Second key attribute of those who are high performers is that they set their sights high and figure out how to achieve it. It’s tempting to set more than one goal, but the highest performers zero in on just one significant, ambitious goal every year. This single towering objective gives them focus, forces them to reach and stretch their limits, and thus yields extraordinary results. Let’s discover why setting one stretch goal a year could make all the difference, and how it turns ordinary people into high performers.
- Ask: “What is the single most important thing to achieve?”
It’s a fundamental question motivating high-performers: What is the single most important thing to achieve? Answering this question requires deep reflection and clarity of purpose. Once you center upon one most important goal, your other activities are focused around the ultimate vision. To prioritize your goal doesn’t mean neglecting everything else there is in life, but it means bringing to what is going to make a big difference the best of your energies.
Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, India’s former President and one of its great scientists, known as the “Missile Man of India,” he focused on just one thing in his earlier career: developing Indian space and defence technology. His work with the Indian Space Research Organisation’s satellite launch vehicle and the integrated guided missile development program took the country onto a completely different path where science and technology were concerned. Kalam’s singular pursuit of developing indigenous technologies is perhaps the perfect instance of asking oneself, “What is most important to achieve?” He had famously said, “You have to dream before your dreams can come true.” He had an aim, a dream, a vision that he was relentlessly striving for, gradually taking India’s position to the global stage.
2. Aim High: Set a Goal That Pushes You
In Indian tradition, the story of Arjuna from the Mahabharata is often quoted when it comes to goal-setting. In this context, when Arjuna was put to the test of hitting the eye of the bird, he was the only one who could concentrate exclusively on the target, ignoring everything in its surrounding. This stands as a metaphorical episode emphasizing aiming high and concentrating at one point. You engage focus and resilience for high performance.
Business leaders in India, like Ratan Tata, have constantly created impossible challenges for themselves and their organizations. When Tata set the goal to invent the Tata Nano—the world’s most affordable car—it looked impossible at that time, yet he did set the bar very high and pushed the cost efficiency frontier of innovation. He was known for saying, “I don’t believe in taking right decisions, I take decisions and make them right.” It wasn’t a smooth journey, but the end product was a revolutionizing product in the entire automobile market of India. Setting high ambitions subjects you to stepping out of your comfort zone and developing in ways you never thought of. It’s not about setting an easy goal but setting a goal that will test your skills—just as Arjuna’s arrow tested his focus and skill.
3. Set a Goal You Will Fight For
It’s not enough to have an ambitious goal—you need to set something you are willing to fight for. High-performers don’t just dream big; they are passionate about their goal. They are willing to achieve it with a strong resolve, even while fighting all odds. Such a determination would help the goal to be converted from a wish to an obsession worth fighting for.
In all aspects, Dhirubhai Ambani, the founder of Reliance Industries, is the epitome of fighting for a goal against heavy and seemingly impossible odds. He was from selling bhajias on the streets of Gujarat; however, his vision was to build one of India’s biggest industrial empires. Ambani was once quoted saying, “If you don’t build your dream, someone else will hire you to build theirs.” His dream was just too ambitious; it was revolutionary considering the time he lived. Ambani fought against well-entrenched business houses, bureaucratic red tape-ism, and finance challenges to make Reliance a household name in India. This fight for such a high-scaled ambition is what testifies to the power of his relentless pursuance of his dream.
4. The Journey to High Performance
Realizing an ambitious goal needs strategy, patience, and endurance. It’s not about overnight results, but about dedicating fully to a purpose that matters. High performers understand that the journey is as important as the destination. Every step towards that ambitious goal builds character, confidence, and capability.
Indian philosophy finds its teaching in the Gita: for one to be focused on his duty but without attachment to results. This certainly comports with what might be called a high performer’s mindset, focusing on the end while embracing the means. As Krishna says in the Gita, “You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions.” This teaching reminds us that the process of striving for an ambitious goal is inherently growth-ful no matter what the proximal result.
Conclusion: Your Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal Awaits
If you want to be a top performer, first ask yourself, What is the most important thing I want to achieve this year? Then go for it—set a goal that is big, hairy, and audacious. Make sure it’s a goal you will fight for with everything you’ve got. Remember, you need not accomplish this overnight, but every year, one big and brilliant goal will be achieved. As Swami Vivekananda used to say, “Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached.” With clarity, ambition, and a readiness to fight, one can achieve greatness. Your vision, your determination, and your passion will make way for extraordinary accomplishments.”
Learn more about Goal Setting and other tips for becoming a Top Performer at: ORL Leadership Summit 2024.
Dr. Prahlada N.B
MBBS (JJMMC), MS (PGIMER, Chandigarh).
MBA (BITS, Pilani), MHA,
Executive Programme in Strategic Management (IIM, Lucknow)
Senior Management Programme in Healthcare Management (IIM, Kozhikode)
Postgraduate Certificate in Technology Leadership and Innovation (MIT, USA)
Advanced Certificate in AI for Digital Health and Imaging Program (IISc, Bengaluru).
Senior Professor and former Head,
Department of ENT-Head & Neck Surgery, Skull Base Surgery, Cochlear Implant Surgery.
Basaveshwara Medical College & Hospital, Chitradurga, Karnataka, India.
My Vision: I don’t want to be a genius. I want to be a person with a bundle of experience.
My Mission: Help others achieve their life’s objectives in my presence or absence!
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Very well written, Dr Prahlad. It's important to rise and set a difference between the ordinary and extra ordinary approach to life.
ReplyRightly said by you,
Prahlada Sir…
"Like a master weaver, life presents us with a tapestry of dreams. But, to avoid entanglement, focus on one thread at a time. Dhirubhai Ambani, the visionary entrepreneur, exemplified this wisdom. He began with a single spindle of yarn and gradually spun a textile empire.
As Sri Krishna counseled in the Gita, "Karmany evadhikaras te, ma phalesu kadachana" – Focus on the effort, not the fruit. The journey, not the destination.
Imagine a lotus blooming in a pond. It doesn't try to flower all at once; each petal unfurls gradually, savoring the sunlight and nourishment. So too, our goals. Nurture one, and the others will bloom in time.
A river flows effortlessly to its destination, not by trying to reach the ocean all at once, but by flowing steadily, one ripple at a time. Our progress should be like that river – constant, focused, and serene.
In the garden of success, tend to one flower at a time. Water it with dedication, prune it with perseverance, and watch it bloom into a radiant achievement. Then, move on to the next, and the next, until the entire garden flourishes.
Remember, the beauty of success lies not in the destination, but in the journey. By focusing on one goal at a time, we cultivate the wisdom to enjoy the process, and the triumph becomes a sweet, sweet bonus."
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