Setting Goals: Go Big or Go Small? 6-13-25 - Becker Private Equity & Business Podcast

Summary

Becker Private Equity & Business Podcast Summary

Episode: Setting Goals: Go Big or Go Small?
Host: Scott Becker
Release Date: June 13, 2025

Introduction

In this episode of the Becker Private Equity & Business Podcast, host Scott Becker delves into the critical topic of goal setting within the realm of private equity and business management. The central question posed is whether entrepreneurs and business leaders should aim for big, audacious goals or adopt a strategy of smaller, incremental objectives to drive success.

The Debate: Big Goals vs. Incremental Goals

Scott Becker initiates the discussion by presenting the two prevailing philosophies on goal setting:

Big, Audacious Goals (BHAGs):
- Proponents argue that setting stretch goals ignites passion and drives teams to exceed expectations.
- Scott Becker acknowledges the success of individuals and companies that have achieved remarkable feats through ambitious targets but remains personally inclined toward a different approach.
Incremental, Achievable Goals:
- Advocates believe that smaller, realistic goals foster steady progress and build team confidence over time.
- Kevin O'Leary, a renowned investor from Shark Tank, is highlighted as a key supporter of this methodology. Becker notes, “Kevin O'Leary, brilliant investor from Shark Tank and prolific investor, really pushes towards the second concept of constantly hitting goals, beating goals, and building confidence as a team” [00:45].

Becker shares his personal preference for incremental goal setting, stating, “From my perspective, that's only how I'm wired. So looking at it more as to incrementally building confidence versus shooting big, big goals and not making them, certainly how I'm built” [01:00]. He emphasizes the value of achieving goals consistently to reinforce a team's belief in their collective capabilities.

Conflicts with Investment Bankers and Investors

Becker transitions into discussing the tensions that arise between business leaders and financial stakeholders regarding goal setting:

Investment Bankers and Investors:
- Often advocate for aggressive projections and stretch goals to present businesses as having significant growth potential.
- Their motivations include attracting potential buyers, refinancing, or recapitalization efforts.
Business Leaders and Founders:
- May feel pressured to align with these higher targets, which may not always align with the company’s operational realities.

Becker observes, “Investment bankers, in my experience, always want you to set projections and goals at a very stretch spot, a higher target, to show potential buyer that there's lots of growth left in the business” [01:30]. He expresses skepticism toward overly ambitious goals, arguing that they can create unnecessary conflicts and misalignments within the business strategy.

Building Team Confidence through Achievable Goals

Reiterating his stance, Becker advocates for a balanced approach:

Reachable yet Strong Goals:
- Setting goals that are challenging but attainable ensures consistent progress.
- This strategy helps in building and maintaining team confidence, as frequent successes reinforce the team’s belief in their ability to achieve more.

Becker concludes, “I'm a big fan of setting reachable but strong goals, achieving them over and over again, and building confidence in the team that you could do anything you want that you could achieve” [02:00]. He contrasts this with the big heritage calls strategy, acknowledging its effectiveness in certain contexts but maintaining his preference for incrementalism.

Conclusion

Scott Becker wraps up the episode by emphasizing the importance of consistent goal achievement over the pursuit of unattainably high targets. By fostering a culture of steady progress and confidence, businesses can build resilient teams capable of sustained success.

He acknowledges the validity of both approaches, noting, “Obviously, some people that have created and built the most amazing things in the world are more on those lines than I am, and they've hit it out of the park, so you can't argue with their success” [02:50]. However, his personal inclination toward incremental goals underscores a strategy that prioritizes team confidence and consistent achievement over sporadic, high-risk endeavors.

Notable Quotes

On Incremental Goals:

“From my perspective, that's only how I'm wired. So looking at it more as to incrementally building confidence versus shooting big, big goals and not making them, certainly how I'm built.” — Scott Becker [01:00]
On Investment Bankers' Preferences:

“Investment bankers, in my experience, always want you to set projections and goals at a very stretch spot, a higher target, to show potential buyer that there's lots of growth left in the business.” — Scott Becker [01:30]
On Building Team Confidence:

“I'm a big fan of setting reachable but strong goals, achieving them over and over again, and building confidence in the team that you could do anything you want that you could achieve.” — Scott Becker [02:00]
On the Success of Big Goals:

“Obviously, some people that have created and built the most amazing things in the world are more on those lines than I am, and they've hit it out of the park, so you can't argue with their success.” — Scott Becker [02:50]

This episode offers valuable insights for entrepreneurs, business leaders, and investors on the nuanced strategies of goal setting, highlighting the balance between ambition and achievable milestones to drive sustainable business growth.

Transcript

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C (0:31)

This is Scott Becker with the Becker Private Equity and Business Podcast. Today's discussion is Setting Goals Go Big or go Small. So here's the issue, and there's been so much written about this as to whether when you set goals, do you go for big hero, audacious goals, big stretch goals, or do you hit them somewhat down the middle and achieve them and keep on achieving them? And there are different schools of thoughts on this. Some people think you need stretch goals or big, hairy, audacious goals to motivate you to light a fire to get excited. Other people think small, incremental, achievable goals. They're not small. They still got to be serious. Solid goals are the way to go. Kevin o' Leary, brilliant investor from Shark Tank and prolific investor, really pushes towards the second concept of constantly hitting goals, beating goals, and building confidence as a team and building a team that has confidence to continue to align goals and keep on achieve goals and and be somewhat of an incrementalist. From my perspective, that's only how I'm wired. So looking at it more as to incrementally building confidence versus shooting big, big goals and not making them, certainly how I'm built. Now the thing I'll tell you about about goals, you also have different conflicts when you get involved with investment bankers and investors in others. Investment bankers, in my experience, always want you to set projections and goals at a very stretch spot, a higher target, to show potential buyer that there's lots of growth left in the business. Sometimes investors want to do something similar for their own sort of for either refinancing, for recaps or for other reasons. I generally am not a believer in this. And you get this really interesting conflict between CEOs, founders, investment bankers and investors sometimes over these issues. Now, we've not had that kind of conflict in years, but I do see that in places where you get involved in investment bankers, they want you to set these very aggressive goals for very different reasons than actually operating the business. In any event, I'm a big fan of setting reachable but strong goals, achieving them over and over again, and building confidence in the team that you could do anything you want that you could achieve. Other people believe in the big heritage calls. Obviously, some people that have created and built the most amazing things in the world are more on those lines than I am, and they've hit it out of the park, so you can't argue with their success. Thank you so much for listening to the Becker Private Equity Business Podcast. Thank you very, very much.