Year-End Goal Planning
I’m not into New Year’s resolutions. My experience is that people make resolutions on a whim, but they rarely take the necessary step of developing the plan that would turn the resolution into reality.
It’s really a question of whether you have a dream and whether you have a plan. Most New Year’s resolutions are all about the dream – about the desired end result. I would suggest that you look past the dream to the plan that will be necessary to make that dream come true.
That said, this is the perfect time of year to set goals and create plans to achieve them. So if you are so inclined, allow me to share three tips for putting together some 2010 goals.
1) Think Short-Term
If you’ve never really invested any efforts into goal accountability, I would advise you not to try to tackle a huge project right out of the gate. Don’t think about what you’ll accomplish in 2010 – think about what you’ll accomplish in January (or at most in the first quarter). I’m not saying you shouldn’t have big, hairy, audacious goals, but that’s not where I would start. The more manageable the goal, the better the chances you’ll achieve the results.
2) Break the Goal into Small Steps
If you struggle right out of the gate, you’ll need to go back to goal definition. It’s not a goal unless it can be broken down into small, well defined, manageable steps. For example, if you say, “My goal is to be the best salesperson in my company”, that’s not defined and it is impossible to break down specifically. But if you said, “My goal is to drive three self-generated traffic units a week for the month of January and to convert one out of every six into sales”, that is something you can get your hands around. You can then come up with steps for driving traffic, you can develop a self-training plan to work on closing skills, and you calculate your progress as you go.
If that is still too daunting, pick something smaller. The key is to keep the goals challenging enough to cause you to stretch, but manageable enough not to discourage you.
3) Write it down and post it prominently
Goals are like a lot of other things in life: out of sight, out of mind. So write the goal(s) down and post it in a prominent place. Look at it every day. Hold yourself accountable.
Why not take 15 minutes right now to plan out a goal. Already have one in mind? We’d love to hear it. Chime in, please.
Set your goals – and change your world!
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