Boring Goals that Bite

Every 13 weeks I write the same goal in my Best Self Journal - to be healthy, and then I break that down into personal OKRs from tracking my macros, to how many strength workouts, yoga, dog walks and cycling sessions I am going to fit in every week.  I do this because ‘being healthy’ is nebulous and sometimes hard to put your finger on. I also do it because, although this might sound like I am a self-improving habit-nerd, I’ve learned over my time on earth, that unless I hold myself accountable to something, I am by nature pretty lazy.  So this attention to detail is how I personally turn good intentions into action.   

This week the idea of setting goals and measuring them came up for me in different ways. Firstly, I am a subscriber to the Higher Ground substack by the brilliant Alison Taylor (if you are not one of the 5000 subscribers, you should be) and she shared a provocative piece this week that we’re now in a Zero-Trust economy. Based on her daily interactions with Gen Z, Taylor observes that Gen Z are bored by corporate sustainability goals and what they see as greenwash and performative action. They don’t trust brands, and they are right to be skeptical. Another Higher Ground subscriber shared this link to a report by PLOS Climate that examined 1,233 environmental claims made by 33 of the biggest dairy companies against a greenwash framework, and found 98% of the goals would fall foul of the framework.   Although, worth noting this framework sets a deliberately low bar, that’s difficult for many to pass, it’s still a telling indicator. 

So in this context when so many are setting goals they can’t seem to progress and when Gen Z is bored by the very idea of goals, is it even worth setting a goal?  Furthermore,  ‘If I do set a goal, how do I avoid greenwash?’ a client asked us this week. 

Businesses set revenue goals and frequently miss them. Nobody suggests scrapping revenue goals as a consequence. Why do we expect impact goals to be heroic moonshots or not worth setting at all?  In the past in corporate sustainability, we found ourselves on the moonshot path of BHAGs (big hairy audacious goals) with goals so visionary that we didn't know how we would achieve them, and with a time frame of 20-30 years we likely wouldn’t still be in the roles and accountable for them when the deadline passed.  If a business did the same on revenue goals, without interim goals, it would be laughable.    

Many companies are grappling with Net-Zero or Net-Positive goals they don’t have a line of sight on how to deliver against yet.  Then along came the Climate Transition Plan, now embedded in ISSB Standards, a framework that forces companies to disclose interim results, capital allocation and senior leadership accountability.  The bad news is that they can be applied unevenly, with many companies using the Transition Plan to walk back ambitious commitments. 

So what is the answer? Honestly, I think it’s boring goals, honestly applied, with real consequences when they are not met. In practice, that’s picking outcome goals that use external credible frameworks, consequences when the business fails to meet them, and transparency, even when the results are uncomfortable reading.  

When it comes to pulling back goals or setting new goals, what is the right path forward?   I think we are back to SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) goals and OKRs (Objectives & Key Results - See John Doerr’s Measure What Matters), with consequences that bite if we miss them. 

The Practical Takeaways

1. Be honest, if you are not going to ever meet a goal. Pull it, and don’t do it quietly.  Be transparent about why.

2. Treat Impact OKRS like financial OKRs, same rigor and same accountability. Spend as much time working with your team on defining the right indicators and measures to report on as you do on financial goals.  

3. Set interim targets, quarterly, annually. If your 2026 goals are not a stepping stone to your 2030 and 2040 goals, they are not real.   

4. Apply consequences and accountability. The potential for failure and loss will sharpen the focus on what really matters. 

5. Be open about progress even when it hurts. Honesty could be the bridge to a partner or solution that can help you get where you need to go. 

To win back the trust of Gen Z,  we need to stop performing ambition and start demonstrating progress.  If you're ready to set impact goals that actually hold up to scrutiny, reach out. We'll help you build the kind of commitments that don't just look good on a slide; they also deliver.