Goal Definition: Outcome or Output?
There are two ways to define goals, that seem to be in opposition, but actually follow the same purpose of reminding you what you could overlook.
Did you take a resolution for this new year?
If so, how did you define your goal: as an outcome, or as an output?
That’s Outside My Boat
During the 1996 Olympics Games, television sportscaster Charlie Jones was surprised by the mentality of rowing athletes. Every time he would ask them about how they were dealing with challenges like heavy rain or strong wind, he got the same answer:
That's outside my boat.
These professional rowers were focused only on what they could control — only on what was happening inside their boat. Everything else was beyond their control, and therefore seen as a distraction from their ultimate goal.
The Difference Between Outputs And Outcomes
What is the difference between an output and outcome? An output is something you do. An outcome is the consequence of something you did.
Here are some examples:
Skipping breakfast is an output
Losing 10kg is an outcome
Talking to a new person every day is an output
Feeling less lonely is an outcome
Making ten thousand steps in a direction is an output
Reaching a destination by noon is an outcome
Shipping a new feature for your product is an output
Seeing your customers come back more often is an outcome
The Two Schools Of Thought
When you set your goal in the form of an output, you are being specific about what you will do, regardless of the impact of that action.
When you set your goal in the form of an outcome, you are being specific about the end situation you would like to reach, regardless of the path to get there.
In terms of goal definition, two opposite schools of thoughts exist: one strongly suggests to focus on outputs, the other one on outcomes.
For example, in the personal development literature, you will constantly stumble upon advice encouraging you to avoid the trap of shooting for outcomes, and to focus instead on outputs. On the opposite, in the software development world, you will hear a strong consensus around the need to have product teams drop their roadmap based on outputs, and replaced them by outcomes.
Why do such opposite views exist?
Focus On What You May Overlook
Here’s one explanation I’d like to offer.
In a way, you could say that the outcome is the reason why you are doing something, and the output is what you’re planning to do.
Defining the why and the what of a goal doesn’t seem like a contradiction. Choosing to focus on outputs or outcomes seems to be more a matter of emphasis.
So, where should you put the spotlight on? Well, it seems to me that choosing to focus on the why or the what as a goal can help you focus on the part that you could easily forget.
In a personal development context, the why is less at risk — you usually know what is your deep motivation. What may be at risk is the ability to turn this motivation into action. So setting your goal as an output forces you be specific about what is required to reach your destination.
In the software development world, it’s the opposite. People are hired for their expertise and their ability to execute tasks they master. Here, the risk for them is to be blinded by their bias for action, and to forget why they are working on a particular project, especially if the goal of that project has been defined by someone else. Hence the logic of setting goals as outcomes, to make sure the team remembers it.
In a nutshell, one goal-setting lesson could be: focus on what you may overlook.
Do you have another way to looking at these two approaches to goal-setting?
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