In its heyday between the 1950s and the 1980s, IBM was widely admired for its disciplined sales culture. Their salesforce was rigorously trained, methodical, and relentlessly focused on results. It had its quirks. For example, the dress code. But it worked.
One of their secret weapons was knowing how to set sales quotas at the sweet spot that’s both challenging and achievable.
They’d set ambitious sales targets that were engineered to stretch people just enough to push performance without undermining morale or triggering burnout.
This stands in sharp contrast to the reality of today. In 2023, Forrester reported that approximately half of sales reps in B2B hit their quota. A healthy attainment rate is closer to 75-80%. It really is a balancing act. If 90% of your sales representatives are meeting quota, then you likely don’t have truly stretch goals. And that might be fine for your business and the way you’ve set up your sales compensation.
I like to think of sales or other targets like a rubber band. You can stretch them, but only so far before they snap. When a goal has the right amount of stretch, it generates energy and focus. But when goals are pushed beyond what people believe is possible, motivation gives way to frustration, and eventually to disengagement. The art is in the tension.
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The Psychology of Goal Commitment
In 1990, psychologists Edwin Locke and Gary Latham published what’s now a foundational idea in goal-setting theory:
“If individuals perceive that they are unlikely to attain the goal, they are less likely to commit and therefore less likely to exert effort.”
– Locke and Latham
In other words, belief matters as much as ambition. A goal that feels possible pulls effort and energy toward it. But when a goal feels out of reach, people don’t just try and fail; they disengage entirely, and don’t give much thought to how much they’re going to fail by. Effort doesn’t taper off; it falls off a cliff. The human brain simply checks out when it doesn’t believe success is on the table. This is why perceived attainability is a core ingredient in any effective goal. Without it, even talented, motivated people will stop trying long before the deadline arrives.
This dynamic isn’t limited to sales. Whether it’s a product launch deadline, a customer satisfaction metric, or a cost-cutting target, the same psychological effect applies. When a goal feels unattainable, people stop pushing. They give up, prioritizing other work they can win at.
When Stretch Goals Snap
Get this wrong, and what you hoped would be inspiration instead creates demoralization and then apathy. Quiet quitting results in a purely performative effort. And it can be contagious. Just watch what happens if you tolerate people going through the motions without real drive!
In sales environments, you’ll see salespeople who check out on their quota start sandbagging (delaying deals until the next period to improve their chances of hitting future targets or qualifying for bonuses).
This affects cash flow, throws off forecasts, and normalizes a toxic culture of disinformation.
It’s particularly insidious that not only do people stop caring about hitting the target, but they stop caring about even coming close. Once belief in the goal evaporates, so does the effort.
Calibrating Your Targets
How do you create the kind of stretch that inspires without breaking people?
- Inclusion. Involve your team in setting the goals. Buy-in matters.
- Objectivity. Use data, not wishful thinking, as your foundation.
- Incrementalism. Design incentives that reward progress, not just perfection. Leave room for upside, but don’t punish those who fall short of a high bar. Avoid an all-or-nothing kind of plan.
Have you set overly easy or outlandish goals for your team? Set achievable, stretch goals and they might well surprise you!
Check out this related post on how to turn goals from dreams into reality with the help of systems.
