Aim Way Higher Than You Are Now

I get that it’s a big deal to generate 10% more — whether it’s 10% more clients, 10% more revenue, or 10% more impact. But there’s a problem with 10%, namely that you can probably do it by just tweaking what you’re doing already. That 10% isn’t ambitious enough to force you to rethink your strategy or take a fresh look at your industry. In short, 10% isn’t enough of a stretch to get you to a breakthrough.

Think about doing 100% more. Goals like that require that you zoom out and see the whole field. And the big ideas that result, whether or not you ultimately adopt them, have an almost magical quality, unlocking optimism and excitement.

I’ll give you an example. When I had a post there, the University of Southern California had the largest school of social work in the world. And it wasn’t particularly close. They had students from nearly every state and produced way more than their share of the country’s social workers. For them, 10% more would have been negligible.

So we asked ourselves how we could leverage our size and influence to fundamentally change the field of social work. We stopped thinking like everybody else — about how to recruit more students — and started thinking about how we might make social workers the sexy new hires for government, foundations, and even businesses. That led us to develop the first-ever doctorate in social innovation, which has produced hundreds of graduates over the last few years.

Look, I get the logic of thinking small. After all, small changes are much easier to make and aren’t nearly as risky. But everybody else in your field is making the same calculation. Chances are that you’re reading the same things, hiring the same consultants, and reaching for the same low-hanging fruit. So your 10% is probably the same as their 10%. And if you’re moving in lockstep with everybody else, you haven’t really accomplished anything at all.

In your next meeting, talk to your team about doubling the number of clients, doubling revenue, or doubling impact. Yes, they’ll freak out. But then you’ll get more expansive thinking and much better ideas.

You Have Permission to Change the Rules

The four-minute mile was considered an unbreakable barrier. Experts claimed the human body simply wasn't capable of running any faster than that. Then, in 1954, a medical student named Roger Bannister did the unthinkable. He ran a mile in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds, redefining what was possible. And here's the part that fascinates me: once Bannister proved it could be done, runners all over the world started breaking the four-minute mile. It was as if he'd unlocked something in the collective human consciousness.

This phenomenon is called the Bannister Effect. A testament to the fact that our limits are often self-imposed. That we're capable of far more than we realize.

And that brings me to you and your organization. You’re sitting on a goldmine of intellectual, creative, and pragmatic power. You and your colleagues have the potential to revolutionize your industry or to make a genuine difference in the world. But here's the thing: you're probably not tapping into even a fraction of that potential.

Why? Because we've been conditioned to wait for permission. To wait for someone to tell us it's okay to be brilliant, to take risks, to disrupt the status quo. But there is no one to give you permission. And there's no magic moment when the stars align and the universe says, "Go ahead, change the rules." The time is now. The opportunity is always there.

This isn't about adding more to your to-do list. It's about shifting your mindset. It's about recognizing that you already have everything you need to make a splash.

A few years ago, I decided to improve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. No one asked me to. No one even knew who I was. But I saw a need, and I filled it. If I'd waited for the UN to give me the green light, I'd probably still be navigating a bureaucratic maze, lost in a sea of red tape.

The point is, you don't need a formal invitation to make a difference. You don't need to wait for someone to validate your ideas. In fact, the people who could give you that validation are often the ones who benefit most from things staying exactly the same. They don't want you rocking the boat, challenging their authority, or making them look bad.

So, what's holding you back? Two things, usually. One, we don't think we're authorized. We assume someone else knows better, that there's some secret reason why things are the way they are. And two, we get caught up in the "industry standard," the "accepted way" of doing things. We're afraid to deviate from the norm, to risk criticism or disapproval.

But what if you did it anyway? What if you and your organization ignored the naysayers and the self-doubt? You don't need a hall pass. You don't need permission. You just need to decide.