Goal Setting Strategies

Don't blindly run (obvious) spreadsheet prompts. Here are 30 prompts to make sheets board-ready: Setup & foundation: "Build me a [TYPE] spreadsheet from this data." "List your top 10 assumptions before executing." "Use named ranges so formulas read like English." "Keep all inputs on an Assumptions tab." "Format for board projection: clean palette, frozen rows." Building the structure: "Add a Dashboard tab with KPI tiles." "Add Base / Bull / Bear scenario toggle." "Add a P&L tab linked to the Revenue tab." "Build a 12-month forecast by service line." "Add a Funnel tab: audience → leads → deals." Analysis without formulas: "What trends stand out in 2026 vs 2025?" "Compare actuals to budget, explain 3 variances." "Categorize these transactions into expense types." "Which line items grow faster than revenue?" "Find the deals that closed fastest - what's in common?" Editing in Google Sheets: "Visualize @Revenue as a stacked bar." "Summarize @Funnel in 5 bullets." "Add conditional formatting on margin %." "Translate @Dashboard into French." "In @Assumptions, push Bull more optimistic — stay realistic." Debugging and cleanup: "Explain what the formula in [CELL] does in English" "Trace [CELL] back to its source inputs." "Why is [CELL] showing # REF / # VALUE / # DIV/0?" "Find any hardcoded numbers inside formulas." "Show me how [CELL] connects to the Assumptions tab." Advanced moves: "Add a data table for revenue at diff growth rates." "Add a Monte Carlo simulation on key drivers." "Convert this monthly model to weekly granularity." "Stress-test the model — what breaks first?" "Reconcile @Revenue tab with @P&L tab — find mismatches." These prompts are everywhere now. Board decks. Investor models. Monthly reviews. Even messy bank exports. The formula bar used to be the bottleneck. Now it's knowing what to ask. They sound simple. But they do an analyst's work. Here's how to actually build board-ready sheets: 1. Force the AI to expose its logic. Before anything, ask "list your top 10 assumptions." Non-negotiable. 2. Separate inputs from logic. Keep every assumption on its own tab. Pull hardcoded numbers inside formulas out where you can see them. 3. Make it readable. Not "=B4C71.12." But named ranges that read like English. If a board member can't follow it, it's not board-ready. 4. Audit before you send. Ask "trace this cell back to its source inputs" & "reconcile the Revenue tab with the P&L tab." 5. Stress-test it. "What breaks first?" Find the edge case in the model, not in the meeting. Don't trust a spreadsheet you can't explain. Read the full Excel guide: https://lnkd.in/d6rM-GSm. Send it to your finance team. Thank me later.

Thousands of studies. Dozens of leading psychology researchers. Decades of experiments on why some people keep going when others quit… and I’ve boiled it down to the 7 biggest takeaways: 1. Action before motivation. Peter Gollwitzer’s work on implementation intentions shows that taking even the smallest step kickstarts a psychological commitment loop. Action fuels motivation more reliably than waiting to “feel ready.” 2. Make your goals specific. Locke & Latham’s Goal Setting Theory (over 1,000 studies) found that specific, challenging goals (“Run 3 times this week”) consistently lead to higher performance than vague ones (“Get fitter”). 3. Progress fuels persistence. According to the goal‐gradient hypothesis, motivation increases as we get closer to a goal. Studies in both animals and people show that small wins, like filling in progress bars or checking off steps, supercharge persistence. 4. Meaning beats willpower. Roy Baumeister found that willpower is finite, but Victor Frankl’s work on meaning and Kashdan & McKnight’s research on purpose show that a deep “why” sustains effort far beyond raw self-control. 5. Shape your environment. Wendy Wood’s research on habits shows that high self-control people don’t rely on willpower alone; they design their surroundings so the desired action is easy and temptations are out of reach. 6. Use social accountability. Harkins & Szymanski demonstrated the audience effect: people persist longer when others can see or expect their effort. More recently, Gollwitzer & Sheeran’s meta-analysis found that public commitments increase follow-through rates significantly. 7. Expect setbacks. Motivation oscillates; it’s not a flat line. Dörnyei’s process-oriented model outlines how motivation ebbs, flows, and needs recalibration. That shifting energy gives you data. And through it all, there’s one big takeaway: Stop waiting for motivation. Take action. Which one is most relevant for you?

