Besides the fact I can’t stand this cliché, it is naive, unrealistic, and absurd. It is an unreasonable notion of optimism and goal setting.
If you’re actually shooting for the moon you should probably know we’ve only ever put 12 people on the moon … so your chances are pretty slim. NASA only selects about eight astronauts every four years. If you consider the number of people who have won the Mega Millions, you’re better off reaching for a lottery ticket and not the moon.
This is not a glass half empty approach to having ambition and goals. I’m all for people being ambitious and setting challenging goals to be more successful. But they have to be realistic. Having a realistic vision makes for much less of a disappointment or meltdown in the future when you don’t reach your lofty goals. If we’re talking about your corporate vision, and you don’t meet it, people will see that as a failure.
In the same respect you don’t want to aim too low either. By making your vision the equivalent of picking low hanging fruit it will express that you don’t have enough ambition. It looks lazy if your vision and goals aren’t a little bit ambitious. So where is the happy medium?
The key is to aim your vision just outside of your comfort zone. By doing this you’re forced to reach for it. You’re not reaching for the moon, in fact you’re not even close, but you’re reaching for an attainable future. Having a vision that dwells more in the realm of fantasy rather than reality does you and your organization no good. Only say you're going to change the world, or revolutionize your industry if you truly believe that's within your reach. No one knows what you're capable of more than you do. Stretching the truth about what you're capable of for the sake of good publicity is going to do more damage than good.
If you know your own limitations and have realistic expectations you will do well to create a vision for the future that you can push your team towards. It will motivate everyone to strive a little harder, work more efficiently, and power through the difficult times; but only if your people believe your vision is attainable. However, if your vision is comparable to asking your team to build a rocket and fly it to the moon – you can anticipate zero motivation and zero faith in your goals for the future.
Stop wasting your time by shooting for the moon – have a challenging but manageable vision for your future, and you’ll likely get there with a little perseverance and grit.
