Reframe Your Goals: Embrace the Stretch, Not Just the Destination

Happy New Year. I’m Melissa Shanahan, and this is The Law Firm Owner Podcast Episode #293.

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Hi everyone. Welcome to this week's episode. I am going to build off of last week today. So if you listened to last week, this will sort of dovetail right into what I'm going to talk about today. If you haven't listened to that, I would say go back and listen to it. There is estate planning in the title of that podcast because I do talk about something really specific for certain kinds of firms, but it's the last half of the episode. So the first part of the episode is actually just kind of geeked out for a minute on goal setting and a couple different ways to approach that.

And as a follow-up, because I've thought about this since I recorded that, this is what happens when I don't have an outline for what I want to say, I think of things later that I wish I would have said. So this is a bit of a follow-up because I think it's important for some of you to hear this.

I mentioned last time that when you set goals, there's a way to do it in the way that I expressed that I typically help. There's one of two ways that I think about helping clients determine their targets for this year so that they're on track for the bigger vision that they have. And when we do that, when I'm with private clients, I'm in the trenches with them. I have a lot of information. I have a lot of data. Any data I need, I have at my fingertips. They do too, but I'm not out of the loop with this stuff.

And also, I know what their motivations are, I know their tolerance for risk. I know how big they're willing to strive. And that's sort of is tied with risk, but you know what they're willing to sacrifice. It's not a cakewalk to grow and to grow well.

So I have all of that as tools so that I can be most helpful to the client with me. But there are things that I mentioned on the podcast that quite frankly could give off that being conservative is the way to go. And I don't necessarily believe that. I think that there is a way to approach this so that psychologically you understand you're stretching yourself, but you are not stretching yourself to the point where you are willing to figure it out as you fly.

And if you don't figure it out very well within this 12 months, within this timeframe, cause you will ultimately figure it out, we're just putting a timeline on the goal, right? If you are not able to actually figure it on the fly within the year or whatever timeframe you put on the goal, then most people end up not hitting the goal by the deadline they had set and they feel crappy about it. And it's not worth it.

So there's a couple of things here. Number one, I work with people and this usually unfolds over time. I work with people to set goals, and when I meet their mental limitations to the stretch, when I see that they don't believe in the goal because it feels so far away, then I know my work is to help them understand that in some cases it's worth setting the goal anyway and being very intentional all along the way and doing your best to figure it out. And we have really smart ways, approaches to do that. And if you fall short of the goal by the deadline you had set, who freaking cares? That is what I like to get people to. It doesn't matter. Because the work that you are doing to figure out how to hit your goal by the deadline, it may not happen right at the deadline, but it will probably shortly after that. It is not about the destination. It is about the stretch.

When I say this, I'm not even talking about the, it's not about the destination, it's about the journey. Enjoy the journey. Like, yeah, sort of, but that's not my point here. I do think we could all take a page from that, but that's not what I'm talking about here. My point is, and one of my clients reminded me of this quote, I used to say it all the time on this podcast. If you've been a listener for a while, you've definitely heard me say this before, but there is something I heard a long time ago that said the smartest people on the planet are always reaching for the next rung on the ladder, but they know it's not about the next rung. It's about the stretch. And that means everything to me. And that's what I try to impart to my clients and members. It is about the stretch.

When you put in the work to be able to reach the rung, not that you got it, that you were even able to reach it and solidly reach it, not slippery, not grab it for a minute and it falls off, like no, intentionally work to line yourself up so that that goal that you were shooting for is inevitable. That work is the most important part of my job when I'm working with members and clients. They may not always see that.

They may not always understand that. They may not always believe that. But it's the truth and the more you focus on that part in doing that well, having your data at your fingertips, doing a good job with tracking, making in time and setting aside time to plan intentionally and quite frankly, be facilitated, follow a process to plan, don't just plan flippantly. And then doing your best, progress not perfection, at following through on your plans. If you focus on that, you will get to the place that will blow your own mind. It might not happen in the perfect amount of time that you set, but the work that you're doing means it's gonna freaking happen. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.

