Having goals can create serious overwhelm, confusion, and teeth grinding. That is, if your goals aren’t correctly implemented.
Let me take a step back and explain.
Every year people all over the world take 15 minutes or less to create an ill-conceived New Years resolution. Oddly, many of those resolutions crash and burn before there’s a chance to break out the Valentine’s Day Peeps.
Why?
Goals are important, not only in business, but in everyday life. They help us to keep going even when times get tough. The problem in the above scenario isn’t that the goals our confetti-throwing friends have chosen are bad. Instead it’s the manner in which they’ve chosen to execute those goals.
Thinking up a goal quickly and hoping it will work, doesn’t work. That’s why we’ve developed a 4-step program to help give your goals a better survival rate.
Selecting A Business Goal
The first step is to figure out which direction you’d like to move in. Yes that’s correct, the first step to goal success is to pick a goal. This will be a small goal that helps you come closer to achieving your long-term or overall business goal.
When figuring out your goals, make sure that they’re:
- Realistic
- Not easily obtained
Chunking
Once you’ve come up with a goal, you’ll need a plan of action to implement it. This is where phase two comes in.
Take your goal and start “chunking” it. By chunking, I mean breaking your goal up into smaller more manageable pieces. Then you’ll be able to achieve your goal one small victory at a time.
Timeline
The next step is to take your funky chunky pieces and figure out a timeline for completion. Each chunk needs its own specific start and end date to help maximize its success rate.
Once you’ve figured out this schedule, remind yourself of it daily. This can mean writing it on a calendar, on your fridge, macaroni art, whatever works for you.
Review
In the final phase of this process you’ll need to look back on your goals to rate your success or failure.
Ask yourself the following questions depending on if you’ve met it or not:
Goal Met
- Was this too easy for me to achieve?
- Does achieving this one bring me closer to achieving my long-term goal?
- Can I reach even farther than what I achieved?
Goal Not Met
- Was it realistic?
- What factors led me to not reaching my it?
- What can I do next time to make sure I meet my goal?
After analyzing your method, create a plan to either try to achieve your goal again or try for an even harder one. Continue to do so until you achieve the long-term success YOU deserve.
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