Concreate Goals and hard numbers equals solid growth

Concrete Goals + Hard Numbers = Solid Growth

October 31, 2013

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If you want to improve something, don’t set a vague goal. Set a concrete goal. Even better, set a goal with a hard number attached to it.
Words like “improvement” and “success” are abstract. It’s meaningless to just talk about them. Unless these concepts are turned into concrete goals and actions, they’re meaningless.
Here’s an example from my own company. At Rakuten we have something called the “1/8 Project.” This is an initiative to concretely improve the way we do business by shortening the amount of time spent in meetings. In order to make this happen, first, we halved the frequency that meetings occur. Then, we halved the number of participants taking part in meetings. From there, we halved the length of meetings. Half of half of half is one-eighth. I came up with this project because I believed that the amount of time members of the company spent in meetings could effectively be reduced to one-eighth of what it once was through this process.
If I had just said, “Let’s try to reduce meeting times” nothing would have changed. But because the 1/8 Project calls for concrete action, the overall time spent in meetings has been actually reduced by one-eighth.
Think about training regimes for top athletes. They are always detailed and clear. No matter the exercise, its purpose is always made absolutely lucid. No sprinter hears his coach say, “Try to run a little bit faster.”
This is the true for exercising, and it is true in business. Just saying that you will give something your all or that you will try your best is worthless. You must pursue concrete actions, and you must do so while always considering “Why am I doing this job?” and “What will result from this job?” Abstract action will only lead to abstract results.
My book: Marketplace 3.0
(Photo: Katie Dalton, Flickr)

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