I recently came to learn that there is a very clear difference between a goal and an outcome. And yet both are equally as important in building your business. If you neglect one, you’ll fail in the other and vice versa. And if you have neither, well needless to say, you’re not in business. So let’s investigate both of these critical aspects of your business success.
Firstly, let’s cover off on the exact meanings of both words, starting with a goal. According to Dictionary.com a goal is:
- the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.
- the terminal point in a race.
- a pole, line, or other marker by which such a point is indicated.
- an area, basket, cage, or other object or structure toward or into which players of various games attempt to throw, carry, kick, hit, or drive a ball, puck, etc., to score a point or points.
- the act of throwing, carrying, kicking, driving, etc., a ball or puck into such an area or object.
- the score made by this act.
So clearly we only need concern ourselves with point 1 – the other points clearly relate to sports. Goals are absolutely critical to have in business and in life. If we had nothing to aim towards, what would be the point of anything after all? And we have all felt the effects of setting a target for ourselves and then not achieving it. There are always consequences around this as well. But for the moment let’s investigate the meaning a little deeper.
For any decision in life, there is always a tangible result. Or in fact the indecision as well – both are choices in any context. For most, we play the game of life relatively small. We either achieve easy goals or the ones that are slightly more challenging, we don’t hit. We can beat ourselves up or just become complacent and act as though we don’t care. But we do don’t we? We feel guilty, unfulfilled, shame, dissatisfied. And some choose to go through their entire lives living with these feelings. While others, take charge.
Now we don’t need to go into an exercise here on how we can set ourselves S.M.A.R.T. goals for increased likelihood of achieving the goals – that is not what we are discussing here. The point that I wish to convey here is the difference between what a goal is and what an outcome is. Why? So you are better equipped to decide for yourself what is most important and then hopefully take action on that. So in business, goals are crucial to achieving any kind of result. Without setting them and then taking the necessary action towards attaining then, they are merely just a dream. Hope you are getting this.
Let’s move on to what the meaning is of an outcome. And again let’s go back to our friends at Dictionary.com:
- a final product or end result; consequence; issue.
- a conclusion reached through a process of logical thinking.
Now I personally love this. It’s the tangible result itself. And whether or not you make a decision or choose not, act or not, there is ALWAYS a result. Whether you like it, agree with it or not. To differentiate because I know that some of you reading this may be a little confused, let’s give an example. Recently I set myself a goal for resolving a leg complaint and receiving news of an upcoming surgery that I have been waiting a very long time for (if you live here in Australia – yes I am a public patient so have been on a waiting list for longer than I care to share with you). I set myself a goal that I was going to receive that resolution to my leg complaint and get a date for the surgery inside of the month of August. Now I didn’t exactly rest on my laurels and expect God to deliver those things into my lap. I took some actions to bring both of those things into my reality. Now here is where it gets a little murky. So I set myself the goal – so the goal is specific, it was measurable, it was definitely achievable, incredibly relevant considering both conditions were hindering my ability to compete in high level sport and had a timeline attached. That is the quick ABC of setting a goal. As with any goals, action does have to be taken. Without doing that, it is just a dream you’ve been having and we all know what happens to dreams when we wake up in the morning – they float away. Now there will always be an outcome of setting a goal – this is the differentiation between the two. The outcomes can be many and varied. In my case, I was able to see one of the top knee surgeons in Melbourne and get some answers and a way forward. I also received in the mail a date for my surgery after I made some enquiries. So I didn’t sit around waiting. Now the outcomes could have been very different. I could still have been waiting for the surgery. And the surgeon may have given me nothing to support me to move forward. There could have been many more outcomes as well which could have impacted me far negatively. Every action has a reaction – that is how the world works. But fundamentally without a goal, there is no outcome. Remember, a goal is only a dream until it’s specific, measurable, achievable, relevant to you and with a timeline. And once you do that, you’ll have an outcome – whether it’s positive for you, negative or neutral. But there is always an outcome. Always.
I hope this has helped you to see that there is a very clear disassociation between a goal and an outcome and how the two are inextricably entwined. It’s really impossible to have one without the other. Next week I’m going to discuss more about the S.M.A.R.T. goals model in the hope that you can too can start making some, seeing some outcomes in your business and life and then course correcting to put you on course to achieving all of the results you really want. Stay tuned.