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material minds
background
One of the best examples of the power of setting goals is Greg Mortenson’s founding of the
Central Asia Institute.




As the story is told in “Three Cups of Tea”, Mortenson got lost in northern Pakistan after
descending K2 where a summit attempt failed when he stopped to rescue another
climber’s life. In his descent from basecamp Mortenson took a wrong turn and ended up
alone, exhausted, and very ill in a very small village by the name of Korphe. The villagers
nursed him back to health and in the process he got to know them. He discovered, not
an idyllic mountain retreat, but a village with numerous health problems, a very high
infant mortality rate and no school or full-time teacher. The students learned in an open-
air environment did their assignments in the dirt and had help a few days a week from a
part time teacher. So moved was he by the villagers assistance that Mortenson promised
them that he would return and build them a school. That one goal become the entire
focus of his life and while it has expanded, continues to be his goal to this day.



material minds                                                                                2
When he returned home to the United States, Mortenson set out trying to raise funds and after
many frustrations, got funding primarily from one individual. That initial funding from Silicon
Valley computer pioneer, John Hoerni enabled him to found not only that school but also the
Central Asia Institute, a non-profit organization that promotes education, especially for girls in
Pakistan and Afghanistan. To date they have supported over 171 schools and provided
education to over 64,000 children. While Mortenson has been criticized for his lack of
management capabilities, he cannot be criticized for establishing and reaching a very major
goal.




material minds                                                                                  3
the power of goals
                          While many of us have some sort of goals, the difference
                          between establishing those goals and actually achieving
                          them is quite great. There is a big difference between
                          understanding what you need to do to get in control of your
                          work situation for example and actually doing it. Changing
                          behavior is hard. Tim Pychyl is a professor of psychology at
                          Carlton University. At a recent conference on death and
                          dying, he recalled a poignant seminar at which people who
                          were close to dying spoke about their regrets. What they
                          regretted was not what they had done but what they had
                          not done.

 In order to make progress in dealing with any of your objectives you must start by
 setting some goals. Goal setting is a very powerful tool. Approximately 5% of people
 actually set goals and of those, less than 1% actually achieves those goals. While a less
 than 20% success rate may seem abysmal, just the act of setting goals and getting part
 way there can have a very powerful effect on your life.



material minds                                                                               4
yale university study
  According to this story, in 1953, researchers at Yale University (the story sometimes is
  about Harvard in 1979) surveyed the graduating class to determine how many of
  them had specific, written goals for the future. The results came back that only 3% of
  them had these goals. According to the story, 20 years later the researchers
  surveyed the class again and found that the 3% with goals amassed more personal
  wealth than the 97% who didn’t. This is a very nice story of course, compelling,
  illustrative and inspirational but a number of people have followed up on it and
  unfortunately it is entirely fabricated. Both Yale University and the Secretary of the
  class of 1953 at Yale confirm that they have never heard of a study of the sort.




material minds                                                                               5
dominican university study
  To test out the hypothesis of the story, Gail Matthews, a member of the faculty at
  Dominican University conducted some research into goal setting and published a
  paper entitled “Summary of Recent Goals Research.” In this study, 149 participants
  were asked what they wanted to accomplish over the next 4 weeks and then asked
  to rate that goal in terms of:


  •   Difficulty,
  •   Importance,
  •   The extent to which they had the
      Skills & Resources to accomplish the
      goal
  •   Their Commitment and Motivation to
      the goal,
  •   Whether or not they had Pursued this
      goal before
  •   And if so their prior success.



material minds                                                                         6
study tasks
  The participants in the study were divided into five
  groups and had the following tasks to accomplish.

