Manager Tools Podcast: "Assumptive Goal Setting – HOF 2025"

Released: December 29, 2025

Episode Overview

In this classic Manager Tools episode, the hosts break down "assumptive goal setting," a powerful approach for managers and leaders to set bold, transformative goals for themselves and their teams. Recognizing the challenge most managers face when setting ambitious targets for the new year, the episode explains why traditional goal-setting methods often fall short and offers a simple, actionable process that jump-starts creative thinking and drives better outcomes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Paradox of Goal Setting in Organizations

• Expectation vs. Reluctance:
  Organizations and managers demand goals from others and themselves—from governments balancing budgets to teams aiming for targets—yet often resist setting ambitious personal or departmental goals.
  • Quote: “How can we ask not to be held accountable for achieving goals while simultaneously expecting the institution we work in to have enough cash available to pay us?” (B, 01:18)

Why Goal Setting Feels So Hard

• Lack of Practice:
  Goal setting is rare but important, so most people are not good at it and find it daunting.

  • “It's important to us, and we do it rarely. And so if it's important and we do it rarely, we're not going to be terribly good at it.” (C, 03:26)

• Anchoring in the Present:
  Managers tend to focus on last year's performance, which cements the status quo and makes future goals feel riskier.

  • Quote: “If you do this, if you say, you know, this is how we did it, and this is where we are. And here's every number in detail… it makes today seem normal…But if you'll remember, last year, where you are now would not have been normal.” (C, 10:58)

• The Illusion of Control:
  The anxiety around setting bigger goals stems from a sense of losing control over the future, making managers hesitate to stretch beyond current achievements.

  • Quote: "That lack of control, that feeling there is not a comfortable one." (B, 10:06)

The Power of Assumptive Goal Setting

The Three Steps:

1. Don’t Start with Where You Are

   • Reviewing past performance limits creative thinking and encourages incremental, safe goals.
   • Instead, deprioritize last year’s numbers in visual aids—place them at the bottom, not the top.
   • Quote: “Put this year's numbers at the bottom of any chart you're going to do. Put the new targets at the top...as opposed to putting this year's numbers at the center of attention.” (C, 14:05)

2. Assume You’ve Already Achieved the New Goal

   • Mentally leap forward: picture yourself and the team already having hit the ambitious objective.
   • This shift changes the brain’s approach, disengaging from defending the status quo and enabling creative, unconstrained thinking.
   • Quote: “Assume you are already at a new goal, you've already achieved it...picture yourself already there and you look back at the past.” (C, 03:52)

3. Reverse-Engineer: Ask What Had to Happen to Get Here

   • Look “back” from the imagined future and identify the actions, changes, and decisions required to reach that point.
   • This unlocks strategies and solutions that aren't bound by existing limitations.
   • Quote: “Once you picture yourself at that future goal...you simply ask what had to happen to get here.” (C, 05:40)

Management Practice: Collaboration, Consensus, and Goal Ownership

• Bosses Can Set Bold Goals:
  Leaders don’t need universal team consensus to set goals; collaboration can focus on how to achieve, rather than what.

  • Quote: “There's no inherent requirement that bosses gain consensus...regarding goals they're going to set.” (C, 16:30)

• Team Buy-in Follows Success:
  Even if ambitious goals seem impossible to the team, successful outcomes win support (story of reducing a critical metric from 657 to 7).

  • Quote (Story): “All the goals were something around that magnitude, something that people considered impossible. And the fact is, at the end of a year, we got all of them. All of them except one....We got down to seven.” (B, 19:00)

• Stretch Goals Drive Different Thinking:
  Incremental goals lead to incremental effort; transformative goals require completely different processes and innovations.

  • Quote: “657 to 600 would have seemed like a reasonable [goal]. But...what they would have thought about was working harder, doing the things they do today better. And that's not what gets you those big goals...” (B, 23:13)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Visualization:

  • “Picture yourself as you get one of your biggest raises. Picture yourself when you get a big bonus. See the check in your hands...” (C, 34:10)
  • “If you picture yourselves at 10 or 20 or 50% growth...planning backward from there, the path…looks much clearer.” (C, 40:18)

• Leo Burnett’s Mantra:

  • “Reach for the stars. You may not get one, but you won't end up with a handful of mud either.” (C, 22:00)

• Separating the Goal from the How:

  • “Effective leaders trust that they can figure out how to do it later. They separate the goal from the how, and they free themselves and their teams up to be imaginative, creative, and willing to consider new ideas...” (C, 33:12)

• On Incrementalism:

  • “Incremental gains are for the small-minded, frankly.” (C, 42:21)

Important Timestamps

• The common reluctance to set goals vs. public expectations — 01:18
• Why starting from the present limits ambition — 03:52
• Feeling powerless and overwhelmed by big goals — 08:14
• Assumptive goal setting explained: Visualize achievement, then plan backwards — 05:40, 26:10, 36:06
• Leader’s story: Setting “impossible” goals and nearly reaching them — 18:48
• Why consensus isn’t needed for goal-setting — 16:30, 24:07
• Visualization techniques for creative thinking — 34:10
• Summary and call to action — 39:11, 40:18

Actionable Takeaways

• When setting goals for your team, resist the impulse to start with last year’s numbers.
• Visualize your team having already reached next year's ambitious goals—feel the success.
• From this imagined future, reverse engineer the steps, changes, and key decisions that could have made it possible.
• Remember: You don’t need universal buy-in on every goal—leadership often means setting the bar above what feels “safe.”
• Stretch for outcomes that truly excite; incremental improvements rarely inspire teams.
• Use simple charts: put next year’s goal at the top, last year’s at the bottom, and center collaboration on how to reach the new target.

Episode Tone & Language

The discussion is candid, practical, and encouraging, with a touch of humor and a passion for leadership growth. The hosts speak from experience—lacing managerial “tough love” with memorable anecdotes and practical advice.

Final Thoughts

Assumptive goal setting is about freeing yourself and your team to pursue extraordinary achievements—not just incremental gains. By breaking free from the constraints of the present and imagining success as already achieved, managers can unlock the creativity, motivation, and action needed to deliver truly impactful results.