Someone Has a License to Drive the Rabbit

I emailed a UK greyhound association to test a business metaphor. Turns out I was right, for a more interesting reason than I expected.

I wanted to know if greyhound racing was a good metaphor for chasing goals: if the mechanical rabbit gets too far ahead, the dogs give up. There's a licensed person whose entire job is driving the rabbit at exactly the right distance. Too far and the dogs get distracted. Too close and there's no real chase. And even dogs not in the lead keep running, because they're chasing the lead dog too. Same prize, different reason to keep going.

Five things I've come to believe about goal-setting in an organization, straight from the track:

1. Ambitious but visible. A goal people can still see seems to work best, otherwise they give up chasing before they've started.

2. Keep it in sight the whole way. From what I've seen, when progress isn't tracked and communicated constantly, motivation evaporates.

3. Relational competitiveness helps. People chase the leader as much as the prize.

4. Train the attitude, not just the plan. Some people need coaching into wanting it as much as the goal requires.

5. Check who's driving the rabbit. If someone else is setting your goals, make sure they're licensed for it. In my experience, a goal set by someone who doesn't understand pacing will bore your team or break them.

Which of these five is missing on your team right now?