Less Than 1%: Why Most People Never Achieve Their Goals
Goal setting gets talked about everywhere… but here’s the truth we see year after year: very few people actually do it in a meaningful way.
You’ve probably seen all the statistics:
83% of people don’t set goals
Goal setters achieve 20, 30, even 40% more
The numbers might vary, but the reality doesn’t - most people never take the steps that turn goals into results.
And here’s where it gets even more interesting…
Roughly half the population believes they have goals.
But when you look closer, many of those goals are:
Assigned by someone else
Created during a performance review
Or floating around in their head without any real plan behind them
Now let’s narrow it down even more.
The Real Question: Who Actually Documents Their Goals?
Out of the people who say they have goals, how many do you think:
Write them down
Share them with another person
Look at them regularly
Review them more than once a year
Most people revisit their goals only after the year is over - when they’re realizing they didn’t hit targets they never actually committed to.
Very few check in quarterly.
Even fewer have a vision board or any kind of visual reminder they see daily.
So how many people actually do all of this?
Written.
Shared.
Viewed.
Reviewed.
Less than 1%.
And That Less Than 1%? That’s Where the High Achievers Are.
When you study the people who consistently outperform- in leadership, sales, business, and life, you see the same patterns every time.
They document their goals.
They tell someone else.
They revisit them intentionally.
They keep them visible.
That is the group we want to be in.
That is the group we want your team in.
Because when goals are documented and reviewed, results follow. Every time.
The Leadership Opportunity: Connect Personal and Professional Goals
One of the biggest opportunities leaders overlook is helping people connect what they want personally with what they want professionally.
When those two align, everything accelerates. You see:
Higher motivation
Stronger ownership
Better behaviors
More meaningful outcomes
A great place to start?
Use your one-on-ones to talk about goals beyond KPIs. Ask your people:
What are you working toward?
Why does it matter?
What steps are you taking?
How can I support you?
When personal goals fuel professional goals, engagement goes through the roof.
If You Need Help With Goal Setting- Wilcox & Associates Is Here!
Goal planning.
Goal setting.
Goal reviewing.
This is one of the areas where organizations see the fastest shift when they work with us. If you or your team want a clear, repeatable goal-setting system that actually drives behavior and results, we’d love to help.