  •   Group 1- This group was simply asked to think about
      their goals
  •   Group 2- Had to write their goals down and rate
      them on the required dimensions
  •   Group 3- Had also to formulate action commitments
  •   Group 4- In addition to the above had to formulate
      action commitments and send their goals and
      action commitments to a supportive friend
  •   Group 5- Were asked to formulate action
      commitments and send their goals, action
      commitments and weekly progress reports to a
      supportive friend. Participants in this group were also
      sent weekly reminders to email quick progress reports
      to their friend.



material minds                                                  7
study results

 At the end of the four-week study, participants
 were asked to rate their progress and the
 degree to which they had accomplished their
 goals. “Participants pursued a variety of goals
 including completing a project, increasing
 income, increasing productivity, getting
 organized, enhancing
 performance/achievement, enhancing life
 balance, reducing work anxiety and learning a
 new skill.” As you might expect, the fifth group
 achieved significantly more than all of the other
 groups.




material minds                                       8
study results
The conclusions of this study were
that:

•   Participants who wrote their
    goals down did significantly
    better than those who did not.
•   Public commitment to goals is
    very powerful
•   Being accountable to someone
    else will make it much more likely
    that you actually accomplish
    your goals.




material minds                               9
benefits

 The great thing about effective goals is that they will
 keep you:

 •   Incredibly focused – nothing will get in your way
 •   Motivated & challenged
 •   Liberated – ultimate personal freedom
 •   Improving your quality of life
 •   Living your dreams
 •   Balanced




material minds                                             10
why people don’t set goals
 If goal setting is so effective then you might wonder why people aren’t doing it more
 frequently. Why do only 5% of people do it on a regular basis? I think most people have
 goals. The biggest problem is that people think they are setting themselves up for failure if
 they set out goals that they may not reach. This fear of failure is simple enough that it can
 prevent people from even taking the first step in setting out goals. The second most
 prevalent reason that people don’t make goals is that they procrastinate. Whether the
 activity is something that they dislike or other things get in the way, goal setting is one of
 those important but not urgent activities that can be put off until tomorrow. People also
 think that they have done well without goals so why not keep going as I am now. Why are
 goals needed when I can get where I am without them. Finally, while many people set
 goals, they actually only do this in their head. The thinking is that “I’m organized enough and
 I know what my goals are so why do I need to write them down?”




material minds                                                                               11
conclusion
  Unfortunately, as studies have shown, these
  attitudes to goal setting just don’t work. Instead
  people must take a proactive step to realizing their
  goals. The following is a primer on goal setting so
  those that want to improve their working life by
  tacking any of the issues of the Knowledge
  Revolution that have made life overwhelming, can
  actually do so.




  If you don’t know where you’re going, you might
  not get there.

