What Do You Want? Purpose and Outcomes Create Breakthroughs

What do you want?

Seems like a simple enough question. But how often do you show up to meetings or important conversations without really thinking through the answer in advance?

One of the simplest and most powerful lessons I’ve learned in my career came from Robert Gass: Every meeting—and every courageous conversation (yes, you promotion conversation)—should start with a clear purpose and clear outcomes.

Too often, we step into meetings or tough conversations without knowing what we actually want from them. We show up ready to “talk things through” but not sure what success looks like. The result? We circle, we digress and we often leave without resolution.

Naming a purpose (“why we’re here”) and the outcomes (“what we want to leave with”) changes everything. It sharpens focus, respects everyone’s time and gives you a compass in the moment to track how well the meeting is serving your objectives.

Here are a few simple examples:

Purpose: Align on a theme for next month’s Insight Panel
Outcomes: Choose a survey topic and draft 5–7 potential questions

Purpose: Align on research objectives for Sea Change’s next study on mid-level donors
Outcomes: Decide which audiences to include and the key learning goals for the research brief

Purpose: Ask for a promotion
Outcome: Get a clear “yes” (or at least clarity on what it will take to get there)

Walking into any meeting or conversation with this level of clarity builds confidence. It keeps you focused on what matters most and it helps others know how they can contribute.

Before your next meeting, ask yourself two questions:
1. What’s the purpose?
2. What outcomes am I hoping for?

It’s such a simple practice, but in my experience, it’s one of the most powerful ways to turn conversations into breakthroughs.