mature. You'll know it if you think about it.

Regularly ask yourself: “how would I do it if I knew what I know now?”

Before you take the next step, run the horoscope and re-evaluate the opportunity. You may not change your mind and more often than not you'll gain confidence in your current path making you more productive and focused than before.

Take your time when thinking about goals. Make sure you invest a good balance of short, mid and long term returns. Start very diversified and trim your positions over-time to focus on what makes the most sense in the moment. Trim slowly and only increase pace once you truly know what you are doing.

Whether is your business annual planning season, or your own new year's resolutions, take as much time as you need to find your focus.

If you are looking for a legit guide to business goals setting (not the point of this post) read measure what matters and your choice of business biography. There is a ton of good ones out there. Pick your style and accept that no process is perfect. They key is well communicating the need for iteration to your organization.

Tech twitter is also losing their mind on this one. It's good, but remember that any well communicated and presented strategy should land you somewhat in the same territory.