Chris Bailey: Intentional

Why It Matters

By anchoring goals to core values and treating them as adaptable predictions, individuals and teams can dramatically improve goal attainment rates, fostering sustained motivation and reducing costly turnover from unmet expectations.

Key Takeaways

• Values drive motivation; align goals with top personal values.
• Goals are predictions, not guarantees; expect to revise them.
• Reframe tasks to match values for greater engagement and success.
• Reduce resistance by breaking tasks into smaller, manageable intervals.
• Use aversion journaling to identify and overcome procrastination triggers.

Summary

Chris Bailey frames intentional living around twelve universal values—self‑direction, stimulation, hedonism, achievement, power, face, security, tradition, conformity, humility, universalism, and benevolence—arguing that every motivation stems from these guiding principles. He highlights that 81% of New Year’s resolutions fail because people treat goals as fixed predictions rather than adaptable narratives, leading to disappointment when reality diverges.

Bailey’s core insight is to align each goal with an individual’s top two values, turning a mundane task into a purpose‑driven action. He illustrates this by reshaping a handbook update (a conformity‑driven duty) into a benevolence‑focused mentorship project, and by reframing a six‑pack ambition from a face‑oriented status symbol to a self‑direction and pleasure experiment. He also shares data‑backed tactics: shrink resistance by starting with shorter time blocks, add structure to unstructured work, and practice aversion journaling to surface and neutralize procrastination triggers.

Notable quotes include, “A goal is a prediction, not a guarantee,” and the practical mantra, “When you feel aversion, journal why and reward yourself for acting.” These examples underscore how reframing and incremental commitment can convert resistance into momentum, allowing the same actions to serve deeper personal values.

For professionals, the framework suggests a shift from rigid, outcome‑centric planning to a fluid, values‑aligned approach, promising higher adherence, reduced burnout, and more meaningful progress in both personal development and organizational initiatives.

Original Description

Topic: Intentional: How to Finish What You Start (Penguin Random House Canada, January 2026)

About the speaker:

Chris Bailey is an author and lecturer who explores the science behind living a more productive and intentional life. He has written hundreds of articles on the subject and has garnered coverage in media as diverse as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, GQ, HuffPost, New York magazine, Harvard Business Review, TED, Fast Company and Lifehacker. The bestselling author of The Productivity Project, Hyperfocus and How to Calm Your Mind, Bailey's books have been published in forty-two languages. He lives in Ottawa, Canada.

About the moderator:

John O’Dwyer is an Adjunct Professor and Executive-in-Residence at the Rotman School of Management. Since 2002 he has been teaching in Rotman’s Executive Education programs, as well as GettingItDone®, a final-year MBA elective course. Over the past thirty years, John’s professional career has spanned financial, human resource, and operational and strategic management areas. He has held a variety of management positions including President, CEO, and business owner. John is currently a partner with Strategic Advisory International. In his role, John works with a wide range of clients from Fortune 500 corporations to smaller entrepreneurial and high-tech organizations, where he is a trusted advisor and execution specialist.

Recorded on: Feb 18, 2026

The Rotman School of Management (http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca) is the most globally recognized business school in Canada. It is part of the University of Toronto, Canada’s top research university, and is located in downtown Toronto, the country's financial, commercial and cultural capital. The School takes full advantage of its strategic location by drawing on a rich pool of business and political leaders as teachers, mentors and speakers.

Rotman offers a Full-Time MBA, One-Year MBA program, and several programs for working professionals, including the Evening MBA and the Master of Finance, as well as pre-experience and specialized programs such as the Master of Management, Master of Management Analytics, the Master of Financial Risk Management, and the Graduate Diploma in Professional Accounting. For mid- to senior-career professionals, Rotman offers the Executive MBA, the Global Executive MBA and the Global EMBA for Healthcare and the Life Sciences.

Whichever degree or program you choose, Rotman will give an edge in your career and help you make the most of your potential. Rotman. Here's Where it Changes.