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05Principle · Group 1

Power of Proximate Objectives

Proximate objectives in strategy

“A good proximate objective is close enough that you can reach it with confidence and is chosen so that it clarifies the situation and makes the next step possible.”

A distant vision gives you a direction, but it doesn’t tell you what to do today.

Group 1: Purpose and ObjectiveT6 Business Strategy
Go to the in-depth section ↓
A golden point lies far away behind mist-blue veils; in front of it is a teal circle with no path. A few steps ahead of the circle, a small golden ring lights up; the circle reaches it, the fog recedes a little and the next ring appears. A ring placed too far away flickers and moves closer, until at the end a chain of golden rings is visible all the way to the distant point.
In short

A good proximate objective is close enough that you can reach it with confidence and is chosen so that it clarifies the situation and makes the next step possible.

What it’s about: A distant vision gives you a direction, but it doesn’t tell you what to do today. A proximate objective closes that gap. It is not a small goal but one that lies close enough to be reached with confidence using the forces at hand. And it is chosen so that it clarifies the situation and makes the next step possible.

In depth

The principle in detail

Three steps through the principle: grasp it, place it, put it to work. Open each topic on its own.

The core messageCore statement and 3 clarifications
In essence

A good proximate objective can be reached with confidence, clarifies the situation and prepares the next step.

It does not say
That you should think small. The distant goal still sets the direction; the proximate objective makes the next step possible.
It does not say
That every attainable goal is a good one. A proximate objective that clarifies nothing and prepares nothing just keeps people busy.
It also says
The thicker the fog, the closer the objective has to be.
The explanationHow the principle works and what matters

Once you reach a proximate objective, you know more than you did before: about the market, about the other side, about your own capabilities.

The more uncertain the situation, the closer the objective has to be.

A goal you have reached also builds confidence, because it shows that the whole thing can be done. Two mistakes are easy to make: objectives that only look close on paper, and intermediate goals where people stop because stopping is comfortable.

The question

Which objective can you reach with confidence, and what does it tell you about the next step?

The signs3 signs when you heed it · 3 when you overlook it
When you heed it
  • Your team knows what has to be accomplished in the coming weeks, and it usually gets there.
  • After each intermediate goal you reach, you review together what you have learned.
  • Only then do you decide on the next step.
When you overlook it
  • The vision hangs on the wall, but nobody knows what to do tomorrow.
  • Intermediate goals are missed again and again because they were only close on paper.
  • After reaching a milestone, you stop.
The backgroundFrom Richard P. Rumelt’s book “Good Strategy/Bad Strategy” (2011), the chapter on proximate objectives. · T6 Business Strategy
  1. 1990
    SupplementedEdwin A. Locke and Gary P. Latham

    A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance

  2. 2011
    OriginRichard P. Rumelt

    Good Strategy/Bad Strategy

  3. 2011
    SupplementedTeresa M. Amabile and Steven J. Kramer

    The Progress Principle

  4. Tradition T6
    TraditionBusiness Strategy

    Michael E. Porter, Richard P. Rumelt, Henry Mintzberg, Clayton M. Christensen, W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne

    See the tradition on the Origin page
Read more: the full background

From Richard P. Rumelt’s book “Good Strategy/Bad Strategy” (2011), the chapter on proximate objectives. Supplemented by Edwin A. Locke and Gary P. Latham’s research on goal setting and by Teresa M. Amabile and Steven J. Kramer’s work on progress at work.

The research4 sources: 2 theories, 1 review, 1 primary study · 1990–2011 · with limitations of the research
4 sources1990–2011 period2 theories1 review1 primary study
Strength of evidence
  1. weak
  2. moderate
  3. strong

Research on goal setting and on progress supports attainability and confidence; the claim that proximate objectives clarify the situation rests on case examples.

  1. 1990
    Review
    Edwin A. Locke and Gary P. Latham

    “A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance”: specific, challenging and attainable goals raise performance more than vague intentions.

  2. 2011
    Theory
    Richard P. Rumelt

    “Good Strategy/Bad Strategy,” chapter on proximate objectives: a good proximate objective resolves ambiguity and focuses effort; example: the 1961 moon goal.

  3. 2011
    Theory
    Richard P. Rumelt

    “The perils of bad strategy” (McKinsey Quarterly): good strategy links the challenge to action through immediate objectives that lie within reach.

  4. 2011
    Primary study
    Teresa M. Amabile and Steven J. Kramer

    “The Progress Principle”: even small, visible progress markedly lifts motivation at work.

