Stretch goals: Definition, examples, and how to set

If you always reach every goal you set, it might be time to ask if you’re really pushing yourself. Real progress often comes from setting some goals that feel a bit out of reach. These are known as stretch goals.

Stretch goals are deliberately challenging goals that you can set for yourself, a project, or even your entire organization. The latter is called Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs).

This article explains what counts as a stretch goal, how stretch goals compare to OKRs and SMART goals, how they can boost team performance, and how to set stretch goals that inspire your team.

What are stretch goals?

Stretch goals are ambitious targets meant to push your team past what they’ve done before. While regular goals are within easy reach, stretch goals aim for results that are tough but still possible, usually about 50 to 70% higher than your current performance.

Even if you don’t reach your stretch goal, it’s a great way to step outside your comfort zone and aim higher. Whether you meet them or not, stretch goals can also help you set better targets in the future.

For example, if you sold 5,000 products last quarter, a stretch goal might be to sell 8,000a 60% jump that’s challenging but possible. Aiming for 15,000, though, would likely be unrealistic.

At Asana, we love setting stretch goals. We aim to hit about 70% of our quarterly goals so we know that we're truly challenging ourselves but also so we can calibrate better goals for the upcoming quarter.

Types of stretch goals

Not all stretch goals look the same. There are two main types you should know about:

• Vertical stretch goals raise the bar on your team's existing work. For example, pushing a customer satisfaction score from 75% to 95% within the same quarter.

• Horizontal stretch goals challenge your team to expand into unfamiliar territory, like launching a campaign for a completely new audience segment. These goals often require new skills, new approaches, or additional resources.

Understanding the difference helps you choose the right type of stretch goal for your team's current position and growth direction.

Stretch goals vs OKRs and SMART goals

If your team already uses a goal-setting method, you might wonder how stretch goals fit in. Here's how they compare to two of the most common approaches.

Stretch goals vs objectives and key results (OKRs)

Objectives and key results (OKRs) are a way to set goals that pairs a qualitative objective with measurable key results. Stretch goals and OKRs are related but not the same: a stretch goal can serve as an aspirational key result within an OKR cycle.

Many OKRs are "committed," meaning the team is expected to achieve them in full. Aspirational OKRs, however, are designed to push your team's capabilities, and these are where stretch goals thrive. A common benchmark is to target 60–70% completion on aspirational OKRs.

Stretch goals vs SMART goals

SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. Stretch goals can still follow the SMART structure, but the target itself is intentionally more ambitious than what feels immediately attainable.

The key difference is in the level of difficulty: if hitting the goal requires new thinking, new skills, or a completely different approach, it's likely a stretch goal. You don't have to choose one method over the other.

How they compare at a glance

Examples of stretch goals

There's often a fine line between a project goal, a stretch goal, and a sheer impossible goal. Below are some examples of ambitious but realistic stretch goals.

Stretch goal for small businesses: Open a second brick and mortar location as a long-term goal for your small business.

• Why it's a stretch goal: If your small business is doing well but you're not quite ready to open a second store right now, it's a great option to make this a stretch goal. As such, it can keep you and your team motivated while you dream of opening a new storefront in the future.

Stretch goal for project management: Increase your company's revenue by 50–60% by the end of the year.

• Why it's a stretch goal: If you increased revenue by 35% last year, 40% would be a great goal for the following year. However, that's not really stretching it. By setting the bar a little higher, to 50% or even 60%, you're defining an ambitious stretch goal.

Stretch goal for a sales team: Become the top-performing sales team in the company by the end of the quarter.

• Why it's a stretch goal: If your sales team has consistently been among the top 10 performers, setting this goal is ambitious but not impossible, exactly what you want out of an inspiring stretch goal.

Benefits of stretch goals

Stretch goals can help you boost team effectiveness and increase team morale. Some of the biggest benefits of stretch goals include:

• Innovation: Stretch goals can breathe new life into a stale work environment. If your team has been lacking the creativity and spirit to drive a project or your organization forward, a stretch goal can help them feel inspired again.

• Productivity: Stretch goals can be the perfect motivator for a team that needs a boost. Ambitious goals help your team focus on their highest-impact work, which is exactly what you want from them.

