Setting Goals That Are Bigger Than Ourselves in 2024
By Chad Delligatti, InnoSource CEO
As a leader, I’ve learned that success is about more than hitting targets or the next promotion. It’s also about lifting up those around you and making a positive impact — in your company, of course, but also in your community. It will come as no surprise to those who know me: I believe in setting ambitious goals. I push those around me to achieve, and I push myself even harder. But at my best, I keep my goals grounded in real human values: mentorship, connection and community.
My approach has always been to surround myself with a team that shares this mindset. A goal might seem daunting at the outset. But if we work together, amplifying and supporting each other’s talents, I truly believe we can achieve anything.
As 2024 gets underway and we start executing to achieve the business goals we set, I find myself thinking back to a book another leader shared with me several years ago. The book, “The Second Mountain” by David Brooks, creates the idea of two mountains we must climb in life. The first is all about individual achievement and success — the stuff that drives many of us when we are young. We set a high goal, and we climb to achieve it.
But, as Brooks writes, once you near the top of that climb, you realize the first mountain was just the start. There’s a second mountain, one that I think is even more important, focused on relationships, spirituality and community. And you see the first goal just provided the platform that allows you to set an even higher goal, one that leaves a truly lasting legacy.
As leaders, we have tremendous power to shape our communities. We can choose to wield that power in service of others, not just ourselves.
I encourage my family, friends and colleagues to get involved with organizations they care about. Giving back fills your soul in a way that business metrics never can. I make a point to mentor up-and-coming leaders too. Guiding the next generation is one way you create a lasting legacy. What we leave behind can be so much more meaningful than any business goal we might be working toward right now.
That’s not to say our business goals don’t matter. Of course, they do. But mentorship, connection and community should be vital pillars of any organization. As leaders we must see beyond metrics and enable care, compassion and giving back.
This year, as I focus on our business goals, I am also thinking about that second mountain. I am striving to keep growing on a personal level so I can empower growth in others. My hope is that together we can build organizations and communities that make the world a little better through meaningful service. To me, that is true success.