Where the research reaches its limits
  • Proximate objectives can make you shortsighted.
  • If you only think from one stage to the next, you lose your direction, and some major changes need a bold leap rather than many small steps.
  • A proximate objective is only as good as the diagnosis behind it (04 Kernel of Good Strategy).
  • Research on goals and progress measures performance and motivation; it does not show that a proximate objective clarifies the situation.
Read more: what research shows

In “Good Strategy/Bad Strategy” (2011), Richard P. Rumelt devotes a whole chapter to proximate objectives. In his view, a good proximate objective resolves ambiguity and focuses effort. He reads John F. Kennedy’s 1961 moon goal as an example: it seemed bold, but in the experts’ judgment it was within reach of the means available at the time. In his article in the McKinsey Quarterly, he describes how good strategy links the challenge to action through immediate objectives that lie within reach. Edwin A. Locke and Gary P. Latham have shown that specific, challenging and at the same time attainable goals raise performance more than vague intentions do. Teresa M. Amabile and Steven J. Kramer describe how even small, visible progress markedly lifts motivation at work.

The related principles02 Principle of the Objective · 04 Kernel of Good Strategy · 19 Fog of Uncertainty · 21 Plan and Adaptation
Principle of the ObjectiveKernel of Good Strategy

This principle gives 02 Principle of the Objective its next step and turns the guiding policy from 04 Kernel of Good Strategy into attainable steps

Fog of Uncertainty

19 Fog of Uncertainty determines how close the objective has to be

Plan and Adaptation

21 Plan and Adaptation turns every proximate objective you reach into a point at which the plan is reviewed

Read more: the full text

This principle gives 02 Principle of the Objective its next step and turns the guiding policy from 04 Kernel of Good Strategy into attainable steps; 19 Fog of Uncertainty determines how close the objective has to be, and 21 Plan and Adaptation turns every proximate objective you reach into a point at which the plan is reviewed.

The action steps5 things you can actually do

  1. Derive from your big goal a proximate objective that your team can reach with confidence in the next four to eight weeks.

  2. Test it with three questions: Can we do it with the forces we really have? What will we know afterward that we don’t know today? Which step will it make possible?

  3. When the situation is uncertain, move the proximate objective closer instead of making it more ambitious.

  4. Make it visible when a proximate objective has been reached, and talk about what it has shown you.

  5. Set the next proximate objective only once the first has been reached and reviewed, and keep the big goal in sight as you do.

The reflection questions3 questions for you or for a conversation
  1. Which objective can you reach with confidence in the coming weeks, and what would you know afterward that you don’t know now?
  2. Which of your intermediate goals is close only on paper?
  3. Where did you stop after reaching a milestone?

Take your time with one question. Write down your answer – or talk it over with someone you trust.

To finish
The picture to rememberThe animation once more, with an explanation
  1. A golden point lies far away behind mist-blue veils
  2. In front of it is a teal circle with no path
  3. A few steps ahead of the circle, a small golden ring lights up
  4. The circle reaches it, the fog recedes a little and the next ring appears
  5. A ring placed too far away flickers and moves closer, until at the end a chain of golden rings is visible all the way to the distant point
Strategy Check

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In context

Group 1: Purpose and Objective

Guiding question: What are you fighting for, and what should be left standing at the end?

Stage 1 of 5: Clarify

Where the 92 principles come from: eight traditions of strategy, from classical war theory to dealing with uncertainty.

More about the origin

Background: WEGVISOR’s own selection from the strategy literature · More about the origin

Examples

The principle in practice

From the different spheres of society.

Business

Jeff Bezos, Amazon and the Power of Proximate Objectives

Jeff Bezos wanted an online store that sold almost everything. In 1995 he started with a single product category, books, because this proximate objective was attainable and at the same time showed whether the big idea would hold up.

Power of Proximate Objectives
Faith

Alcoholics Anonymous and the Power of Proximate Objectives

“Never drink again” is a goal that breaks many people with an addiction. Since 1935, Alcoholics Anonymous has relied on a closer goal: stay sober today. The fellowship now reports just under two million members.

Power of Proximate Objectives
Education

Ernest Shackleton, the Endurance and the Power of Proximate Objectives

In 1915 the pack ice of the Weddell Sea crushes Ernest Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance. The big goal of crossing Antarctica is finished. Shackleton replaces it with a chain of goals within reach and brings every member of his ship’s crew home alive.

Power of Proximate Objectives
Education

Movie: The Martian

An astronaut is left behind alone on Mars, and the next mission won’t arrive for four years. “The Martian” (2015) shows how he doesn’t think about the whole but solves one problem after another, until many proximate objectives add up to a rescue.

Power of Proximate Objectives
FAQ

Questions about the Power of Proximate Objectives

What does the Power of Proximate Objectives say?

Instead of looking only at a distant goal, you set yourself intermediate objectives that you can reach with confidence. Each proximate objective you reach clarifies the situation and makes the next step possible.

Where does the Power of Proximate Objectives come from?

From Richard P. Rumelt, who describes it in “Good Strategy/Bad Strategy” (2011). The idea also appears in military planning and in psychological research on goals.

What are some examples?

Well-known examples are Amazon’s start with books in 1995, the Alcoholics Anonymous principle of staying sober one day at a time and Ernest Shackleton’s rescue of his crew in 1916. On screen, “The Martian” shows it.

How well is the Power of Proximate Objectives supported by research?

Evidence: moderate – Research on goal setting and on progress supports attainability and confidence; the claim that proximate objectives clarify the situation rests on case examples.

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