70% of CEOs say their strategy is clear.   (Only 10% of their teams agree.) That gap? It’s where misalignment lives.   Where priorities get lost.   Where momentum dies. If you’re scaling a company, there’s nothing more   dangerous than thinking your strategy is clear—   when it’s not. 👉 That’s why my Wheel of Strategy matters. It breaks strategy down into 4 essential areas. And challenges you to answer 20 dead-simple,   high-impact questions:  🧭 Purpose & Direction   1. Why do we exist? Who actually needs us?   2. What’s our mission in one clear sentence?   3. What do we believe that drives how we operate?   4. Where do we want to be in 3 years?   5. What would success look like if nothing held us back? 📊 Market & Advantage   6. Who is our highest-value customer?   7. What pain are they feeling every day?   8. What’s changing in our industry? How do we stay ahead?   9. Why do people choose us—or not?   10. What can we offer that’s hard to copy? 📈 Goals & Metrics   11. What are our top 3 priorities right now?   12. What does success look like this quarter?   13. What’s the one number that matters most today?   14. How do we review progress each week?   15. What milestone will tell us we’re winning? ⚙️ Actions & Tactics   16. What must we deliver in the next 90 days?   17. Who owns each outcome? By when?   18. What’s currently blocked? How do we fix it fast?   19. What quick wins will build momentum now? 20. When and how will we check in and adjust? No fluff. No 50-slide decks.   Just strategic clarity—fast. Save this sheet.  Use it in your next:   — Leadership meeting   — Quarterly reset   — Or offsite If you and your team can’t answer   these questions confidently... It’s time to go back to the strategy table. Because real alignment doesn’t come from   louder messaging.  It comes from sharper thinking.  ♻ Repost to help someone in your network. Follow Eric Partaker for more on business strategy. ————— 📢 Don't miss my FINAL FREE TRAINING for Founders & CEOs. In celebration of The CEO Accelerator, launching Apr 23rd, I'm hosting: "How to Set Inspiring Goals & Drive  Accountability in Your Company" TOMORROW, April 22nd, 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK time: https://lnkd.in/dssV7axP 📌 FINAL CALL to enroll in our next  CEO Accelerator cohort, which kicks off on Apr 23rd. 50+ Founders & CEOs have already joined.  Learn more and apply here: https://lnkd.in/dsH4iwp2

We’re witnessing a shift from static models to 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸, 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝘁—not just respond. But with so many disciplines converging—LLMs, orchestration, memory, planning—how do you 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 to master it all? Here’s a 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗮𝗽 to navigate the Agentic AI landscape, designed for developers and builders who want to go beyond surface-level hype: ↳ 𝟭. 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: Move from model outputs to goal-driven autonomy. Understand where Agentic AI fits in the automation stack. ↳ 𝟮. 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗜/𝗠𝗟 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘀: Before agents, there’s learning—deep learning, reinforcement learning, and the theories powering adaptive behavior. ↳ 𝟯. 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸: Dive into 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻, 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗚𝗲𝗻, and 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗔𝗜—frameworks enabling coordination, planning, and tool use. ↳ 𝟰. 𝗚𝗼 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗟𝗟𝗠 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀: Learn how tokenization, embeddings, and memory management drive better reasoning. ↳𝟱. 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶-𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Agents aren’t lone wolves—they negotiate, delegate, and synchronize in distributed workflows. ↳𝟲. 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘆 + 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹: Understand how 𝗥𝗔𝗚, vector stores, and semantic indexing turn short-term chatbots into long-term thinkers. ↳𝟳. 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹: Build agents with layered planning, feedback loops, and reinforcement-based self-improvement. ↳𝟴. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰: From few-shot to chain-of-thought, prompt engineering is the new compiler—learn to wield it with intention. ↳𝟵. 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 + 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Agents that improve themselves aren’t science fiction—they're built on adaptive loops and human feedback. ↳𝟭𝟬. 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹-𝗔𝘂𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Master hybrid search and scalable retrieval pipelines for real-time, context-rich AI. ↳𝟭𝟭. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘀: Production-ready agents need low latency, monitoring, and integration into business workflows. 𝟭𝟮. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲: From copilots to autonomous research assistants—Agentic AI is already solving real problems in the wild. 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘀—𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹, 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. If you're serious about building the next wave of intelligent systems, this roadmap is your compass. Curious—what part of this roadmap are you diving into right now?

