Goals: The Less, the Better

Countless books, scholarly articles, and TED Talks explore the concept of company goals. Yet, I’ve found most approaches overly complex and ultimately unhelpful. While the intellectual side of me appreciates the rigor of tools like the Jack Welch/Kanri Goal Matrix*, these tools are dense, difficult to commit to memory, and impractical for guiding day-to-day decision-making.

In my experience, a truly useful goal is one that employees can remember and apply as a lens when making hundreds of decisions each day. This simplicity proved highly effective for us in 2024. That year, we focused on just two goals:

1. Grow company revenue by 15%.
2. Relocate the entire business.

These goals provided clarity. For every task or decision employees faced, they asked: Does this contribute to one of these two goals? If not, don't do it. This prioritization made work more focused and purposeful, and the results spoke for themselves. We achieved significant growth and successfully moved into a new 1.6-million-cubic-foot, 12-acre distribution campus.

As we move into 2025, our strategic planning is complete, and we’re refining our vision for 2027 and beyond. The focus for 2025 has boiled down to executing on two key objectives:

1. Implementing a more efficient tech stack.
2. Driving EBITDA growth.

Stripping down to just one or two goals feels counterintuitive—especially for someone like me who thrives on doing everything, as fast as possible. But this discipline is critical. It ensures the entire company is rowing in the same direction. For a CEO, this simplicity comes with a risk: if the team executes well and the strategy fails, the responsibility falls squarely on the CEO's shoulders.

Interestingly, I read recently about a famous consulting firm (let’s call them “M”), often hired as a scapegoat. Companies trial different strategies under M’s guidance and, if the strategy fails, blame and fire M to shield the CEO. That’s not leadership; it’s deflecting accountability and misusing investor resources.

Another essential aspect of goal-setting is flexibility. Goals shouldn’t be rigid mandates; they should function more like molding clay—adaptable to circumstances and evolving outlooks. As *Harvard Business Review* aptly put it, goals should leave room for adjustment while maintaining their core focus.

Simpler goals mean clearer priorities, better execution, and a more unified team effort.

The less, the better.

- Ben

*Ref: (https://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplates/hoshin-kanri-x-matrix.html)