Sancho PM· Practice · 4 min read
The Impossible Dream
Goals That Motivate vs. Goals That Paralyze
Don Quixote dreamed of impossible glory. His goals were inspiring but useless. Here's how Sancho sets goals that actually work.
The Dream of Glory
Don Quixote had grand visions: become the greatest knight who ever lived, win the love of the fair Dulcinea, right every wrong in the land.
Beautiful dreams. Completely useless for actually making progress.
Sancho’s goals were simpler: Get to the next town. Find food. Keep the knight alive. Goals he could actually achieve.
One dreamed. The other arrived.
The PM Version
I’ve seen teams paralyzed by inspiring goals. I’ve been one of those teams. As a PM leading a data team at a global financial institution, we were handed a vision: unify data across the entire organization. It was rational, even elegant on a slide deck—but completely disconnected from the reality of the environment we operated in. Teams froze, searching for the easiest path toward this all-encompassing vision, and meanwhile deliverables that could have shipped to actual customers sat idle. The learning was painful and clear—phased, realistic steps with feet on the ground beat a grand unified theory every time, because the customer needs you today, not after the dream is perfected.
That experience taught me to recognize the patterns that keep showing up:
The Vision Without Steps. “We want to be the #1 platform in our space.” Great. What does that mean for this quarter? This sprint? This week? Silence. You can spot this one easily—the goal gets recycled quarter after quarter because nobody ever achieved it, and nobody can explain what “done” looks like.
The Metric Mirage. “Increase engagement by 50%.” Sounds measurable. But which engagement? What actions count? Is 50% actually achievable, or just a number someone liked? These goals have no leading indicators—you won’t know if you’re on track until it’s too late.
The OKR Theater. Carefully crafted objectives that inspire… and then sit in a document, referenced quarterly, achieved never. Everyone’s responsible, so no one is. Features ship, but nobody can connect them to the goal that supposedly motivated the work.
Grand dreams. Paralyzed teams.
The Sancho Approach
Sancho’s goals got them to the next inn. Here’s how he’d set OKRs:
1. Dreams are Direction, Not Destination
Quixote’s dream pointed vaguely at greatness. Sancho’s goals pointed at the next milestone. If you can’t complete a goal in the next 90 days, it’s a direction, not a goal. Keep the dream—that’s where you want to be in 2-3 years—but break it into something your team can actually reach this quarter.
2. Define “Done” Before Starting
Quixote would know glory when he saw it (somehow). Sancho knew exactly what arriving at the inn looked like. If you can’t describe exactly how you’d verify success, you don’t have a goal—you have a wish. Be specific about the measure, and set check-ins so you know mid-quarter whether you’re on track.
3. Stack Wins, Not Ambitions
Quixote felt like a failure unless achieving ultimate glory. Sancho celebrated reaching each town. An 80% goal you hit is better than a 200% goal you abandon. Goals should create momentum, not constant defeat. When you hit one, ask what you learned and what’s next—then set the next milestone.
Small goals, consistently hit, compound into big dreams.
Before Your Next OKR Session
Pull up your current goals and run each one through three questions:
- Can we describe exactly what “done” looks like—in one sentence a new team member would understand?
- What would “50% done” look like, and how would we know we’re there mid-quarter?
- Will the team feel energized or defeated by this target?
Any goal that fails these isn’t a goal yet. It’s a dream wearing a goal’s clothes. Rewrite it before the session starts.
Glory is a Direction, Not an Address
Sancho made it to every destination because his destinations were reachable.
Quixote never achieved his dream because dreams aren’t achievable by definition.
Set goals you can hit. Stack wins. Build momentum. The impossible dream becomes possible through a series of possible steps.
Don’t dream of glory. Walk toward it, one town at a time.
Try this with your team
Take your current OKRs and rewrite the vaguest one using the OKR + Vision Brief—start with the dream, then break it into a 90-day milestone your team can actually reach.
