A Four-Step Framework for Effective Goal Setting
After you reflect on your past year, the next step is turning your ideas into clear, actionable goals. And to do that well, we need more than wishful thinking. We need a plan that blends what you want with what you can control every day.
This isn’t just a nice idea.
It comes from Edwin Locke’s famous study of 110 other studies showing something simple but powerful:
Goals work when you set them the right way.
Most people don’t.
Most people only focus only on the outcome they want (“I want to grow my book of business by ___”) but skip over the inputs that actually make that outcome happen. They choose lagging indicators but ignore leading indicators.
Both goals are important: the outcome goal and the input goal.
So here’s a four-step method that connects long-term goals to daily action, and actually makes them stick.
Step 1: Write Your Outcome in Words
Start by describing the result you want in simple language.
Examples:
- I want to grow my book of business significantly this year.
- I need to stay consistent with my outreach efforts, even when I’m busy.
- I know enough people to grow like I want, but I’ve let relationships atrophy. I want to rekindle relationships this year of my favorite people I’ve ever worked with.
This doesn’t need to be perfect or complicated.
It’s just a statement of what success looks like.
This sets the direction.
Step 2: Pair a Lagging Indicator With a Leading Indicator
Now get specific.
A lagging indicator is the measurable result you want.
A leading indicator is the daily or weekly action you can control 100%.
Together, they create a roadmap.
Example 1:
→ Lagging indicator: Grow from $8M to $10M by year-end.
→ Leading indicator: Reach out to one person every morning before work with something helpful or a quick check-in request.
Example 2:
→ Lagging indicator: I want to accomplish 3 Most Important Things (MITs) for BD every week of the year, so 156 in total.
→ Leading indicator: Review my MITs every Friday at 11 am, so that if I haven’t done any of them, I knock them out Friday afternoon.
Example 3:
→ Lagging indicator: I want to rekindle 25 meaningful relationships by the end of the year, meaning I need to try to rekindle about double that since I won’t always be successful.
→ Leading indicator: Reach out to one new person once a week on Monday morning, before I do any other work, with a thoughtful outreach and suggestion to reconnect.
Notice what all these have in common:
- They convert the outcome to a lagging indicator number,
- Then they convert that lagging indicator number to a leading indicator number, along with the cadence it should be done.
That’s it.
One small action.
Done consistently.
If you repeat it, you create momentum that pulls the lagging number up over time.
This step is where most people go wrong.
They set only the destination, not the steps that get them there.
Step 3: Build Accountability Into Your Routine
Now make it automatic.
The easiest way is to connect your leading indicator to a habit you already have. That’s called a behavioral chain.
For example:
“Before my second cup of coffee, I send my one outreach message.”
It’s simple, it’s clear, and it ties the new habit to something you already do every morning.
This small chain builds consistency, and consistency builds results.
Pro Tip 1: Put these efforts on your to do list and in your calendar.
Pro Tip 2: Assume the world will try to claw away at this time, so put about double the time you’ll need in your calendar. That way, you’ll have a built in buffer!
Step 4: Define a Reward For Completing the Effort
Here’s another step almost everyone skips.
To keep yourself motivated, choose a reward that you only earn if you complete your leading indicator for the period, whether that’s daily or weekly.
Here are some great options:
→ A phone-free walk at the end of the week
→ A fancy glass of bourbon (after hours, folks!)
→ Guilt-free time watching your favorite show
→ A really good latte you only get after the outreach is done
The reward doesn’t need to be big.
It just needs to be something you enjoy.
When the reward is linked to the effort, not the outcome, your brain starts to crave the action. And that drives long-term consistency.
A lot of people think the reward needs to be something big, but small rewards work better.
Give yourself a little time. Sit in the glory of what you did.
A hard task that’ll pay off in the long run.
You kept a promise to yourself.
Putting It All Together
When you follow all four steps, something powerful happens:
Your long-term goals and your daily actions finally match.
No more guessing.
No more hoping.
No more “I’ll try harder next time.”
You create a simple system that guides you forward, day after day, until the outcome becomes the natural result of the work you’ve done.
And that’s how you build the year you want: one small, repeatable action at a time.
Mo
P.S. You can use our gratis GrowBIG AI tool to help you dial in your goals and habits. It’s incredible for this.
I used it myself to map out 2026 and, dang it, my own tool pushed me. I wasn’t sure whether to be embarrassed or excited!
GrowBIG AI is really well suited for goal setting.
Try this prompt in GrowBIG AI:
Guide me like you’re Bunnell Idea Group’s best BD coach. Help me set my goals for 2026 with these elements, guiding me one step at a time: 1) defining my vision for the end of 2026 in my own words, 2) selecting an outcome metric to quantify my goal, 3) selecting input metrics I can 100% control that will likely lead to me achieving my outcome metric, 4) the cadence I need to do my input activities (examples: daily, weekly or monthly), 5) how I can hold myself accountable to these actions by linking my BD actions to other habits I already do without fail and 6) what slightly selfish, meaningful reward I can give myself if I do the work that I control (my inputs).
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