Gibsonia Gazette

2010 Is Just Around The Corner, Have You Set Goals For The Year? October 14, 2009

Sales “guru” Zig Ziglar said “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”

It’s amazing the number of people that have not set clear and concise goals for their business as well as personal lives.  Many people spend more time planning a vacation than they do planning their future.

Goal setting is the way we see into the future and determine where we are going.  At the most simplistic level, we are unconsciously setting goals every day.

When the alarm clock goes off in the morning your goal is to get out of bed and get ready for the day.  When you turn on the engine of your car, you are expecting to arrive at a pre-determined place.  When you get on the elevator, your plan is to get off on a specific floor.

These are just some of the many unconscious goals we set for ourselves everyday.  But do we take the time to consciously set strategic business and personal goals?  Are these goals going to stretch you?   Do they have benchmarks?

How much time does it take to set your goals for the coming year?  Is it important to have a “roadmap” to help you determine where you are going and how you will get there?  You can’t spend too much time setting goals.

Empirical evidence shows that we can accomplish more and go farther if we dedicate ourselves to written goals, keep them on our corporate and personal radar screens, and follow through on the steps required to make them happen.

Edwin Locke, a leading authority on goal setting, established this model of goal setting motivation:

1. Goals give us focus:  Distractions occur more easily without them.
2. Goals get us going:  They serve as beacons for our attention and they motivate us to act.
3. Goals add to our resolve: Accomplishing what we want to do takes persistence. Without goals, we may find ourselves being persistent at low-priority activities.
4. Goals lead to actions:  Once a goal is set, a plan for action is the natural next step.  Action plans outline the “how” of achieving or accomplishing goals.

Goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-oriented, and Time-sensitive.  The SMART system for setting goals is a well-recognized way to put your goals in perspective.  Goals must be specific; they must have benchmarks for measuring progress; while they should be a “stretch”, they need to be within one’s grasp; there must be a stated result;, and there must be a time-frame in which the goal must be accomplished.

If you or your company are not in the habit of setting SMART goals, well, maybe now is the time.  Think about a specific accomplishment you want to achieve by December 31, 2010.  Think about whether or not it is a realistic goal, how you intend to achieve it, what you need to set as benchmarks through the year to keep you on track, and what will be the result when you achieve this goal.

A goal is a dream with a deadline.  It’s your way of looking into the future, envisioning where you want to be and setting a course to get there.

So, when you’re getting out of bed tomorrow, feel good about the fact that you’ve achieved your first goal of the day.