Kill Squishy Goals
Connect clear deliverables to measurable business outcomes and feedback loops.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 99%
The framework treats goal quality as a hierarchy. Having no goal is weakest; counting activities such as articles or videos is better but does not establish whether those activities mattered. A stronger goal specifies a result, while the strongest version connects that result to revenue, pipeline, or another strategic business outcome. Teams then decompose the outcome into contributing channels or workstreams so missed performance can be diagnosed rather than rationalized. Work that lacks a natural metric still receives a concrete artifact, explicit acceptance criteria, and named approvers. Regular feedback loops show whether execution is moving toward the outcome. The result is a cascading goal system in which contributors know what to deliver and leaders can judge success without relying on subjective end-of-period storytelling.
Origin
The hosts combine lessons from goal-setting seminars with Kipp's hierarchy of no goals, activity goals, result goals, and strategy-linked goals. They also explain how non-metric teams can define an approvable artifact. Extracted from Marketing Against The Grain.
Core principles
- 01Goals should make success or failure unambiguous.
- 02Outcome goals are stronger than activity goals.
- 03The strongest goals connect directly to business strategy.
- 04Every goal needs a feedback loop.
- 05Non-quantitative teams can use concrete deliverables and approval criteria.
How to run it
- 1
Identify the business outcome
Start with the revenue, pipeline, retention, adoption, or strategic result the organization needs.
Pro tip Use the company's existing operating targets as the anchor.
Watch out Do not begin with a list of tasks.
- 2
Choose the team's contribution
Define the result the team must produce to influence the broader outcome.
Pro tip State both the quantity and the quality threshold when applicable.
Watch out Raw volume can hide low-value output.
- 3
Define the success test
Select a metric or a concrete deliverable with explicit acceptance criteria and approvers.
Pro tip For an artifact, list the pivotal questions it must answer.
Watch out Not every team needs a metric, but every team needs an unambiguous test.
- 4
Decompose the commitment
Allocate the result across channels, workstreams, or contributors so performance gaps can be located.
Pro tip Make the components add up to the parent goal.
Watch out Disconnected subgoals can optimize local activity at the expense of the business outcome.
- 5
Install feedback loops
Review progress frequently enough to change course before the deadline.
Pro tip Track leading indicators alongside the final result.
Watch out An end-of-month explanation is not a feedback loop.
- 6
Diagnose the variance
At review time, compare the result with the commitment and identify precisely where and why any shortfall occurred.
Pro tip Separate execution failure from an incorrect assumption in the goal model.
Watch out Do not redefine success after seeing the result.
In the wild
Instead of committing to write five articles, a team commits to generate 1,000 qualified leads that account for 70% of quarterly sales pipeline. It allocates the total across organic search, email, paid acquisition, and referrals, then reviews each channel's contribution.
→ The team can determine both whether it succeeded and which channel caused any shortfall.
A product marketing team without a natural monthly metric commits to deliver a positioning artifact that answers three pivotal questions. The CEO, CMO, and CRO must approve it before the positioning is incorporated into launches.
→ A non-quantitative project gains a clear deliverable and objective completion test.
Common mistakes
Counting activity as impact
Completing five articles or videos proves that work occurred, not that the business result improved.
Forcing a metric onto every team
Some work is better governed by a specific artifact, acceptance criteria, and named approvers.
Allowing retrospective reinterpretation
A squishy goal lets teams construct a success narrative after the period instead of accepting a clear result.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for leaders and teams translating company strategy into monthly or quarterly marketing commitments.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for early exploratory research where the primary purpose is learning and the final deliverable cannot yet be specified.
From the transcript
“the real art is being able to set the right goal and then have feedback loops to know if that is getting you closer to…”
“the next level of better in the goal hierarchy is you have some result metric driven goal”
“not all teams need to have a match trick so but there's always a clear deliverable”
From the episode
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