Stretch goals. Remember those? I hated them. They were impossible and rarely met. People felt set up for failure. They gave up. The organization did poorly and got crummy morale to boot. When I left corporate America, I thought I was done with those. Well, here we go again.
Welcome to Medicare for All, the ultimate health care reform stretch goal.
The Harvard Business Review, in an article called The Stretch Goal Paradox; confirmed the perils of putting forth impossible dreams unless you are already successful (that’s the paradox). Those who are in dire straits seem compelled to set out to accomplish the impossible, a Hail Mary pass if you will. But setting stretch goals, aiming for the impossible, is exactly what a group that is already at risk, shouldn't do. The criteria for success: a group with resources, people to support it, a recent history of success.
Oh, and the authors warn that it will be extremely difficult to achieve even in the best of circumstances.
So the question for the Democratic Party and its allies is: What kind of “company” are we right now? The one looking for a Hail Mary pass or the one well-positioned for success already? If we aren’t in a position to achieve a stretch goal, then being strategic with something that is a reach but not a moonshot, might be more likely to mobilize citizens beyond the base, and get something meaningful done on health care reform.
