Blinded by Success: How Obsessive Goal-Setting Can Backfire in Finance and Beyond

Within the fast-paced world of funding administration, success is commonly measured by exhausting numbers — returns, mandates received, belongings underneath administration. However an obsessive deal with hitting targets can result in goal-induced blindness, the place professionals overlook the long-term penalties of their actions. An instance of goal-induced blindness that’s typically cited in psychology literature is the deaths of climbers on Mt. Everest. 

From burnout to moral missteps, the pursuit of short-term wins can come at a steep price. Simply as firms like Wells Fargo and Volkswagen suffered from prioritizing efficiency metrics over integrity, funding professionals threat making selections that enhance instant positive factors whereas undermining sustainable success. Recognizing the hidden risks of unchecked ambition is essential for sustaining each skilled longevity and moral management within the monetary business.

There are examples in every single place of extremely motivated people who find themselves “blinded by the objective” (cue the “Blinded by the Gentle” tune), from younger bankers hooked on Adderall to a ladies’s soccer crew utilizing a drone to spy on their opponent’s observe. But, in profitable organizations, this matter is nearly by no means mentioned. It will likely be a speaking level on my panel at CFA Institute LIVE 2025 in Chicago in Might.

Within the early years of my profession in finance, I labored within the analysis and buying and selling division at a number one financial institution. I managed a small crew that offered asset allocation recommendation to massive institutional shoppers. More often than not, we needed to crunch numbers and ship suggestions rapidly as a result of our agency was competing to win the associated portfolio reallocation mandates. We had clear objectives for rising our actions. We counted the research, the suggestions, and the wins/losses of buying and selling mandates. We coated the globe. A whole bunch of research yearly. It was fast-paced, and I beloved it.

However I developed goal-induced blindness. I wasn’t caring for myself. I used to be touring continuous, and wasn’t getting sufficient sleep. More often than not, upon waking up, I wanted a couple of minutes to remind myself which era zone I used to be in. If a salesman requested me to fly to Japan for a presentation with one or two days’ discover, I used to be pleased to rise to the event. It made me really feel necessary. I spent most of my time on the highway whereas remotely managing the remainder of the crew by way of BlackBerry (keep in mind these?).

In some unspecified time in the future, I developed a head chilly that lasted a 12 months. I used to be burdened and exhausted. It took me some time, however I ultimately realized that my frenetic work ethic was dumb. Simply plain dumb. Lack of sleep weakened my immune system and made me much less productive. I like to recommend Matt Walker’s guide Why We Sleep on the hostile results of lack of sleep.

I’ve typically seen excessive performers who aren’t maximizing their potential as a result of they deal with a slim set of measurable objectives on the expense of their long-term wellbeing. More often than not, it’s not full goal-induced blindness, nevertheless it’s a blind spot. 

Firms also can endure from goal-induced blindness. Consider Wells Fargo staff opening dummy accounts, presumably to extend the measurable objective associated to the variety of new accounts opened. Or Volkswagen dishonest their carbon dioxide emissions numbers. Or buying and selling and funding companies taking an excessive amount of threat to juice short-term returns. Examples abound.

One of the crucial highly effective points of the psychology of management, borrowed from economics, is that folks reply to incentives.

It’s best to encourage your crew to try towards formidable objectives and, by all means, connect incentives to them. Nevertheless, it’s best to insist on two non-negotiable guidelines. 

1. Nobody ought to ever compromise their well-being. In the long term, a mentally and bodily wholesome crew will crush any overworked competitors. Many younger bankers are hooked on Adderall, experiences the Wall Avenue Journal. This may occasionally enhance their short-term productiveness, nevertheless it’s a path that nearly definitely results in adverse long-term outcomes. 
2. Make it crystal clear that everybody ought to keep miles away from any moral gray zone. Simply ask the Canadian ladies’s soccer crew. From The New York Instances:

Canada’s ladies’s soccer crew entered the Olympics because the reigning gold medalist and the No. 8 crew on the earth. But its Paris Video games started with an accusation of spying on New Zealand, a crew ranked twenty eighth that has received solely two Olympic matches in its historical past. Soccer’s world governing physique FIFA then handed Canada coach Bev Priestman a one-year suspension, deducted six factors from the crew’s Olympic group-stage whole and issued a advantageous. Canada’s attraction towards the factors deduction was unsuccessful.

Ambition fuels success. It pushes people and groups to realize extraordinary outcomes. Nevertheless, too many organizations neglect that the relentless pursuit of measurable objectives can result in burnout and moral missteps.

With out perspective, ambition narrows our focus, making us blind to warning indicators. The fallout will be extreme: strained relationships, broken reputations, and even the collapse of organizations.

Ask the essential questions: Is that this objective price the associated fee? Are we reaching it in a approach that aligns with our values? What’s the influence on our well-being and the well-being of these round us? When ambition is guided by perspective, it transforms from a dangerous obsession right into a power for fulfillment.

Key Takeaways

Ambition is a robust driver of success, however with out perspective, it will possibly change into a legal responsibility. Whether or not in finance, sports activities, or company management, goal-induced blindness can result in moral compromises, burnout, and short-sighted decision-making. True management requires balancing ambition with consciousness—guaranteeing that the pursuit of success doesn’t come at the price of well-being, integrity, or long-term sustainability. By fostering a tradition that prioritizes moral decision-making and private well being, people and organizations can obtain not simply short-term wins, however lasting, significant success.

Sébastien Web page, CFA, is the creator of The Psychology of Leadership.

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