Purpose is essential. It drives, motivates and gives focus. But, how do you communicate it in your organization and turn it into action? Use the Pyramid of Purpose The Pyramid of Purpose is a simple tool laying out the hierarchy of an organization’s strategic plan. The original version contains four questions: Why? What? How? and Who? While useful, it is incomplete. This is why I have extended it to the full “5W1H’ questions to further specify what is meant. As the picture shows, the Pyramid of Purpose puts the 5W+1H questions in a particular order. There is a logic to this. From abstract to specific, the questions refer to the following: WHY? This question asks for the overall purpose of the organization and the strategy, which is often reflected in an organization's Mission and Vision statements. It captures the organization’s primary reason for existence, why it does what it does. WHERE? A demarcation of scope and location. As most organizations do not address the entire world, it is useful to specify for which (part of the) organization, industry, or region the Why? question applies. This includes describing who is affected, or which unit, department or region. WHAT? Turning the overall purpose into clear and measurable goals and objectives. At this level it becomes clear what is meant with the overall purpose. Given that this may be different for different units and departments, the Pyramid may split from here on downwards so that the What? How? When? and Who? questions are answered differently for each of them. HOW? At this level, you explain what needs to be done in order to achieve the goals and objectives of the previous level. This includes defining actions, initiatives, tasks, projects, or anything else that describes what needs to happen and change to achieve the objectives and thereby the organization’s purpose. WHEN? Once it is clear what needs to be done and how, the next step is to define when. This concerns setting priorities and making decisions about what will be done and what not, and about when and in which order. It leads to a high-level long-term roadmap and a short-term concrete action plan that drives action throughout the organization. WHO? The final question concerns the allocation of people and resources. This includes budgeting and reserving sufficient capacity for executing the plan that results from the previous levels. Without assigning clear tasks and responsibilities, nothing will really happen, making this last step as important as the previous five. Time for some work: what does your organization’s Pyramid of Purpose look like? === → Subscribe to my Soulful Strategy newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/e_ytzAgU #purpose #valuecreation #businessdevelopment

Science shows: the harder you desperately chase a goal… the harder it becomes to achieve. Here’s why: When you obsess over the how or the when of a goal, your brain rebels. Cortisol spikes. Stress rises. Your mind narrows into tunnel vision. And tunnel vision blinds you to new opportunities or alternate paths. But when you detach from the outcome Your nervous system calms. Cortisol drops. Your brain opens back up. Creative insights return. You see possibilities you couldn’t see before. That’s why the best things often arrive when you’re “not looking.” You’ve shifted from fight-or-flight… to open awareness. Focus on your goals, yes. But don’t fuel that focus with fear or scarcity. Fuel it with presence, gratitude, and trust. That’s when your brain and your life start working for you. Citation: Liad Uziel, Roy F. Baumeister. The Self-Control Irony: Desire for Self-Control Limits Exertion of Self-Control in Demanding Settings. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2017; 43 (5): 693 DOI: 10.1177/0146167217695555

Struggling teams don't need another framework. They need a leader. I've taken over bad teams filled with good people. I learned to embrace three themes for a successful reset: ✅ Change requires honoring the past and building the future ✅ Trust is rebuilt through actions, not just words ✅ Culture lives in daily micro-decisions Here are the 8 lessons that make it work: 1/ Honor the Past ↳ Don't play the blame game ↳ Value those who stayed through hard times 2/ Name What Stops Here ↳ Be specific about what changes ↳ Get them to help rewrite the new rules 3/ Own Your Role ↳ Acknowledge where you fell short ↳ Build trust through self-accountability 4/ Reset the Target ↳ Paint a clear 6-month vision ↳ Define what excellence looks like 5/ Define Winning Behaviors ↳ Skip empty corporate speak ↳ Make expectations crystal clear 6/ Create New Rituals ↳ Build sacred team habits ↳ Engineer connection, especially remote 7/ Embrace Iterations ↳ Progress isn't linear ↳ Celebrate small wins, learn from setbacks 8/ Rebuild Trust Daily ↳ Start from trust at zero ↳ Do what you say you'll do 9/ Catch Them Winning ↳ Be specific about what you see ↳ What gets recognized gets repeated Want more detail?  Flip through the full playbook below. Remember:  Your team likely knows the path forward. They're just waiting for you to walk it first. If this was helpful: 📌 Please follow Dave Kline for more ♻️ Share to help other leaders turn things around.