I mean, so many times people hit their goals on the deadlines that they set. So many times people blow their annual goals of the water, even though the goal that they set was a stretch. I mean, this is not always the case, but the bigger the stretch, the iffier it is on if you can do it by the deadline or not, but you're certainly going to freaking go for it. You're going to try, right?

So that's what I imagine is my main job. That's what I think about. And I can sniff on them if they operate in that way, if they think in that way, or if they have too much weight on the goal, so then all that they're pitting themselves against is did I do it by the deadline or did I not? Did I do it by the deadline or did I not? And if I didn't hit the number by the deadline, then what am I doing? Why can't I figure this out? They beat themselves up. They beat the people around them up. They have a really negative pessimistic attitude and it's because they don't have the right perspective.

If you could just step out for a minute, get outside of the snow globe. That's the best way I think about it. Like you're kind of in the snow globe. You get outside snow globe and you look in and you look at the progress that you've made and you look at what is now inevitable because of the work that you've done. Who freaking cares if you hit it by December 31st? No one. And you shouldn't either.

This is the trick. And when people start to understand this and not just intellectually understand it, but they act that way, they act like they understand it, they operate coming from that place, it is very empowering and you will fly further faster because you will not be spending any mental energy on am I going to hit it? Am I not? Am I going to hit it? Am I going to not? There's like this underlying urgency to everything that exhausts you and your team the entire journey. And also, by the way, it completely suffocates out any creativity, any innovation. So urgency and being in a hurry towards your goal is just not the way it needs to go.

So when you give that up, when you trade it, you're not giving it up, you're trading that way of operating for a way of operating that is more aligned with the truth of the situation. You are building something that you can continue to build on. You are building the foundation. You are creating intentionally. You are doing things sustainably. It's not always going to feel that pretty, but that's the intention behind all of it.

So when you're not attached to the certain deadline as being tied to your self-worth, then you are golden. You will create and create and create and create. The next result, the next result, the next level, the next level. That's how this goes. And then again, so you can come back and say, well, it's not about the next level. That's what you just said. You're right. But the whole thing is we are working to see certain results, and if we don't see them by a certain deadline, who freaking cares?

I'm saying that, and I can imagine people saying, well, then why even say that I have a 2025 goal? Why not just say I want to hit X amount of revenue at some point, and I'll just go for it?

Because then there's no constraints on time and you will not make the headway in the same way. There's no container for you to work inside of in order to hit the goal. So it's very important. I think deadlines on goals are extremely important, but it's just not about the deadline. That rung on the ladder is something you need to claim. You need to say what you're reaching for and you need to do it with like push for that within a certain amount of time so that in the only reason you need a certain amount of time and the only reason you need something specific to shoot for is because if you don't, you do not prioritize very well, you do not name the projects that are gonna matter the most, you don't capture the data that's gonna matter the most, you're kind of floating.

And even though you might be in the region of your goal, which is good, there's no true sense of accomplishment because you didn't name a rung on the ladder, you didn't put a destination, a pin in the map that you are heading towards specifically.

So then progress is actually harder to spot because you do a little over here that yes, is good for the firm. You do a little over here that yeah, it's good for the firm. You may do something over here that seems like it's good for the firm, but actually it's financially impairing you, but it was for the good of the firm. Like you're kind of all over the place.

If you put a pin in the map, it streamlines you in a way that will help you tremendously feel a sense of progress. It's empowering. People can get behind it. People can row in the right direction, like getting them to row in the same direction, your team is massively powerful. And all of that can't happen unless you have a pin in the map. Where are you going? Where are you going? Just up anywhere? You have to have a pin in the map. Nobody around you knows. We're not really clear about it and we think we're clear about it until you have to articulate it and then you realize you aren't very clear about it because you can't articulate it. It's just there's generalized statements that you're making that's not helpful to you. It's not.

