I recently watched “The Dropout,” a dramatization of the Theranos story. Theranos was the brainchild of entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes. Her dream: develop a machine that would conduct 200 medical tests using a single drop of blood. However, the goal proved unreachable, and the company collapsed in 2018 amidst a storm of finger-pointing and recrimination. Among the lessons to be learned from this story: the difficulty of knowing when to be reasonable and when to be unreasonable.

Personally, this is something with which I struggle. As a qualitative researcher, I’m often faced with the question of how tightly to recruit for a study. The perfectionist in me wants respondents who are EXACTLY what is needed to meet the research objectives. However, the pragmatist in me will point out that perfect participants are likely to be as rare as whooping cranes – making the recruit nearly impossible, and that participants who are ‘close enough’ will almost certainly provide the insights we need.

We all understand the value of being reasonable; often it’s the only way to get something done. However, I also subscribe to the sentiment expressed by George Bernard Shaw: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” There’s no getting around it. If you want to do something that’s never been done before, being reasonable is not going to get you there. Extraordinary goals are the key to extraordinary achievements.

However, remember that being unreasonable is a strategic decision. Know why you’re doing it and what objective it serves. If this decision is overly driven by emotion, and you’re unable to adjust when faced with immoveable obstacles, a situation can easily turn into your own personal Stalingrad. Just ask the Theranos alumni – they know all about the catastrophe that can result from inflexible, unreasonable goals.

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Finding the right balance between reasonableness and unreasonableness might be THE primary determinant for success in business and life. And finding that balance is no small task. It takes, experience, intuition, and a willingness to adjust. You might start out setting outrageously ambitious goals, and might even stick with those goals through multiple setbacks. Eventually however, you may need to acknowledge that your endeavor is doomed to certain failure if you don’t recalibrate.

Some tips for when you’re setting unreasonable goals:

• Make sure you have a sounding board—people whom you trust, and who understand and support your decision to be unreasonable, but who can advise you when you’ve reached a point at which this is no longer serving your interests. They’ll give you the luxury of being obsessive in pursuing your dream, because they’ll tell you if you’re pursuing a white whale.

• Being that unreasonableness is a strategic tool, you must have a clearly defined overall strategy for your endeavor. That strategy that will guide you as to when to be reasonable and unreasonable. Clearly define and prioritize your goals – what you need to accomplish. Then decide for which goals you can be reasonable, and where you must be unreasonable.

• Communication is key. Make sure people understand the rationale and the ultimate goal, as well as the payoff.

• It’s helpful to view unreasonableness as a finite resource – you can only go to that well so many times before you burn yourself and your colleagues out, lose credibility, or fail spectacularly.

So, to mash together a couple of adages, success lies in finding a way to reach for the stars without letting the perfect be the mortal enemy of the good.