Are Goals for Losers? – Embracing the Dilbert Approach to Systems-Thinking Over Goal-Setting

Goals are a mixed blessing — whether it’s at the start of a New Year, or anytime we step back to see where we’re going. In the words of Howard Behar, former President of Starbucks, “Goals put dreams into action,” but the energizing aspirations of goals can defeat us if we’re focused on the end-point and not the journey.

Personally speaking, I had big plans for 2022, and while I achieved a lot for my business and clients, and I stretched in lots of new ways, I also had moments of heartbreak when I fell short and like a failure when the goals I set didn’t materialize.?

My difficult relationship with goals has forced me to reflect on what must be a better approach. One answer is systems, or more specifically, systems-thinking– the routines, habits, tools, and people that increase your chance of success over the long run.?

The Dilbert “Method”— Systems-Thinking Over Goals-Thinking

While many productivity experts talk about the importance of systems, it is Dilbert creator, Scott Adams, whose articulation of the concept of systems-thinking hit me like a bolt of lightning. It’s brilliant.?

In his excellent book How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big , Adams claims that goals are “for losers.” Goal-oriented people exist in a state of continuous failure, while systems-people succeed every time they apply their systems.?

Goal-oriented people exist in a state of continuous presuccess failure at best, and permanent failure at worst if things never work out.?

Systems people succeed every time they apply their systems, in the sense that they did what they intended to do.”?

?-Scott Adam, Dilbert creator, from How to Fail at Almost Anything and Still Win Big?

Adams explains how successful people strengthen and expand their system rather than hoping to achieve the goal.

Unlike goals, systems aren’t all-or-nothing, pass/fail terms of success. If you’re going in the right direction, the strength of your system will carry you way past your deadline, New Year’s resolution, or anything else.

How to Strengthen Your Systems-Thinking

From my experience and observation, below are the range of components that go into successful systems-thinking. You can apply them to improve whatever “system” you are working on at home, at work, or for your personal development too:

• Schedule and Deadlines – I was a sporadic writer for years until I stuck to a regular (albeit not religious) schedule with set deadlines (with the help of some professional “team” expertise and enforcement). As basic as it seems, how you schedule your time and the deadlines you set are the first and most critical parts of any system you are looking to launch or improve.
• Team or Community – As they say, “If you want to go fast, go alone; If you want to go far, go together.” Truth be told, it’s hard to muscle through goals and habits day in and day out on our own. We need others – outside experts, team members, fans, family – to become part of our system in one way or another. Other than motivating us, the team and community prevent us from bottlenecking our systems.
• Physical Location, Environment, and Equipment – I started to expand my business after I moved my base office out of my busy house and into a rented office downtown. Ironically, when I moved my gym from downtown to home, I got better results the other way around. (And yes, the Peloton is an awesome piece of equipment to improve your fitness system.)?
• Sense of Reality - I have watched many times as my clients have attempted to implement the “ideal” process or practice, often designed by a consultant or vendor, only to have it blow up when reality “hits the fan,” as they say. The best systems, in your work world and your personal life, are the most realistic.?
• Efficiency – If your team can execute a process in 7 steps, not 10, without sacrificing quality, take the more efficient path. If you can get a great workout in 30 minutes, not 2 hours, do this too. Strong systems are designed to generate the most value from the least amount of effort.
• Repetition and Consistency – I was reminded of this over Christmas when I decided, after a 5-year hiatus from any “big” cooking, that I was going to cook Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner. I got through it and enjoyed the challenge. But I cooked too much, ruined a couple of things, and took a week to clean the kitchen in the aftermath. If you want to improve your system, you need to use your system consistently. The more you do something, the better you get at it (usually).?
• Continuous Improvement – Now here’s the caveat to the point above. You can do something over and over again, but you won’t always improve your system if you don’t have an attitude of continuous improvement. You see this in the business world where teams or departments operate processes on autopilot for years without challenging them. For a system to be robust and dynamic, execute it with an attitude and regular “check-ins” to improve it over time.
• Scale – The National Geographic documentary We Feed People chronicles Chef José Andrés and his non-profit World Central Kitchen’s incredible mission to provide humanitarian relief through food. In this documentary, he explains that “systems feed people.” That is, it’s not his extraordinary culinary achievements (not to mention owning 20 restaurants and accolades including the Julia Child Award and Outstanding Chef). It’s the strength of the people and process that provides warm, nutritious, and delicious food to thousands of victims of disasters.?
• Flow and Energy – This last dimension might sound like the most fluffy, but it’s perhaps the most important to reflect on.?

Systems that are working usually feel like they are working.?

If you have confidence in your system, this is a good sign. If you don’t, there’s probably something you need to fix. If your system is an uphill battle to keep on track, use this gut check as a diagnostic: Could it be your tools, your schedule, your team, your sense of reality (or lack thereof) that is getting in your way? Systems that “flow”, on the other hand, have a better sense of energy, enjoyment, and momentum.

As you reflect on your personal and work systems and the results you want to achieve, here are some questions to think about:

• Which systems are working for you in your personal life? And which ones aren’t?
• Which systems are working for you at work or for your team? And which ones aren’t?
• What is one system you will focus on the most this year?
• What needs to change to improve this system – schedule and deadlines, team and community, physical location or equipment, sense of reality, efficiency, scale, repetition, scale, or continuous improvement?

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