Why you chase the wrong goals - Simon Page

If you hit every goal you set this year, you probably set them too low.Simon Page, Medical Affairs Director at Ipsen, explains why roughly 85% is the sweet spot for goal achievement, and why the idea comes from machine learning and stroke rehabilitation.Matthew and Simon have worked together for years on coaching and team training. In this conversation they cover how to set goals that actually stretch you, why most organisations measure what’s easy rather than what matters, and how lead measures tell you whether you know how to hit a target at all.They also go well beyond work: running your whole life from a Kanban board, the funeral question at the heart of life planning, the difference between fun, impact and joy, and explaining Stoic ideas about control to a nine-year-old who has just lost at Monopoly.In this episode:Why 100% goal achievement is a red flagLead vs lag measures, and what it means when you can’t think of a lead measureThe traps of personal goals that aren’t fully in your controlKanban for life, not just for workMichael Hyatt’s life plan and the funeral questionFun vs impact vs joyAdversity, team turnover and growing through hard thingsThe dichotomy of control and raising childrenChapters00:00 Intro01:00 Welcome Simon Page01:55 What medical affairs actually is05:25 Delivering impact: start with the goal09:35 Too many goals and measuring what’s easy12:25 The 85% rule: machine learning and stroke rehab16:15 Lead measures vs lag measures21:50 Kanban and setting life goals29:30 The funeral question34:55 Fun, impact or joy?42:30 Adversity, team turnover and growth49:25 Stoicism, control and anxious kids54:30 Parenting: can we influence our children?1:00:50 Why missing goals is how you learn (and chess)1:05:20 Simon’s nine life domains and his 10-year goalBooks and ideas mentionedThe 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX), Chris McChesney, Sean Covey & Jim HulingLiving Forward, Michael Hyatt & Daniel HarkavyGetting Things Done, David AllenSo Good They Can’t Ignore You, Cal NewportIkigai, Héctor García & Francesc MirallesAntifragile, Nassim Nicholas TalebEpictetus and the dichotomy of controlAbout the showBeing, Thinking, Doing explores what goes on in your heart, in your head, and in the impact you make in the world. Hosted by Matthew Brown.🌐 beingthinkingdoing.com▶️ Subscribe: youtube.com/@matthewbrownbtd#goalsetting #stoicism #productivity #leadership #lifeplanning