  Yogi Berra



material minds                                           12

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2 background

  • 2. background One of the best examples of the power of setting goals is Greg Mortenson’s founding of the Central Asia Institute. As the story is told in “Three Cups of Tea”, Mortenson got lost in northern Pakistan after descending K2 where a summit attempt failed when he stopped to rescue another climber’s life. In his descent from basecamp Mortenson took a wrong turn and ended up alone, exhausted, and very ill in a very small village by the name of Korphe. The villagers nursed him back to health and in the process he got to know them. He discovered, not an idyllic mountain retreat, but a village with numerous health problems, a very high infant mortality rate and no school or full-time teacher. The students learned in an open- air environment did their assignments in the dirt and had help a few days a week from a part time teacher. So moved was he by the villagers assistance that Mortenson promised them that he would return and build them a school. That one goal become the entire focus of his life and while it has expanded, continues to be his goal to this day. material minds 2
  • 3. When he returned home to the United States, Mortenson set out trying to raise funds and after many frustrations, got funding primarily from one individual. That initial funding from Silicon Valley computer pioneer, John Hoerni enabled him to found not only that school but also the Central Asia Institute, a non-profit organization that promotes education, especially for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan. To date they have supported over 171 schools and provided education to over 64,000 children. While Mortenson has been criticized for his lack of management capabilities, he cannot be criticized for establishing and reaching a very major goal. material minds 3
  • 4. the power of goals While many of us have some sort of goals, the difference between establishing those goals and actually achieving them is quite great. There is a big difference between understanding what you need to do to get in control of your work situation for example and actually doing it. Changing behavior is hard. Tim Pychyl is a professor of psychology at Carlton University. At a recent conference on death and dying, he recalled a poignant seminar at which people who were close to dying spoke about their regrets. What they regretted was not what they had done but what they had not done. In order to make progress in dealing with any of your objectives you must start by setting some goals. Goal setting is a very powerful tool. Approximately 5% of people actually set goals and of those, less than 1% actually achieves those goals. While a less than 20% success rate may seem abysmal, just the act of setting goals and getting part way there can have a very powerful effect on your life. material minds 4
  • 5. yale university study According to this story, in 1953, researchers at Yale University (the story sometimes is about Harvard in 1979) surveyed the graduating class to determine how many of them had specific, written goals for the future. The results came back that only 3% of them had these goals. According to the story, 20 years later the researchers surveyed the class again and found that the 3% with goals amassed more personal wealth than the 97% who didn’t. This is a very nice story of course, compelling, illustrative and inspirational but a number of people have followed up on it and unfortunately it is entirely fabricated. Both Yale University and the Secretary of the class of 1953 at Yale confirm that they have never heard of a study of the sort. material minds 5
  • 6. dominican university study To test out the hypothesis of the story, Gail Matthews, a member of the faculty at Dominican University conducted some research into goal setting and published a paper entitled “Summary of Recent Goals Research.” In this study, 149 participants were asked what they wanted to accomplish over the next 4 weeks and then asked to rate that goal in terms of: • Difficulty, • Importance, • The extent to which they had the Skills & Resources to accomplish the goal • Their Commitment and Motivation to the goal, • Whether or not they had Pursued this goal before • And if so their prior success. material minds 6
  • 7. study tasks The participants in the study were divided into five groups and had the following tasks to accomplish. • Group 1- This group was simply asked to think about their goals • Group 2- Had to write their goals down and rate them on the required dimensions • Group 3- Had also to formulate action commitments • Group 4- In addition to the above had to formulate action commitments and send their goals and action commitments to a supportive friend • Group 5- Were asked to formulate action commitments and send their goals, action commitments and weekly progress reports to a supportive friend. Participants in this group were also sent weekly reminders to email quick progress reports to their friend. material minds 7
  • 8. study results At the end of the four-week study, participants were asked to rate their progress and the degree to which they had accomplished their goals. “Participants pursued a variety of goals including completing a project, increasing income, increasing productivity, getting organized, enhancing performance/achievement, enhancing life balance, reducing work anxiety and learning a new skill.” As you might expect, the fifth group achieved significantly more than all of the other groups. material minds 8
  • 9. study results The conclusions of this study were that: • Participants who wrote their goals down did significantly better than those who did not. • Public commitment to goals is very powerful • Being accountable to someone else will make it much more likely that you actually accomplish your goals. material minds 9
  • 10. benefits The great thing about effective goals is that they will keep you: • Incredibly focused – nothing will get in your way • Motivated & challenged • Liberated – ultimate personal freedom • Improving your quality of life • Living your dreams • Balanced material minds 10
  • 11. why people don’t set goals If goal setting is so effective then you might wonder why people aren’t doing it more frequently. Why do only 5% of people do it on a regular basis? I think most people have goals. The biggest problem is that people think they are setting themselves up for failure if they set out goals that they may not reach. This fear of failure is simple enough that it can prevent people from even taking the first step in setting out goals. The second most prevalent reason that people don’t make goals is that they procrastinate. Whether the activity is something that they dislike or other things get in the way, goal setting is one of those important but not urgent activities that can be put off until tomorrow. People also think that they have done well without goals so why not keep going as I am now. Why are goals needed when I can get where I am without them. Finally, while many people set goals, they actually only do this in their head. The thinking is that “I’m organized enough and I know what my goals are so why do I need to write them down?” material minds 11
  • 12. conclusion Unfortunately, as studies have shown, these attitudes to goal setting just don’t work. Instead people must take a proactive step to realizing their goals. The following is a primer on goal setting so those that want to improve their working life by tacking any of the issues of the Knowledge Revolution that have made life overwhelming, can actually do so. If you don’t know where you’re going, you might not get there. Yogi Berra material minds 12