Should investors share their goals or not?

Question

In the latest podcast (podcast #245 https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/biggerpoc...) @Joshua Dorkin and @Brandon Turner interviewed the bestselling author Ryan Holiday where they talked a lot about ego (great podcast by the way).  However, they also started talking about goals toward the end of the podcast and they said some things that were contrary to what I understand as far as goal setting and accountability.

The goal setting education that I am familiar with follows the SMART outline (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely).  When it comes to measurable, one of the easiest ways of knowing that a goal has been reached is attaching a number to it, such as I want to lose 10 lbs by the end of next month, or I want to get 5 rental properties this year.  This way you can objectively know if you reached your goal or not.

I have also listened to many other people, podcasts, and trainings where they mention to write down your goals and to share them with others for accountability purposes.  It is easy for me to create a goal in my mind and then never share it with anyone so that I never have to answer for it.

In the recent podcast however, Ryan talked about how when he hears a someone say a specific number with regards to their goals (such as selling a certain number of books) he gets suspicious that the goal is for ego or some sort of comparison against someone else and in his opinion that is dangerous.

Brandon then shared about a study that he had recently read that indicated that when people share their goals the chance of achieving that goal is actually less than if they keep that goal a secret stating that it's like their brain already won so they don't work as hard.

I would like to find out from other BiggerPockets members what their experience about goal setting has been.  Has setting goals with specific numbers been helpful for you or not?  When you set goals with numbers was it about ego and comparison or something else?  Has sharing your goals with others created more motivation and accountability or less?

Thanks for the responses.

Scott Trench · Answer

There's a yes and a no to this question.

I set SMART goals for myself every year, quarter, and week. These goals are usually directly achievable, and crystal clear, like "Sell X amount in advertising for BiggerPockets" or "Write a blog post" or "Workout 3 times intensely in addition to practice."

I do NOT set goals with regards to real estate. I know, more or less, what my real estate strategy is over the course of the long-term (buy a property in Denver approximately every 12-18 months, larger and more profitable with each purchase). But, I NEVER set a goal of "buy a property by this date" or enforce my 12-18 month timeline with any rigidity. Instead, I set a timeframe for when I want to buy a property, and begin researching the market and purposefully working towards a purchase. For instance, suppose that I plan to be in financial and life position to buy my next property by February 2018. I'd BEGIN scouring the market and doing analysis on deals a few months in advance (I always keep somewhat of an eye on the market, but I review EVERY MLS deal I come across a few months ahead of time for a few moments when getting ready to buy).

Then, when February hits, I'd begin seriously touring properties, and telling everyone I come across a) where I'm looking b) my price range and c) my ideal property.

I'll do this for days, weeks, months, or even a year, until I find the property that meets my criteria. I don't say that I have to buy my property by X date. I make darn sure that have the flexibility baked into my plan so that I can take as long as it takes to buy a deal that makes sense and moves me toward my long-term goal of building a sustainable, massive, passive real estate portfolio, one property, and one year at a time.

After that next purchase, it will be back to working hard at my career and other professional pursuits, and combinging my professional earned income with my passive income from other real estate investments to buy the next, larger property 12-18 months later.

So, do you see how for me, it is not about setting a SMART goal in the strict sense of the word when it comes to buying investment real estate, but more SMART goals in the short-term, that I can completely control, and buying real estate when opportunity arises?

I can love Ryan Holiday's work, and still drive towards my goals aggressively and publicly. I believe that for me, the odds of achieving my goals increases as I make them public, especially with regards to something as opportunistic as finding deals in real estate. I publicly declare my goals, and work to hit them.

Shiloh Lundahl · Answer

@Charles Kennedy  I agree. Steven R Covey, the author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, writes about beginning  with the end in mind. To me that means figuring out where I want to be and then making bench mark goals toward the place that I want to end up.

Without a destination how does one know which direction to take? This is assuming however that that  that person knows where  he or she wants to end up.

