Quotebook: Goal Setting

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As one of the world’s preeminent advisers to CEOs and boards, Ram Charan has spent the past 35 years on the road, watching hundreds of executives deal with their toughest challenges.

Here’s his take on the greatest mistake CEOs make in setting goals:

“As a rule CEOs don’t give enough attention to setting goals. The greatest mistake they make is to look in the rearview mirror at what they did last year or at what their competition did. The brilliant decision makers look at the runway ahead.” (Harvard Business Review, November, 2013)

When you set goals…are you looking in the rearview mirror? Or are you looking at the runway ahead? A brilliant insight.

By the way, I’ve greatly benefitted from the insights of Ram Charan. He is the co-author of Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done (with Larry Bossidy) and Know-How: the 8 Skills That Separate People Who Perform from Those Who Don’t.

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