India has 150 million+ people above the age 60 and there is a massive opportunity to keep them healthy & fit. But everyone’s focused on Gen Z and no one’s building for their parents. It’s a hard business but a big one. We’ve invested in two companies. Here’s why it’s tough and how one should crack it. Understand the reality first. 1. Elders don’t think of “health” as proactive. They’re conditioned to wait until something breaks before acting. You’re selling a solution to a problem they don’t know they have yet. 2. The 65-year-old needs it but their 35-year-old child pays for it. You're not selling to the elder. You’re selling to their guilt-driven kids in Gurgaon or US. The buyer ≠ the user. 3. Trust is everything and you don’t have it. Indian elders trust: Their doctor, astrologer & their neighbour Not apps. Not tech bros. Not AI. You can't growth hack trust. You earn it slowly, locally. 4. They don’t want new habits. They’ve had the same breakfast for 40 years. You’re not selling a product. You’re undoing decades of routine. 5. Distribution is hyperlocal. Elders don’t click Insta ads. They talk to the uncle in their colony. You scale building by building not by user cohorts. Yes, 150M+ elders. But it’s not one market. It’s a thousand tiny tribes. Different languages, cultures, food habits, family structures, and tech comfort levels. If it were easy, Tata or Reliance would’ve done it already. But it’s wide open now. The one who combines tech + trust + real care will win. So how do you crack it? 1. Think first principles & not trends Don’t build a “senior fitness app.” Ask: Why did they stop moving? What gives them joy? You’re selling independence, not health. 2. Design for peace, not features. One-click help, One daily routine, One trusted face. Great elder products feel like human care not software. 3. Human-first, tech-enable. Don’t replace the daughter. Support her. Train 100 amazing elder coaches. Build tools to help them scale. 4. Don't focus on CAC. Here, it’s about trust per acquisition. You’re not selling toothpaste. You’re asking to be let into their daily life. Start offline. Build trust then tech. 5. You’re in the business of habit change & not selling an app or a pill. Get them to walk 15 minutes a day. Add protein to breakfast. Laugh more. Sleep better. Small wins compound. Don’t build for scale first. Build for consistency. Be in the business of habit change. 6. This isn’t a hackable D2C play. It’s a decade-long trust business. Build for one community. Get to know 100 elders by name. Solve deep, boring problems with elegance. Everyone’s chasing the next billion youth users. But the hidden opportunity lies in serving the first 150 million elders. The elder care market in India isn’t just underserved. It’s misunderstood and needs long-term play. Founders who crack this will build generational companies.

Interesting to see the debate on quarterly reporting resurface. When I announced we would end it on my first day at Unilever, it was not to save money or hide results, but to create the conditions for leaders to think in years, not quarters, and to make decisions that would outlast their tenures. Trump is right that quarterly reporting devours valuable attention and straps blinkers onto executives. It promotes the sugar hit over the steady meal, the easy cut over the lasting investment. But the real issue is not three months versus six. The deeper question is: what are we measuring in the first place? As long as our reports remain blind to the costs of polluted air, exhausted soils, and poverty wages, then the frequency matters little. We will still be managing decline rather than building shared value and prosperity. The true shift comes when we align our metrics with the future we claim to want: stable societies, thriving natural ecosystems, resilient economies. Extend the horizon, widen the lens, and business organically moves from serving the few to serving the many. That is how trust is rebuilt, and prosperity endures. But let’s be clear, changing reporting cycles is not a miracle cure. It will not by itself make business more successful or more sustainable. The true test will be what leaders do with the breathing room. Will they take long-term decisions that own their full impact, or squander the opportunity as cover to dodge scrutiny and weaken accountability? In the end, leadership is not about buying time, but about investing it wisely. To build companies that give more than they take and profit from solving challenges, not from creating them. That is the essence of Net Positive, and the legacy future generations will measure us by.

Notebooks are the new operating systems. I know that sounds surprising, but hear me out. Most founders have 17 half-filled notebooks scattered across their desk, car, and backpack. Each one started with good intentions. Each one abandoned by week two. Last year, I threw out every productivity app and went back to paper. I built what I call "The Daily OS" a one-page framework that actually works. Here's how to organize a notebook you'll actually use: 1. Theme Of The Day Start every day by naming what it's about. Not a to-do list. An intention. "Today is about deep creative work." "Today is about strategic planning." "Today is about connecting with my team." This single sentence filters every decision you make. 2. Top 7 Priorities Not 20 tasks.  Not 50 emails.  Seven priorities. If you can't pick seven, you don't have clarity yet. List them by impact, not urgency. 3. Meetings / Leverage Calls Here's the filter: Does this meeting create leverage or consume time? If it doesn't compound, decline it or delegate it. Only write down the calls that actually move needles. 4. Notes / Insights Throughout the day, capture insights immediately. Don't trust your memory. Write it down in the moment. This section becomes your second brain. 5. The Scoreboard Track three metrics daily: • Gratitude (1 thing you're grateful for) • Energy (1-10 scale, where 10 = you feel unbelievable) • Revenue (1-10 scale, where 10 = you made significant progress) Numbers don't lie. This scoreboard reveals patterns you'd otherwise miss. 6. End Of Day Reflection Ask yourself 3 questions every evening: What worked? What didn't? What will I accomplish tomorrow? This 2-minute practice compounds into massive clarity over time. The entire system fits on one page. No apps.  No syncing.  No notifications. Just a notebook and a pen. Why does this work when digital tools fail? • Because writing activates your brain differently than typing • Because paper doesn't have notifications competing for your attention • Because you can't optimize what you don't track, and this forces you to track what matters __ Enjoy this? ♻️ Repost it to your network and follow Matt Gray for more. Want to learn how to build a sustainable founder-led brand that grows even when you’re not around? Join my free live Workshop on November 18th at 11 am New York time (a few hours away) to steal my homework: https://lnkd.in/eH5JmUTd