Psychology plays a critical role in execution, shaping how people set goals, perceive progress, and define success. One of the most pervasive human tendencies is to use others as mile markers—measuring our progress or decisions by comparing them to the actions or achievements of those around us. This behavior is deeply ingrained in how we navigate everyday life and major decisions.
It’s something I saw time and again when I founded the personal finance company LearnVest. Although irrational, people often decide how much they can spend based on what they see others spending. You may notice what cars your neighbors drive, and whether consciously or subconsciously, these observations shape your own financial choices.
This same phenomenon extends into our approach to work and execution. There are natural cadences that we assume are normal or reasonable, simply because they align with how others operate. Creating a presentation in a week or completing a coding sprint in two weeks feels comfortable because these time frames have become accepted mile markers.
However, this approach is flawed, especially for those aiming for extraordinary outcomes. These social and professional benchmarks create self-imposed limits that constrain creativity and speed.
How can we break the mold? Exceptional leaders reject the natural pace of work dictated by societal mile markers, instead creating their own sense of urgency for themselves and their teams. These leaders can push their teams to complete tasks that others might assume take weeks or months, in days or even hours. The core principle behind this mindset is asking, “Why do we measure the time, effort, or cost of what others are doing? Why should we follow timelines set by industry norms or peer expectations?”
Over the last few decades, we’ve seen this type of leadership transform industries. Consider Jeff Bezos. Before Amazon Prime, the notion of tapping a few buttons on your phone to have your entire shopping list—spanning cleaning supplies to electronics—delivered to your doorstep within 24 hours was beyond the realm of expectations. Jeff Bezos fundamentally changed e-commerce and recalibrated consumer standards for speed and convenience. In the same vein, Steve Jobs at Apple built an empire that persistently refines, reimagines, and pushes the boundaries of innovation with its products.
At the start of my For Starters podcast, I hosted serial entrepreneur Marcelo Claure to share advice from his distinguished career. His accomplishments run deep and are a testament to his conviction to achieve what others believe to be impossible. At the outset of his career, he founded Brightstar and transformed it into the world’s largest global wireless distribution company, generating over $10 billion in revenue. He led Sprint through its historic merger with T-Mobile, served as CEO and COO of SoftBank, and most recently has taken the helm of his family office, Claure Group, as CEO.
His advice for those embarking on their professional journeys? Embrace your passions, set ambitious goals, and dedicate yourself to hard work. Marcelo’s journey exemplifies the necessity of creating unique goals and mile markers—ones that society may not perceive as possible.
The ability to create your own mile markers—not only in time but also in resource allocation and strategic thinking—is what sets great entrepreneurs and business leaders apart. The best founders don’t accept status quo assumptions. Instead, they cultivate an intense urgency within their organizations, challenging the limits on what can be achieved in hours and days—not weeks and months—and fundamentally shifting the metrics by which success is measured.