Shiloh Lundahl · Answer

@Justin Owens  it sounds like this year has been a really great year for you even without setting any specific goals.

Sterling White · Answer

Great questions @Shiloh Lundahl. Everyone is different, but I personally achieve more when I set specific targets/goals. The goals I set are meant to stretch myself, because I will need to skill up in order to achieve them. I share my goals with very few people. It does help for accountability purposes.

Shiloh Lundahl · Answer

I was wondering if I could pull in the following people to add a comment or their opinions in on this topic of goal setting:

@Jay Hinrichs, Account Closed

Thanks for any comments.

Account Closed · Answer

I haven't listened to this episode of the podcast yet. Reading @Scott Trench's post gave me a view of the other side. I think you can share your goals with as many people as you meet, but it only means something when shared with certain people. People that are close to you and can appreciate and support you is one group I've benefited from sharing my goals with. Another more beneficial person to share goals with is someone close to you who has similar goals who you can bounce and build ideas off of and work together to achieve them. Sharing goals with acquaintances or someone that doesn't really care isn't going to hurt you but I personally don't like wasting time talking about something that's important to me with someone that doesn't place the same value on it.

With real estate goals I like to practice a goal-oriented plan, there must be objectives to obtain during my planning stage, then there's an implementation, and the execution. It's premeditated on paper beforehand. While creating it, if I find it useful to use specific dates and attach numbers and deadlines to boost my performance, I do it. I personally know how I work best and create my goals to harmonize. I have elasticity with them, but I look into myself to know when I'm actually benefiting by adjusting them or if I'm doing it for the wrong reasons. Discipline is huge with goals. I don't see a reason to strictly tie myself to specific numbers all the time or on the flip side look at doing so as limiting me in any way.

Account Closed · Answer

Hearing how other people set goals not only around real estate but in life in general allows me to better align myself with the mindset of people that are smarter than myself. There is enough opportunity in the world of real estate that the pie seems to be never ending - so in my mind, sharing goals and methods of accomplishing those goals allows other people to benefit from real estate to increase their financial freedom and achieve long term wealth.

Bob E. · Answer

I can see where this could be the case for some people and talking about their goals might slow them down.  I have had people call me looking for guidance that have no properties but a goal of retiring in 10 years.  It seems some people want to talk about the end goal but never break it down into actionable tasks.  I can easily picture these people getting stuck.

I was listening to that subject podcast on the way to work today and it made me think, I recently achieved my goal of 20 notes/properties and what is next?  Since I think the market is high right now I decided my goal for the next 15 months is to do nothing.  On the purchase side.  I want to take the next 15 months to finish renovation and rehab of properties in the portfolio and pay off debt with the goal of preparing for the next recession.  Going through a downturn with low or no debit very well may be the catalyst to the next 20 units so rather then chasing deals I want to bullet proof my portfolio.

Justin Owens · Answer

@Shiloh Lundahl, I should amend my post a bit. I do have a goal of growing to $7,500 per month in cash flow (not considering the debt service, then to pay off the debt. I have 12 years as of this week to accomplish this goal. To get to this goal I am keeping all options open. Some properties make sense to flip, some with a simple cleanup and others require minor to major rehabs. Once complete the numbers may not make sense to keep as a rental so we would then flip and build our war chest. The funds from our REI do not go to support our lifestyle but stay in the REI account until they can be redeployed on another project. I may not know exactly the steps needed to get to my goal in 12 years, but I am using various strategies in REI to get there.

Shiloh Lundahl · Answer

@Scott Trench  I appreciate you taking the time to write such a thorough response.  As I'm reading people's responses, I recognize a lot of people aren't setting specific goals with regard to real estate.   For me, if I'm going to do something, I tend to want to have a specific thing that I am working towards. Do you have an ultimate end goal that you want to achieve through real estate?

Should investors share their goals or not?

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