Okay. So going back to setting big goals, as I said, last week's episode, you could have gotten a vibe that I am basically saying be conservative because I was a couple of times I was talking about being conservative, but I was talking about when you're projecting forward. For example, we were talking about maintenance program for estate planning.

At one point, I gave some examples about how I think about this with my clients. And we expected to do somewhere between here and here. So we're going to be conservative, and do on the lower end of that, or like the lower half of the spectrum for that target. Because that means we're putting more weight on the firm and the legal work that's coming out of the firm. If you need to go back and listen to this, you know, I'm talking about, definitely do that. But there's times to be conservative so that it makes it tougher on you. It makes it so that you have to stretch harder.

So really, even though in that example, I was saying, you know, be conservative with the cash that you think is going to come to the door for maintenance program. That's because it makes it a harder stretch for you with the rest of the firm what the rest of the firm has to do. So really isn't a conservative call. It's using in a specific scenario, a conservative projection so that you can line yourself up in a way that makes a lot of sense and is a bigger stretch.

So again, going back to the point of this episode is to just say, I want you to shoot for as big as you could dream. But do not set that goal. If it's going to cause problems, if you aren't, quite frankly, if you're not emotionally and psychologically, in a place where you can handle that well, knowing that it's not about the number, it's just putting a pin in the map and not being attached to the pin by a certain deadline, you're attached to that damn pin, you will get there. And you will get there within a certain timeframe that you're setting, you will shoot to get there and work really hard to get there within a certain timeframe that you're setting.

But what it doesn't mean is that if something doesn't go is perfectly as planned. If you implemented this system and it didn't quite pull the levers that you thought it was going to pull in the business to make it easier to hit those numbers, if you're doing all the things that you said you were going to do and you're not getting there, you have to have the right outlook on that.

It's not helpful. There is zero upside at looking at the fact that you're going to fall short when you really have been focused on the right things and beating yourself up for it or getting down about it. You're going to cross the threshold maybe a month or two behind what you wanted to, but it's coming. It's right here. It's right there. Keep going. Keep doing what you're doing. Don't get all up in your head about it. What matters is the work. What matters is how you are showing up.

What matters is how well you plan. What matters is how you cultivate your team. What matters is that you follow through on the things that you said were important on the way. What matters is how you choose to look at this in your perspective, having vantage. What matters is how clear you are about where you want to go, about being thoughtful with your data and tracking what matters and looking at those numbers. What matters is how well you use that information plus how clear you are about where you want to go to make a very strong plan. And what matters is that you execute on that plan.

Again, this is why I named the company what I named it. This is the work that creates velocity. What doesn't create velocity is you putting a number out there that you are going to hit within 12 months, let's say, within a calendar year, and you urgently hurry towards it, and there is this frantic element in terms of how you operate, which means then your team is going to be the same way, or the complete opposite because they just can't even handle the franticness.

You are high strung beyond what's helpful and deflated every month that it's not showing that you're on track for the goal. And so then you lose momentum, you have a pretty negative outlook, you probably don't feel great about yourself, there's some tie to your self-worth and what you can make happen and what you can't make happen, you have a lot of judgments about yourself and maybe about others around you. All of this takes a toll and will slow you down.

When I said all the work that doesn't create velocity, this is playing the short game. You do not win with short game. There's a time and a place to sort of make a push for something, but it's because it's lined up with a long-term result that you want. Hitting a number for the sake of hitting a number and urgently getting there means that that rung is slippery. You won't be able to hang on to it when you decide what rung on the ladder you're reaching for, but then you put your head down and you do the work and there's a lot of integrity about how you're showing up, not perfection, lots of progress.

