Set Aggressive Goals

Herb Brooks, the 1980 U.S. Olympic men’s hockey coach, was considered a maverick for setting the expectation of a gold medal for a group of 18 to 21 year old amateur and collegiate players. Team USA went on to reach his audacious goal with a crushing 4-3 victory over the Soviet Union, and an equally impressive come from behind victory against Finland in the championship game.

Moral of the story: As a leader, don’t be afraid to set stretch goals for your management and frontline teams. You will never have an opportunity to attain what some may say are “impossible” goals if you do not aspire to them and believe in your ability to achieve them.

Ken Stellon - Senior Vice President, Frontline Performance Group