Are you setting clear business goals?

The importance of writing goals

The act of physically writing goals down on paper (you don’t need to use a computer) reinforces your commitment to making them real. A goal that is not written is just a dream.

The story is often told of surveys at Yale University. The students were surveyed in the 1950s and again after 20 years. The initial survey included a question asking whether the students had written goals. In the second survey, 3% of the students were financially worth more than the other 97% combined; this 3% also had better heath and better personal relationships. After looking at all the possible reasons, the only difference the researchers could find between these students and the rest was that they had written goals in the 1950s and the others did not.

Reading your goals aloud, but in private, places them firmly in your conscious mind. This will help to work in tandem with your subconscious rather than in conflict. It also reminds you of your goal so that your actions will take you closer to achievement -on a daily basis. The ideal times for review are first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

Have you set some clear targets for the coming months?

How about writing down exactly what you want to achieve and breaking this down into:

• Outcome
• Action to be taken
• Dates/ times
• Financial reward

Once you have done this, focus on it every day and get excited about it. See your goals being achieved. If your goal is to provide outstanding service to others whilst being handsomely rewarded, see yourself enjoying your work, people benefiting from your high level of service, and money rolling into your bank account as a result.

Key criteria for goals

There are some simple but proven techniques that can assist goal setting.  By following these it is possible to enhance the probability of their achievement.

Goals must:

• Be written down
• Have target dates by which you will achieve them
• Be expressed in the present tense, as if they were already real.
• Be reviewed daily - this keeps the goal at the forefront of your mind so you’re constantly aware of it
• Have a clearly defined destination
• Have a means of measuring progress towards their achievement
• Contain a tangible reward for achievement - celebrate the fact you have achieved it
• Have a defined support infrastructure - who is going to help you get to your goal?