Set Audacious, Nearly Impossible Goals—And Celebrate Failing Forward

There’s comfort in setting goals you know you can reach—or avoiding goals altogether by just drifting along. The best innovators and teams, however, set goals that feel just out of reach: launching a product for millions, not thousands, or taking on a project that could fail spectacularly but change everything if it works. At Google, leaders borrowed the OKR (Objectives & Key Results) system, pushing everyone—not just execs—to articulate ambitious, specific, measurable goals at every level, clearly expecting some to be missed. Quarterly, teams would openly rate their progress, often stacking up more “yellows” and “reds” (missed goals) than comfortable “greens.”

At first, public misses felt risky, but the cycle of transparent learning, debate, and readjustment meant teams moved further than if they’d played it safe. This mindset flipped the equation: falling short wasn’t failure, but a sign you were aiming high enough. Research on 'stretch goals' shows they pull teams and individuals out of ruts and can spark new learning and collaboration—if failure is treated as data, not disgrace. Over time, a culture emerges where people tackle work they once thought impossible, and failures become the stepping stones to the next breakthrough.

Set an audacious, measurable goal for yourself or your team—one that you know will stretch you so far you might miss. Track your progress honestly, and at the end of the period, share your results, including where you fell short and, most importantly, what you learned from trying. Celebrate each lesson with as much energy as you do your successes. Use what you discover—be it stronger skills, new ideas, or just plain grit—to recalibrate and try again at the next opportunity. Let yourself get comfortable aiming at what might be impossible.