Yep it’s just about that time again, the
end of the year and there is talk about
resolutions for the next year.
So many talk about the new resolutions, new
goals and new outcomes for the future.
The question I have for many is; How was 07
different than 06 or any other year? Did we
set goals and resolutions only to kind of
make them? Perhaps we met our business
goals, yet might have slipped on our
personal ones?
This issue is about tools to help you make
goals and resolutions work for you, check
them out and share them with your friends
and coworkers ……
I know personally that 07 was a challenging
year. There were days I wondered if
anything got accomplished, yet there were
many things that did occur.
One objective was to have The Selling Gap
book in print by September 07 and it was!
It only took almost three years to create,
write, edit, edit, edit and finally print!
It’s great to have it available, yet now
the big job of promoting and marketing
begins! Oh, another goal for 08 to write
down.
1. Now there is one very strong key element
to any goal or resolution, WRITE IT DOWN!
Yes you have heard that many times, yet the
simple act of writing it causes you to do
several things.
- You have to
think about it and clarify it in order to
write it.
- You are
taking physical action which connects the
brain and memory.
- You are now
connected to the goal emotionally.
- You can now
review it, share it and revise it.
2. Every year you get your company goals in
relation to productivity. These might get
you exited or perhaps not so excited. The
challenge with someone else setting your
goals is just that! They are not your
goals! Here are some points on selecting
your goals.
- Is it
something you want to achieve or is it
someone else’s expectation?
- Does it fit
into your future Vision of what you want to
achieve long term?
- Can you see
yourself achieving it, even if you have to
stretch a lot, or is it some fantasy?
- How does it
fit into your Mission in life? Hopefully
you have a Mission Statement.
- Can you
achieve some of your personal goals with
the company goals, or are there direct
conflicts?
3. Now there are two terms mentioned in #2,
Vision and Mission. When we do training on
personal and company performance we start
with the Vision and Mission! This is not
new, just not well used. The first activity
in our personal coaching is to have the
person begin their personal Vision and
Mission statements. This is not a five
minute task; it takes time to evaluate what
you want, to soul search who you really
want to be! Many people rewrite these
several times before they feel they have
real long term meaning. Here are a few key
points on Vision and Mission.
- Vision
should create a vivid image of whom
and what you want to become.
- You might
write a full page and refine it down to a
small paragraph.
- Often the
first drafts tend to be more a list of
goals rather than vision. This is ok, now
keep asking why those goals and it will get
you closer to your vision.
- Your vision
should energize you, it’s ok if it’s scary,
and creates a desire to act!
- Your
Mission should help define your personal
character, how you make choices and how you
will act in accomplishing your Vision.
- Both your
Vision and Mission should give you
direction in your life, career and personal
goals!
There is a lot to creating Vision and
Mission for you or for your company. There
are several articles on this in the past
year on our blog at
www.blogBusArc.blogspot.com or
give us call for some guidance.
When we examine why goals and resolutions
are not met, most often there is no Vision
or Mission established to build on! This
may be the most valuable investment of time
in your future you can make!
4. Many people talk about Passion, finding
your Passion, creating your Passion. Why
Passion is so important is sustainability
of a goal. Every successful person I know
went though good and bad times to get the
results. The reason many goals and
resolutions never happen is no staying
power. No matter what, something will get
in the way, distract or become a barrier to
your goal. Passion is what carries you
though, over or under the obstacles! Some
points on Passion.
1. Passion comes from emotion; Vision and
Mission help focus that emotion.
2. Everyone is passionate about something
in some way.
3. Passion can be created by a strong focus
on accomplishing specific actions. Think
about a time you just went ahead and got
started on something, got it done and were
not even tired when finished. That could be
called short term enthusiasm or passion!
4. Passion keeps you going, is infectious
to others and sets you apart from the
crowd.
5. Reflect on your success and failure to
clarify your strengths and potential weak
spots. Far too many times people try to do
things that are not their strengths. We are
not all created with the same abilities or
aptitudes. Just because someone else is
successful doing something a certain way
does not mean it will work for you! It may
be their best strength and your weakest!
1. Evaluate your success, what strengths
helped you get there?
2. Evaluate your challenges, where you
working with your strengths or weakness?
3. Use your Vision and Mission to help
evaluate what you are really good at and
want to accomplish.
4. Ask others how they see your strengths.
Yes they will tell you if you really ask!
5. Take an inventory of your habits and
behaviors, what do these tell you about
your strengths?
6. Take a DISC profile, it will give you
insights into how you approach life.
6. Now you can begin to write your goals.
Yes, the previous 5 items should come
first! No wonder so many never get their
goals down! This can be work and scary work
at that! Here are some points on setting
the goals.
- Use the
SMART format for setting goals
a.
S-Specific goals, the more specific the
better
b.
M-Measurable by someone else, should be
dates, amounts etc
c.
A-Attainable by you, is it remotely within
your skill and knowledge level?
d. R-Realistic, is it in your
control? If you have to depend upon someone
else’s choices it will need rethinking.
d.
T-Time Table, it has to have a date and
time frame, someday is not on the calendar!
- Be sure to
include several areas of your life in your
goal setting. An interesting study
indicated that personal relationships were
number one in importance for most people,
yet not a single one in the study had any
type of goal to improve a current
relationship! How about you?
There is a quick overview of what each of
us should do in setting goals for 2008 and
beyond. Now this is short and sweet, yet if
you invest your time and effort in these
six steps it could mean the difference
between another 2006, 2007 or a fantastic
and unbelievable 2008 and beyond! The
choice is yours!
Till next week, you make it the best
Christmas Ever for you and yours!
Harlan Goerger, National Director of
Training
© Harlan
Goerger, 12-2007
Free to share with credits included
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