When you do it that way, when you focus on what's in front of you, when you do lift your head, you are gonna be as far as you can be. You're gonna be proud of those results. And you're not gonna feel like you left yourself in the dust. There is not the same type of exhaustion about going for a goal in that way as there is when you are frantically moving towards a goal.

So though it may have sounded like I was saying be conservative, be very realistic about the goals you set. Maybe, maybe not. It depends on you, it depends on what you want, it depends on what you're willing to put in, it depends on the risk you're willing to take. It depends on a lot of things, and to each their own.

So your job is to meet yourself where you are and be honest with what you're up for this year. Or how much mental bandwidth are you willing to give to this for the growth that you wanna see? And what are you willing to risk? What are you willing to put on pause for yourself while you work? You know, you spend this year pushing at growth. If you do want to really go for it, like be honest with yourself. And if you want it, man, go get it. You don't have to be conservative. You just have to know the game that you're entering and you have to know what's important about the game.

And the most important thing about the game is your focus and staying focused and following through on what you said you were going to do. And then lifting your head every quarter to check the landscape, see if anything needs to be adjusted, check where you are in terms of on your way to the goals. Not that you won't have, you won't be clued into that month over month, but it's really your time to analyze differently at the turn of the quarter. And then you put your head back down again and just with full integrity, you go for it and you lift your head again and you will blow your own mind.

That is a very, very, very different journey. But if you're going to commit to some crazy ass goal, you have got to commit to showing up in that way. You have got to commit to the intentionality. You've got to commit to the focus and doing whatever it's going to take to stay focused, stay calm, stay plugged in, engaged in the goal.

So yeah, set that freaking goal. Set it as high as you want. That does not matter. It's all for not if you are not going to actually do the work and show up in the ways that matter to create the velocity towards it.

Okay, everyone, thank you for tuning in this week. Go get your goals this year. It gives me goosebumps to think about just collectively the things you guys are shooting for. And if you're a listener to this podcast, please do not be someone who does not put a specific pin in the map. What are you shooting for this year? And what are you going to do to make that happen? How are you going to show up? Who are you going to be on the way to getting that goal? That matters more than anything.

And if you focus on that, even if you don't hit the goal, right. When you said you would, you know, you can see as you're approaching it. Oh, I didn't hit it, but look, it's right there. It's in January. That's when I'm going to hit it. Is that a fail? No. That is insanely successful.

So all about your head, guys, it's all about your head. So when you hear people say opinions about you should set conservative goals, you should set 10X goals, you should set whatever, you know you. And if you're going to be a basket case on the way there, and if you're going to tie your self-worth to making it mean that you failed when really it's just a month away from the December, then come on, don't do it. It's like, who cares?

Set something more conservative and beat it then, so you're at least happy along the way. But the job is, the job becomes, and this is what I help people do over time, is to be able to shift internally enough to say, yup, I'm going for this big goal, and taking it so seriously, doing everything you can. But not taking yourself too seriously. So staying focused, doing everything you can to get to the end of the year and see, you know, and you'll know as you're approaching the end of the year, likely where you're going to fall and having peace with that because of the work that you did, because of how you showed up, you have peace about where you're landing next, next.

This is the way to grow. This is the way to evolve yourself. This is the way to get more of the firm that you want. And I don't even necessarily mean bigger. some of you just want more sanity within the current firm you have. It still takes a lot of work. So hopefully this helped someone.

All right, everybody. Thank you so much for tuning in. I'll see you here next Tuesday.

Hey, you may not know this, but there's a free guide for a process I teach called Monday Map/Friday Wrap. If you go to VelocityWork.com, it's all yours. It's about how to plan your time and honor your plans. So, that week over week, more work that moves the needle is getting done in less time. Go to VelocityWork.com to get your free copy.

Thank you for listening to The Law Firm Owner Podcast. If you're ready to get clearer on your vision, data, and mindset, then head over to VelocityWork.com where you can plug in to Quarterly Strategic Planning, with accountability and coaching in between. This is the work that creates Velocity.