What do you think about when the word goal comes up in conversation? Do you cringe and snort thinking to yourself "right, goals . . . whatever. What's the point of making them if I won't keep them?" Or, do your eyes light up as you tick off a long list of goals for the New Year that will be impossible to complete?

No matter if you have an optimistic or pessimistic outlook about your small business goals for this New Year, both outlooks have something in common and it is this: Unless you know how to set goals properly, you will fail to complete them. So let's start by defining exactly what a goal is: A goal is something that is meaningful, powerful, and transformative. A goal is something that will change your life, your business, your career, or your family in some meaningful way.

A goal is fierce!
• A goal is clearly defined
• A goal is very specific
• A goal has an action plan and time line for completion

To be an accomplished goal setter, you must become a fearsome time manager by:
• Setting priorities
• Completing tasks on time
• Eliminating distractions

In other words, those who manage their time, manage their world.

Three Parts To Setting Goals That Stick

1. Activate Intentions. They key to getting your business goals to stick it to activate your intentions. That means to put down on a piece of paper what your goals are, and then to take one action on each goal immediately.

Seven Steps For Successful Activation

• Identify your goal, very clearly and specifically. Identify no more than 3-5 business goals to focus on. Be concrete. Put your business goal into words and be as precise about it as you can be.
• Think critically about whether or not this is actually a business goal that you want to accomplish this year. Make sure you know why this goal is meaningful.
• Thinking creatively about how to accomplish your goals. Think outside the box. Stretch the boundaries of possibilities. Engage others to brainstorm and ‘creategize' with you. Think really far out. Consider outlandish and bazaar solutions.
• Next, identify your plan of action and create strategic action steps that will lead to goal completion.
• Then, and this is all so energetically important: schedule and take your first action step either now, or within the next five days. This one step will set the activation energy in motion. Since what we focus on happens, it is important to schedule and take a first step to create momentum immediately.
• Evaluate your activity and measure success every step along the way.
• Reward success.

2. Eliminate Distractions. Distractions are the worst enemy of time management, and are the number one reason why goals fail. When we allow distractions to take our time and attention away from our goals, the result is frustration, leading to feelings of being overwhelmed, to thoughts of not being able to do something, to failure. Be fierce about your goals and guard them with your time.

Page 1 of 2 :: First | Last :: Prev | 1 2 | Next