Fly Me To The Moon - by Brian MacNeice

Unreasonable Ambition

John F Kennedy delivered an inspirational speech at Rice University in 1962. His speech was setting out his rationale for embarking on the ambitious project of sending a manned flight to the moon and returning it safely to Earth again. The words he used in his speech are illuminating:

"We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win"

(To hear the speech click here)

In these words he captures the essence of a concept we call "'Unreasonable Ambition". JFK was clear that the reason behind this great endeavour was because it was really challenging and hard. It was such a difficult and ambitious project that this would force the nation to combine the best of its skills and knowledge to meet that challenge. It would ensure that the level of creativity and innovation would be significantly increased in order to take on the near impossible goal. People would be forced to think in different ways, work together as they had never done before, be at their best all the time and really make the most of all the talents available to achieve the unthinkable.

As a result the benefits to the country would reach far beyond the merely vain claim of being the first Nation to complete a manned moon landing. The advances in technology, new inventions, applications of existing knowledge in new ways and scientific advancements would serve to drive progress forward at a great pace. This was the real benefit of tackling this 'Unreasonable Ambition' of the moon landings.

In virtually every high performance environment we have researched we see this dynamic at play. It may not be called 'Unreasonable Ambition' but it exists and is a critical element in driving improved performance. The driving force of a stretch goal or the just possible challenge lies at the heart of the performance energy within the organisation.

The antithesis of this notion is a commonly heard phrase in organisations that scares the hell out of me. How often have you heard someone say let's "under promise and over deliver." I get goose bumps whenever I hear it. Why? Because it creates a culture that promotes a philosophy of mediocrity and a lack of ambition. If you have an entire organisation operating under this maxim where will the drive, energy, innovation and ambition come from to continually pursue better performance?

How do you build a concept of Unreasonable Ambition?

At the heart of the concept of Unreasonable Ambition is the articulation of a great challenge that engages people. A vision of what might be which creates a positive tension between where we are now and where we want to be in the future.

It is communicated consistently and in simple terms so that people understand it and everyone gets it. This is then translated into clear goals and key performance indicators that will ensure individuals know what is expected of them and how the journey from here to there will be achieved.

In many cases, islands of achievement are mapped out along the way helping to engender belief and confidence that what at first seemed overly ambitious and in some cases impossible suddenly seems a little more real and 'just possible'.

It is this dynamic that forces people to bring out the best in themselves and is the spark for a group of people to perform at the top of their game.

So ask yourself these questions. What is your organizations' Unreasonable Ambition? Do you have one? If not, what could it be? What great challenge or vision for the future is set within your business to create the positive tension that will drive people to perform at their very best?

Brian MacNeice is a Performance Consultant and Founding Director at Kotinos Partners, based in Dublin.