Long Term Success: The Power of Thinking PAST Your Goals
Roald Amundsen and crew admire their flag and tent at the South Pole, 1911
Look familiar?
Construct a goal. Make a plan. Execute. Adjust. Achieve the goal.
This linear path seems intuitive and is how many business leaders approach their objectives. But is this truly the best way to reach long-term success? Explorers—who face some of the world’s most challenging and changing environments—approach their missions differently. For them, achieving the pinnacle is often not the end. It’s a milestone, but the journey often extends far beyond that single point.
Scott’s party at the south pole.
Can’t you imagine Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay congratulating each other at the peak of Everest and saying,
“Well, we made it! Let’s stay forever!”
Explorers have to make it home! Sometimes in worsening weather, with varying supply levels, injuries, and—most of all—altered mental states.
Consider the tragic story of Robert Falcon Scott’s expedition to the South Pole. When Scott reached the Pole in 1912, only to discover that Roald Amundsen’s team had beaten him there by over a month, his distress was not simply about losing a race. It was the realization that the immense effort expended in reaching the South Pole was now overshadowed by Amundsen’s success.
“[Scott’s] distress was not that of a schoolboy who has lost a race…The moment Scott saw the Norwegian tent he knew that he had nothing to tell that was not already known…The Polar Journey was literally laid waste: that was the shock that staggered them.”
- Apsley Cherry-Garrard, expedition team member
Unlike a traditional plan, here is a simplified explorer’s plan:
As business leaders, we can learn so much from explorers. experience. I know I have.
The Expedition Diving Lesson: Over-Focusing on a Flashy Goal
While developing expeditions for Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic, I learned this lesson the hard way. My team and I were preparing for our 30th season in Alaska, facing new competition. We had to offer something extraordinary.
While some of our innovations came from the expedition team’s ideas and others from local partners, this one came from a guest. On deck one afternoon, a passenger gazed at the blackish waters in a tucked away cove and said, “I can’t help but wonder what’s beneath the surface, you know?”
Our cold water diver program was born. For the next year, I worked with a staff lead, our operations team, and called the Channel Islands Institute for advice on how we could send drysuit divers with cameras into the water to bring back video that passengers could watch in the lounge of the life beneath our ship. We wanted to make all of Alaska come alive for them.
While we knew how to do this thanks to operations on other ships and great communication between staff, I was presented with one of those “But you know what would really be cool?” ideas.
At the time, the Channel Islands Institute offered an experience for guests whereby they would watch a diver in the water and the video they shared live. But, the diver’s mask also served as a two-way communication device. They could speak to the visitors from underwater, and the visitors could ask questions of the diver in real time. This was the experience I wanted our passengers to have. (The competitive advantage would also be off the charts.)
Our staff lead, an incredibly skilled diver and thrilled to add his passion to the project, helped to source the gear we’d need and write up an operations guide. Meanwhile, the ship operations team devised best practices with our captains and engineers.
Months later, I was aboard a ship in Baja California as a diver tested the two-way communication system in warmer waters, for safety. We gathered in front of the television screens in the lounge as the diver soon projected live video and audio from 25-feet below the surface through a 100-foot cable attached to the ship. We hadn’t been in that spot before, and it turned out to be pretty bleh in terms of sea life. But the feeling of being so connected to a diver exploring new depths live in the middle of nowhere was incredible. Next stop, Alaska (which is where my shortcomings became apparent.)
A recent study from the Journal of Business Research showed that businesses that plan for “after the goal” are 25% more likely to sustain growth over five years compared to those that focus solely on achieving a pinnacle objective .
First, the technicalities: A diver tethered to a static, well-known location at the Channel Islands is very different than a diver tethered to a ship in variable conditions in the Inside Passage. Increased diver risk for starters. But my goal was to deliver this experience, so I pushed for it.
What happened?
I quickly learned that some of the divers who hadn’t been as involved in the planning were opposed to the tethered set up—deemed an unnecessary risk of tangling. Then there was the face mask. A cold water dive is difficult enough. But then talking through a two-way communicating face mask? The extra effort was impacting the consistent breathing rates that they wanted to maintain in order to plan dive duration.
Quickly, the only diver to continue with the live dives was the lead who had helped from the beginning. The rest of the divers recorded their undersea videos, edited them, and showed them in the lounge that evening. This activity—and learning about cold water diving—remains a highlight for many passengers. The undersea staff are incredible, and I am in awe at how they continue to innovate and educate people about ocean life.
Where did I go wrong?
I had chosen then pinnacle accomplishment as my goal—getting a cold water diver undersea in Alaska to deliver live video and two way communication to passengers in the lounge. They did it. And it was incredible. Hearing the diver’s breathing and voice come through the speakers brought us into another world. Having a passenger ask them in the moment about what we were all seeing? Simply awesome.
Still, if I’d expanded my thinking through the capability of the live dive we could have built a more efficient, robust diving operation in Alaska that allowed each diver to deliver the max of their capabilities while following strict SOPs for safety.
Instead—and even worse—I marketed the live dive, putting pressure on the staff to deliver or disappoint the passengers. As the season went on, staff frustration increased, passengers boarded with the highest of expectations, and that frustration spread to the expedition and ops teams as a whole.
So did we do it? Yes!
Did we achieve my goal? No!
Professionally, it was an expensive mistake. Personally, I hated that I’d let my focus on a shiny goal put others in uncomfortable positions. They already did so much for the passengers.
We eventually found the sweet spot and the teams continue to do so today.
Why Shift Your Pinnacle Achievement to the Middle?
So, what happens when we plan beyond our pinnacle achievement?
It reduces over-investment in a single outcome. When your goal is seen as part of a larger journey, you're less likely to pour all your resources into achieving a single milestone. You will think more holistically about long-term success, ensuring your team is prepared for the aftermath.
It emphasizes adaptability. Explorers are constantly adapting to unforeseen circumstances. By planning for the return, you build adaptability into your process. This is crucial in business, where market conditions, competition, and internal dynamics can change rapidly.
It enhances psychological resilience. Achieving a goal and immediately thinking about what comes next helps prevent post-achievement letdown. Research from the field of goal-setting theory suggests that focusing on the “impact” of the goal rather than the goal itself increases long-term motivation .
It reinforces the “why”. Keeping the broader purpose in mind helps align your team and stakeholders around the mission. For explorers, the “why” is survival. In business, it could be your company’s long-term vision, your commitment to innovation, or the impact you want to make in your industry.
It accounts for changing mental states. Just as explorers are altered by their experiences on a journey, your team will also change. People may experience fatigue, complacency, or shifting motivations after reaching a milestone. By planning for this, you can ensure your team remains focused and engaged for the long haul.
Planning like an explorer—placing your pinnacle achievement in the middle—can help you avoid the pitfalls of over-focusing on a singular goal. By thinking beyond the summit and preparing for the return journey, you create a more sustainable, resilient path to success. Ask yourself: what comes after the peak? How can you ensure that your team, your business, and your vision not only survive but thrive in the long run?
What else could you gain by thinking about your pinnacle achievement like an explorer?
For a deeper dive: