New Year, New CEO Mindset: My Annual Activities for Goal Setting
It’s been a slow and intentional re-entering into 2025 for our team. Each of us Strategists took a full 2 weeks off over the holidays; and we’re rested, refreshed, and energetically ready for the year. Personally, I spent a week at home, capping off a Domestic December (to Dave’s delight); and then we went to Mexico! While away, I certainly didn’t have my head down in a computer, but I made time to think about the year ahead and put pen to paper, following my personal list of activities for goal setting.
I’ve noticed over the past few starts of the year, that it’s become out of vogue to talk about resolutions or goals. Instead, I read a lot about accepting what is, doing less, and softening the rigor.
<Sigh> I don’t know about this… I think this social force has created 2 negative consequences:
1. People have come to de-value good, old-fashioned hard work (sorry to sound like a grandpa). But my view is: working hard and working well is fun, and it’s a privilege.
2. Everyone wants the rewards of hard work. But they don’t acknowledge the trade-off. If you want a breather and to do less, please do. Really. I’ve no judgement if you fully own it. However, owning it means: you’ve adjusted your expectations of the payoff you’ll receive.
So, I was inspired to come across Kelly Wearstler’s Substack on the topic: HARD ASS: How I will raise the bar for myself in 2025. At its conclusion, I sighed with relief, noting: “Yes! It is okay to be ambitious.”
How Does Setting Goals Lead to Success?
And Why January? The Power of Temporal Landmarks
I don’t know if anyone would refute the practice of goal setting in January (even though we do it with clients, year-round). But in case you’re cynical about why it’s everywhere this time of year, it’s because, well… science!
In When, Daniel Pink talks about January 1st like this:
The first day of the year is what social scientists call a ‘temporal landmark.’ Just as human beings rely on landmarks to navigate space – ‘To get to my house, turn left at the Shell station’ – we also use landmarks to navigate time. Certain dates function like that Shell station. They stand out from the ceaseless and forgettable march of other days, and their prominence helps us find our way…
Temporal landmarks interrupt attention to day-to-day minutiae, causing people to take a big picture view of their lives and thus focus on achieving their goals.
These markers can be powerful pattern interrupters, helping us step back, reflect, and realign our priorities.
Why Goals Matter for Your CEO Mindset (whether you’re the CEO of a business or your life)
People often get this idea of “being a CEO” all wrong. When clients talk to me about wanting to step into their CEO role, they describe it as “more time to vision and strategize.” And although that is a part of it, my gosh, it’s SO. MUCH. MORE. (I’m going to talk a lot about this in 2025).
And here’s another lens to consider: to really act as a CEO, it doesn’t have to be of a whole business. It can be of a department, a team, or even as a subject matter expert. You can be the CEO within your family (really). You can also be the CEO governing your life. In fact, I strongly recommend you do this.
Embodying a CEO Mindset means that you’re doing everything intentionally. You have one eye on the telescope and one eye on the microscope. You’re clear-eyed about where you want to go; and each day, your decisions, actions, and systems lead you there.
Everyone should be a CEO in one way or another, so these activities for goal setting are for you, no matter where you apply the CEO Mindset.
My Annual Activities for Goal Setting
1. Make Time and Physical Space.
Schedule 1 full away day. It doesn’t have to be far, nor fancy (but it can be, if you want!). The important thing is to break the patterns of your day-to-day. No emails and no “normal” work. Choose a space away from your usual desk: an Airbnb, a co-working space like The Malin, or a new-to-you coffee shop.
2. “Dream and Scheme,” as Cara would say.
In other words, think about the big picture. You can
- Vision board
- Complete Tim Ferriss’s Be, Do, Have exercise (this was life changing for me) or
- Use this prompt I recently learned and loved from The Success Solution:
Finish this statement: “If I could have it any way I want it ______________.”
3. Define Your Top 3 Priorities.
Determine 3 priorities for 2025 that will move you closer to reaching the big picture. (No more than 3!)
4. Make Them SMART.
A bonus! Here’s a ~20 minute video, where we teach how to make SMART goals.
5. Plan Temporal Landmarks in Your Calendar.
Use January as your springboard, then proactively schedule quarterly check-ins. Go ahead and block a full day on your calendar at the start of each quarter, for the rest of this year. (Really, schedule it now). I’m going to write a how-to later in Q1.
Putting It All Together: Your CEO Mindset for a Striving 2025
Goal-setting is not one-and-done. It’s an ongoing process that requires reflection, adaptability, and endurance. I’ve found that there are 3 (non-sexy) secrets to goal-setting success:
- You must constantly iterate on what you’re REALLY trying to achieve. For example, many people set goals around how much money they want to make. With only a few exceptions, this is the unwise (and unfulfilling) way to do it. Money is a how, not an achievement. It’s simply a means to an end.
- Continue pushing yourself to clarity and simplicity. Limit yourself to 3 big goals at any given time. These should reflect your priorities both in business and in life, ensuring alignment with your long-term vision.
- Set up systems to get you there. Don’t rely on your will. Build the system to support you.
And if I may make (just one more!) plug for goals, ambition, and striving, I want to leave you with this quote from Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday: Secrets of Happy People. Harvard researcher Shawn Achor states:
Happiness is the joy we feel, striving toward our potential.
To me, goal setting is an ingredient in a happy, fulfilling life. For it’s not about the achievement. It’s about the process of striving.
