The Big Pivot

CHAPTER SIX

Set Big, Science-Based Goals

Let’s go back to that ship filling up with water. Time is running short, and everyone needs to help bail. But how fast should we work? We could ask people in the boat how much they think they can scoop out in the next hour, and then suggest they stretch a bit. But shouldn’t we first calculate how much water we must bail to keep afloat, and then divvy up the task? It’s the only practical path, right? Anything short of that would be suicide.

Setting bottom-up goals makes some sense, but only if the targets have no larger ramifications or connections to the real world. Think about what happens when a company can only survive if it hits certain goals. Consider chip makers Intel and AMD, for decades trying ...