A new year offers reasons for optimism. But experts argue that success depends on setting realistic goals.
Business leaders felt very good about things entering 2025. According to a Fortune/Deloitte survey of 141 CEOs conducted shortly after the presidential election, a majority feel optimistic or very optimistic about their company’s and industry’s fortunes. And though they’re less rosy about the global economy—only 42 percent feel optimistic or very optimistic about that—even there, the feelings are more positive than they have been in past years.
What’s driving all this good feeling? The report credits a business-friendly incoming president in Donald Trump, along with growth in transformative technologies like AI. But predictions aren’t always reality, and positive vibes don’t guarantee success. For one thing, there are a few troublesome black swans lurking in the survey findings: Leaders cite risks in terms of workforce, tariffs, climate, and geopolitics.
For another, organizational success depends on the strengths leaders bring to the inevitable challenges that a new year will bring. No doubt, everybody reading this has resolved to improve in some way in 2025, to be better equipped to face those challenges. But what does “improvement” mean, and can a resolution get you there?
At Harvard Business Review, Stefanie Fernández considers those questions through the lens of three recent self-help books for the C-suite. Though the authors’ tactics diverge, the overall strategy is consistent: Get specific, and stay realistic. For instance, Big Goals author Caroline Adams Miller notes that people sometimes get stuck by setting the bar for improvement too low. To counter that, Miller recommends looking for specific performance goals, with an eye toward which ones will require “new skills or knowledge.”
Beyond that, Miller prompts a leader to ask: What work are you really capable of accomplishing? Her questions around goal-setting asks leaders to define the relationships they’ll need, whether they have the “grit” to proceed, and what “excellence” looks like in the context of the goal, and when they can meet it.
Though Miller’s approach to goal-setting can feel strict or harsh, I respect its tough-love seriousness—there’s no point in making resolutions if we’re not mentally prepared to see what they’ll demand of us. Moreover, the “relationships” part matters as well. Even the most efficient and talented leaders can’t make everything happen on their own.
There’s no point in making resolutions if we’re not mentally prepared to see what they’ll demand of us.
And, as anybody who’s been in charge of anything for more than a week knows, change is unlikely to happen in a linear fashion. Fernández points to another book, Anne-Laure Le Cunff’s Tiny Experiments, which proposes a more dynamic approach to goal-setting. Have timelines, yes, but make room for “fluid experimentation,” and be mindful of moments when you’re learning new things as part of the process, even if they don’t point directly toward your chosen finish line.
My advice, entering the new year, is to not draw too much from what surveys and studies tell you people are feeling; they’re useful as snapshots, but not as guides. For guidance, look to your own needs, and look for ways to invite and support the people who can bring them to fruition. Do a little every day, and forgive ourselves a lot. As Fernández puts it, “ask ourselves questions and identify where we can make a change. And move further toward our big goal each week or month, finding one small thing to work on to improve our days just a tiny bit.” The optimism in the air is real, but you still have to resolve to justify it.
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