Hard Goals : The Secret to Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be [Hardcover]

Mark Murphy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 20, 2010

SMART goals will get you only so far . . .
If you’re ready to take your life and career to the next level, you’ve got to do it the HARD Goals way.

“Ever felt like you weren’t reaching your goals as fast as you would like? HARD GoalsK shows you how to change your thinking and get on the path to tremendous achievement!”
Marshall Goldsmith, world-renowned executive coach and author of the New York Times bestsellers MOJO and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

“Hard Goals is full of fascinating insights regarding how to get yourself to achieve things you never thought possible, and Murphy’s key ideas have strong research support. . . . If you want to achieve something great or important in your life, this is the book for you.”
—Edwin A. Locke, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland

“If you want a mediocre life, set ho-hum goals. If you want a life filled with excellence and meaning, set HARD Goals. This book shows you how to set HARD Goals and love every minute of achieving them. The end result? Winning in life and unparalleled fulfillment.”
Lyle Nelson, four-time Olympian and author of Spirit of Champions

“Every company has goals these days. So why do most goals fall short? Why do leaders keep setting the same failed goals year after year? HARD Goals gives you the cutting-edge science to engage every employee in pursuing and achieving extraordinary goals. No more procrastination, foot-dragging, or giving up. With HARD Goals, your organization will achieve astonishing results. Every CEO, manager, and employee needs to read this book!”
Kevin M. Andrews, President, SmartBen

About the Book:

Want to increase sales? Get promoted? Change the world? There’s a goal for that . . .

Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, the school teacher next door who amassed a million-dollar fortune . . . Did these people succeed because they were more motivated or because they were more disciplined? The answer to both questions is yes—but not in the ways you might think. Anyone can achieve extraordinary things. The secret is setting goals that test the very limits of your abilities.

In Hard Goals, Mark Murphy, the acclaimed author of Hundred Percenters, explains the science behind getting from where you are to where you want to be in your career, business, and life.

Leadership IQ, Murphy’s top-rated leadership training consultancy, studied nearly 5,000 workers from virtually every field and found that extraordinary goals—the kind that got America to the moon and back, developed the iPod, created nanotechnology, and helped individuals overcome tremendous personal adversity—stimulate and engage the brain in ways that are profoundly different from the goals most people set.

Research conducted for this book revealed that people who set Hard goals are up to 75 percent more fulfilled than people with easy goals. In these pages, Mark Murphy explains how success, and the satisfaction it brings, comes from knowing how to set goals that are:

• Heartfelt—have an emotional attachment, “scratch an existential itch.”
• Animated—motivated by a vision, that movie that plays over and over in your mind.
• Required—imbued with such a sense of urgency that you have no other choice but to start acting on them right here, right now.
• Difficult—the greatest achievements come from the toughest challenges—but they also leave you feeling stronger, smarter, and more fulfilled.

People set goals all the time, but the majority end up unfulfilled or abandoned. With all the challenges facing us today, we could use a little more achievement. Hard Goals can help us get there by offering the hard science and practical techniques to conquer procrastination and unlock your brain’s potential for realizing your goals.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mark Murphy is founder and CEO of Leadership IQ, a top-rated provider of leadership training for Microsoft, IBM, MasterCard, Merck, and other companies. He is the author of Hundred Percenters and has been featured in Fortune, Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Washington Post, and other publications.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (October 20, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 007175346X
• ISBN-13: 978-0071753463
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 0.7 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #170,370 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

An expert in aligning goals and people to create thriving organizations, Mark leads one of the world's largest studies on leadership and employee engagement.

Mark's award-winning work has been featured numerous times in publications including The Wall St. Journal, Fortune, Forbes, Bloomberg BusinessWeek and the Washington Post. His media appearances include CBS News Sunday Morning, ABC's 20/20, Fox Business News and NPR. Mark has lectured at Harvard Business School, Yale University, University of Rochester and University of Florida.

Mark is the author of five books including the McGraw-Hill international bestsellers, Hundred Percenters: Challenge Your People to Give It Their All and They'll Give You Even More and Hard Goals. Mark's most recent book, Hiring for Attitude, reflects the team's latest research and insight into how hiring decisions can align with engagement goals and culture characteristics.

