Culture Change RX

Culture Bytes: 4 Hidden Upsides of Challenging Goals

Sue Tetzlaff Season 2 Episode 99

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In this episode of Culture Change RX, I discuss the importance of setting challenging goals within organizations. Soft goals do not lead to significant improvements and that setting hard goals can spark creativity, increase engagement, and surface underlying issues that need to be addressed. By aiming for ambitious targets, organizations can achieve more in less time and foster a culture of motivation and collaboration. I encourage you to embrace the challenge of setting big goals for the upcoming year, particularly in the healthcare sector, where the stakes are high.


Key Takeaways

  • “Soft (easy) goals,” leading to slow incremental improvement or growth, just don't serve us.
  • “Less is more” when it comes to the quantity of goals, this allows for each goal to be more challenging.
  • Setting hard goals sparks creativity.
  • We can't ignore certain challenges any longer if they interfere with achieving a big goal.
  • High engagement is prompted by a big goal that requires an “all in effort” to win.
  • Difficult goals lead to making more progress in less time.
  • We should win at providing safe and satisfying care and creating a best-place-to-work organization.


We’re stepping forward in a bigger way—growing our team of rural healthcare experts, growing our capabilities by adding a strategic planning division … all of this so we can expand our ability to help even more rural hospitals and other small healthcare organizations in 2026. … We’d love to explore how we can support your organization in being the provider- and employer-of-choice so you can keep care local and margins strong! Learn more at CaptoneLeadership.net


Hi! I’m Sue Tetzlaff. I’m a culture and execution strategist for small and rural healthcare organizations - helping them to be the provider and employer-of-choice so they can keep care local and margins strong.

For decades, I’ve worked with healthcare organizations to navigate the people-side of healthcare, the part that can make or break your results. What I’ve learned is this: culture is not a soft thing. It’s the hardest thing, and it determines everything.

When you’re ready to take your culture to the next level, here are three ways I can help you:

1. Listen to the Culture Change RX Podcast
Every week, I share conversations with leaders who are transforming healthcare workplaces and strategies for keeping teams engaged, patients loyal, and margins healthy.

2. Subscribe to our Email Newsletter
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3. Break through to the next level of greatness in your organization with help from my team and me.
When you’re ready to be the provider and employer-of-choice, we’ll help you implement proven frameworks that strengthen culture, improve experience and ensure your organization thrives.
You can email me at info@capstoneleadership.net and put “BREAKTHROUGH” in the subject line and I’ll get you all the details.