I’ve led workshops for teams at large organizations and small, for-profit businesses and non-profits, and higher education, and there has been a common thread—people don’t want to put numbers to goals.

That’s ludicrous. How can you NOT have a number? It’s like having a business and saying, “We want to be profitable.” Okay, how much revenue, how much profit, by when? Once you have those numbers, you develop strategies to achieve them. It’s Business 101 stuff.

After noticing it was happening across organizations, I realized something was up. Leaders and employees alike know that once a number is written down, it takes on a life of its own. People instinctively know there is some wizardry where placeholder numbers magically become actual targets by the time a workshop is over. They become gospel.

People are very cautious about what numbers they are going to be held accountable for.

This brings us to how we relate to our SMART goals.

The idea of SMART goals was introduced in 1981. They are:

Specific: target a particular area for improvement

Measurable: quantify or suggest progress metrics

Achievable: ensure you can achieve your goals with the given resources

Realistic: outline what results you can feasibly achieve using the available resources

Timely: highlight when your goal should be achieved

How we relate to these goals can be healthy or toxic.

SMART goals like “lose 5 pounds by August” or “increase next quarter’s revenue by 15%” can be healthy. But the need to be held in balance with deeper and describable–if not always observable or measurable—goals like “live a life of balanced health” or “maintain a vibrant and resilient corporate culture.”

Conversely, a relationship of unthinking devotion to SMART goals can be toxic. For example, pursuing career advancement and making money comes at the cost of family and friends, healthy, and/or enjoying life.

In business, a slavish devotion to “hitting the numbers” without looking at the whole picture can come at the cost of team burnout and turnover. Or, worse, sacrificing ethics and/or quality.

We’ve seen how that can go: the diesel engine scandal at Volkswagen, the entire blowup of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange and hedge fund, Enron, and more.

While a business must be profitable, it should never come at the cost of values and deeper goals, including sustainability, resilience, meaning, and satisfaction.

So, where does that leave us with SMART goals, and how do they relate to a Pathfinder?

Pathfinders have a higher tolerance for ambiguity and risk than the typical person, yet they are not reckless. They thrive in an environment where answers are not yet clear and are willing to take chances as they build something. Pathfinders would be willing to put a number down and say, “Let’s give it a shot,” knowing it might not work out.

If the goal fails, Pathfinders perceive failure as an opportunity to learn and “fail forward” rather than as something they can’t let go.

Pathfinders are individuals who do not accept the status quo when faced with challenges and opportunities. Rather, they innovate and find a new way. They create a path that benefits their journey and all others that follow.

After years of empirical research, The Right Five and The Pathfinder Company have identified the unique set of deep skills that make a Pathfinder. We have developed an assessment to enable the identification of Pathfinder.

Want to find your organization’s or team’s Pathfinders? Looking to hire Pathfinders? Organizations can sign up for our private beta via the left hand sidebar, individuals can sign up to take the assessment directly.

If you are looking for your first sales hire of a B2B tech startup, The Right Five covers both the deep and vocational skills required to be successful. You can watch a demo here.