Leadership IQ's turnaround, culture change, and performance enhancement through employee engagement work has been recognized in a diverse set of industries including healthcare, financial services, energy, manufacturing, logistics, and hospitality. From his roots as a turnaround specialist, Mark created Leadership IQ to address problems in performance before they hit the bottom line.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars YES! I was so hoping Murphy would write this book. November 10, 2010

By Lynn Adler

Format:Hardcover

Murphy first introduced the idea of HARD Goals in his last book, Hundred Percenters. I was sold when the material was covered there---in just a single chapter, and as one way to inspire better employee performance. But for the past year, I've wanted more... a deeper focus on the thinking behind HARD Goals. Greater exploration into how to better put HARD Goals into effect. With this new book, I got exactly what I wanted.

The thing I like most about Murphy (I'm on his organization's email list, so I follow him pretty closely), is that I never feel like he is trying to bluff me into buying his stuff. He either has hard facts to back up his ideas and methodologies, or you don't hear about it. And I consider myself a pretty savvy skeptic, so believe me; I'm always on the lookout for the smoke and mirrors. There're none here.

HARD Goals firmly supports itself with the backing of brain science. Murphy grabbed onto some of these key scientific findings, and used this new knowledge to come up with ways to what he calls "outflank" the brain. Outflank... kind of an unusual word, so I looked it up to make sure I knew what it really meant. `To gain a tactical advantage over (a competitor, for example)' is the definition I think best applies.

When it comes to goals, my competitor is procrastination. I don't even want to think about how often I have failed to even start my most heartfelt goals; even though I constantly dream about how great life would be if only I achieved them. I want it, but it's like there's a brick wall between me and making it happen. I finally know how to bust through that wall.

I've had really good success this past year applying what I learned about HARD Goals from the first book. I lost 20 lbs, and I no longer buy into the myth that it's `impossible' to lose weight as you get older (I'm 46). I also started a real exercise program 9 months ago, and I've stuck to it--- like glue. I don't have luxuries like fancy gyms or private chefs and trainers. I just switched the way my brain was approaching these goals, and suddenly I was able to do what for so long I could not. I've also been able to better get what I want professionally by applying HARD Goals. I can't wait to see what I can create with the wealth of information this new book dispenses.

SMART Goals are done. As Murphy says, think back to a time when you were so fired up to achieve success that nothing got in your way. Then ask yourself if that goal fit the SMART criteria, especially regarding realistic and achievable. If I had stopped to consider factors like those in the face of my great achievements, I would have quit before I got started. Because as far as I knew, at that moment, what I wanted to do was impossible, at least for me.

That's what HARD Goals are, the tough challenges that make us learn and stretch and grow to become what we didn't know we could be. The kinds of goals that make us say "I'm better than before." And you don't get that by sticking to the realistic and the achievable, you absolutely have to push for more. Again, as Murphy says, we've all done the impossible before, and we can do it again.

HARD Goals shows you how to generate that same kind of energy around all your goals. You don't just have to wait around until a goal finally sweeps you off your feet. You can outflank your brain and gain a tactical advantage over whatever it is that might hold you back from success. It's kind of fun to mess with the brain on this level...some days I swear I can hear the snap, crackle pop of my neurons firing off as I put my HARD Goals into action.

My vote is: buy the book. It's a great and informative read, and if you, or someone you know, is about to embark on a tough New Year's resolution, you can't afford to pass it by. Interestingly, this is Murphy's first book (that I've read) that boldly steps outside the workplace. There's still a ton of information and examples about HARD Goals at work, but just as many appear on a personal level--- like dieting, time management, health, exercise and finances. Oh, and wait til you see how Murphy turns a well-known standard of economic theory into a clever way to make your brain believe any goal, financial or otherwise, is so required that your world will end if you don't achieve it. That's when the motivational juices really get flowing.

It's really good stuff, and it's really different from anything you've read before about goal setting. If you've got goals you want to achieve, you want this book.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not New News November 15, 2010

By Laurie E. Graff

Format:Hardcover

While Mark Murphy's HARD GOALS was interesting, I felt the book didn't really set itself apart enough with a unique theory, and pretty much followed in the footsteps of Caroline Adams Miller's 2009 CREATING YOUR BEST LIFE: The Ultimate Life List Guide that I read when it first came out last year. Hers was the first to tie the science of goal accomplishment with the science of happiness. HARD GOALS also has some research in it, which is nice. But on the overall, I got what I needed from the other book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An approach that makes sense! November 5, 2010

By KAndrews

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Finally, a book that helps you understand and craft goals that get fulfilled and not just written down. The psychology behind this book brings to light how successful people accomplish their HARD goals. This book is a great read and really gives you laser-like focus on determining what goals are worth setting and have a purpose in your life. It gives you techniques to put concepts into practice. This is a book that I will definitely be giving to my executive team.