• Commitment: Stretch goals are often ambitious because they're directly linked to your strategic goals and objectives. When your team feels like they're contributing to the overall success of your business, they're more likely to work hard because they want to see those results.

• Enthusiasm: An inspiring stretch goal can encourage your team to use available resources and get more creative in finding problem-solving methods.

Most importantly, these benefits can increase your team's and your organization's chances of success. The more committed, productive, enthusiastic, and innovative your team is, the more likely you are as a business to reap the benefits of your team's performance.

The stretch goal paradox

Stretch goals aren't for everyone. Before setting one, it's important to evaluate if and when your team is ready for this goal-setting tool. The stretch goal paradox, introduced by the Harvard Business Review, suggests that organizations that should be using stretch goals seldom do and vice versa.

Funny enough, stretch goals often work best for teams that are already doing well. If your team is on a roll, they won't feel as intimidated by a stretch goal and are more likely to feel inspired and encouraged to shoot for the stars.

Instead of focusing on stretch goals, a struggling team should focus on small wins or even small losses until they're in a better spot. Once this happens, then you can focus on getting the resources you need to accomplish stretch goals.

Pitfalls of stretch goals

Stretch goals can be challenging. If you don't set them right, you risk making them a problem rather than a solution.

Risk: Setting vague, ambiguous, or outrageous stretch goals can make your team feel disconnected, discouraged, or even frustrated.

• Solution: Set SMART stretch goals. Even a stretch goal should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. SMART goals ensure the goals you set aren't unattainable for your team.

Risk: Stretch goals may be outside of your team's skill set. Teammates who feel like their goals are unattainable may lose motivation.

• Solution: Communicate that stretch goals offer your team an opportunity to build workplace adaptability skills. It's important they know that you don't expect them to do everything perfectly right away.

Risk: Stretch goals can feel intimidating. As your team gets closer to the deadline, they may feel pressure rising because they don't think they'll reach the stretch goal.

• Solution: Use ranges instead of fixed numbers or dates. A goal that states: "I want to grow my business by 500% by December" could be adjusted to something less intimidating, like: "Grow my business by 400–500% between December and March of next year."

Risk: Stretch goals aren't necessarily meant to be met. If your team feels like they're failing simply because they didn't hit a goal, you may get the exact opposite of what you were hoping for: an unmotivated and stressed-out team.

• Solution: Clearly communicate what a stretch goal is and that nobody is going to get in trouble if you miss it. While hitting the goal would be a great success, it's mostly here for inspiration.

To quote Norman Vincent Peale: "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."

How to set and achieve stretch goals

There's a difference between dreaming of an accomplishment and setting a stretch goal. Follow these steps to define what your stretch goal will be and how you and your team will achieve it:

1. Ask yourself open-ended questions to define your stretch goal. Think about what the best-case scenario of reaching your stretch goal could look like. How can your team improve its current work processes? How can you positively affect your industry?

2. Consider your team's or company's available resources. Do you have the resources to work toward a stretch goal? Now's the time to find out.

3. Set your stretch goal. Gather your team for this process so they feel empowered to take charge of this big goal. Together, you can brainstorm how to allocate additional resources, establish a timeline, and create an action plan with stretch targets.

4. Track your progress and shoot for the stars. While your stretch goal isn't always the highest priority for your team, it can still be a great motivator. Track your team's progress and celebrate every milestone.

5. Evaluate your stretch goal. If you haven't hit your stretch goal by the end of the time frame, that's OK, it's proof that you set an ambitious target. Take the time to evaluate why you missed it and apply those lessons to your next cycle.

Keep in mind that stretch goals shouldn't cause your team to spend more time at work than they already do in a desperate attempt to hit the goal. Rather, stretch goals should be a source of motivation that helps your team feel inspired and productive.

Dream big, track smart

No matter how ambitious your stretch goals are, Asana can help you track them. Our goal-setting software aligns everyone on clear goals and inspires individual action, so your team can focus on what matters most: turning stretch goals into achievements.

Get started today and give your team the clarity they need to reach for the stars.

Frequently asked questions about stretch goals