Every marketer knows the value of objectives, they help you prioritise, decide what to push, and what to park.

But here’s the paradox: the very objectives that keep you focused can come back to bite when stakeholders grip too tightly to the promises baked into them.

This episode is hosted by Brand Strategist Jack Ferguson.

In this solo episode, Jack unpacks a story of working with a professional services client where well-intentioned objectives turned into “but you said we’d have sales by now.”

From that experience came a shift in how he sets, frames, and manages objectives.

He’ll cover:

• Why outcome-based objectives set you up for blame when factors outside your control stall sales
  
• The danger of stakeholders remembering promises, not caveats
  
• How to balance short-term tactics with long-term brand building without losing credibility
  
• What input-based objectives look like in practice (and why they’re safer)
  
• How ongoing retainers and project-based arrangements affect expectation drift

If you’ve ever felt trapped between setting clear objectives and being held to outcomes you can’t control, this episode will give you a framework for balancing ambition with defensibility.

Helpful Links:

Find Jack on LinkedIn here: Jack Ferguson | LinkedIn

Follow The Push on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thepush

Follow The Push on TikTok here: thepushmedialab (@thepushmedialab) | TikTok

Follow The Push on Instagram here: Instagram

Visit The Push website here: https://bethepush.com/

Visit Jack’s personal website here: Brand Strategist: Marketing Consultancy — Jack Ferguson