In Part 1 I argued that mindset is the foundation — the ceiling above which nothing else compounds. Once that foundation is in place, the next question is direction. Where, exactly, are you going?
That is what goals do. Goals are the map.
A reconstruction of the compass rose from Portuguese cartographer Pedro Reinel's 1504 nautical chart — the first known wind rose to clearly mark north with the fleur-de-lys. Goals function the way a compass rose functions on a map: they do not move you, but they orient every move you make. Vector by Joaquim Alves Gaspar via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).
A map gives you three things
A real goal — written down, measurable, and time-bound — gives you three things you cannot get any other way:
- Direction. Without a destination, every choice looks equally valid. Goals make the next move obvious.
- Focus. When the goal is specific, distractions reveal themselves. Anything that does not move you toward the goal is, by definition, in the way.
- Motivation. A good goal pulls. It is the gravitational center the rest of the work organizes around.
If you are not getting these three things from your current goals, the goals are too vague — or you do not actually have any.
Micro goals and macro goals
Most people set one of these and not the other. Both are required.
Micro goals — the daily compass
Micro goals are the short-term, measurable, achievable, time-bound objectives that tell you what to work on this month. Bring in two new estate planning matters by the end of April. Read 30 pages of trial-advocacy material every weekday. Lose ten pounds by July. These are the goals that tell you whether today was a good day.
The framework most professionals already know is SMART — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound. It works because it forces honesty. "I want to be a better lawyer" is not a goal. "I want to argue three motions in federal court this year" is.
Macro goals — the gravitational center
Macro goals are different. They are the long-horizon, sometimes-unreasonable visions that pull you across decades. The macro goal is the answer to what would your life look like if you could do anything? The answer is not money, or things, or status. The answer is freedom, work you love, and the people you want to be around when you are doing it.
Macro goals are allowed to be unrealistic. They are supposed to be. Their job is not to be checked off — their job is to give the micro goals their meaning.
The trap of unrealistic micro goals
Macro goals can be unrealistic. Micro goals cannot.
If your monthly target is to bring in fifty new clients when last month you brought in three, you have not set a goal — you have set yourself up to feel like a failure on the 30th. Unrealistic short-term goals discourage. Realistic short-term goals compound.
The discipline is to keep the macro vision unreasonable and the micro targets exact.
How to write a goal that pulls
Three questions, in order:
- What does success look like, specifically? If you cannot describe it in a sentence, the goal is not yet a goal.
- How will I know when I have reached it? If there is no measurement, there is no progress.
- By when? A goal without a date is a wish.
Write the answer down. Put it somewhere you will see it daily. Review it weekly. Revise it when reality demands a revision — not when discomfort demands an excuse.
What this looks like in a serious legal career
For an attorney, the micro goals are the metrics: cases brought, motions argued, hours billed, referrals received, fees collected, depositions taken, trials tried. The macro goal is the legacy: the kind of clients you want to be known for, the cases you want to be remembered for, the practice you want to leave behind.
You do not need to know exactly how the macro goal happens. You only need to know it well enough to point the micro goals in its direction.
Next in the series: Modeling — how to study the people who already did what you want to do. Coming up on stevenfraser.com.
If you are at an inflection point in your career or a major matter and want a confidential second opinion, request a private introduction or call 877-862-7188.