Posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Sunday, January 2, 2011
2011 - I'm Resolved, Are You?
2010 has passed into memory now and we are two days into 2011. It is customary at the onset of a new year to reflect on the one just expired and establish resolutions for the one that stretches before us.
I have been asked several times in the past 48 hours what my resolutions for the new year might be. While I have never actually put much stock into verbalizing resolutions just because it is the beginning of a new year, the question has caused me to think about my continuing personal growth. Therefore, as I endeavor to grow in specific areas over the next year, I encourage you to join me and:
• Focus on your strengths
So much of our time is spent dwelling on our weaknesses and what we don’t do well. Instead, I encourage you to focus on what you are proficient at, your core-competency. Everyone has their talents and strengths – unique to themselves. Focus on those and delegate that which you don’t do well to capable others.
• Ask questions
We have all heard the adage regarding how to break down the word “assume.” Asking questions to clarify understanding prevents misunderstandings and misinterpretations and also reduces conflict. It's especially valuable to ask questions rather than presuming another’s intentions or motivations. Furthermore clarifying your understanding can save a great deal of time so often wasted when one proceeds on assumptions.
• Admit when you are wrong
When used in this order, “I was wrong,” are three of the most valuable words in High Road communication. Rather than indicating weakness – recognizing, owning up to and admitting when you are wrong is both a sign of character and a High Road mentality.
• Give up to go up
As Dr. John C. Maxwell shares with us in his book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, you have to give up to go up. (Law #18 – The Law of Sacrifice) Many times it is necessary to give up what is secure, stable and, perhaps, stagnant to grow in areas that are riskier but may have a larger return in the long run.
• Find opportunity in crisis
It is so easy, especially in this uncertain time and economy, to see potential doom in a bad turn of events. I encourage you to start thinking outside the gloom and ask yourself, “How can this potential obstacle be turned into an opportunity?”
I think that is a healthy amount of paradigm shift for the beginning of my year. I am curious, what will YOU be focusing on for your personal growth as we enthusiastically embrace 2011? Please enter your responses in the comments section, where they can inspire and motivate other readers to find their High Road Solutions for 2011.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Not achieving your goals? Maybe they are not CLEAR
Two weeks ago I wrote about reevaluating and recommitting to your goals as most of the nation “sprang forward” with Daylight Saving Time. Since then I have had multiple people question me on how to actually do that. So, I want to focus this week on how to set goals that are energizing and achievable.
There are many methods for establishing and working toward goals. I have found that setting CLEAR goals works best for me. CLEAR is an acronym that stands for:
Calculable
Limited time
Exact
Agreed upon
Realistic
Calculable – A goal must be easily broken down into smaller tasks and achievements that combine to create the larger objective. There have been many times in my life and career that I have established goals for myself that seemed unattainable until I broke them down into smaller, “bite-size” pieces. Broken down they are less daunting. This is achieved by taking the whole of the objective and dividing it by the time-frame you have established for achieving it. That way you create milestones for yourself annually, quarterly, monthly and weekly. If, for instance, you have a goal to achieve $100,000 in gross revenue in a year – that means you need to target roughly $8,333 per month. Breaking that down further (utilizing the IRS average of 4.4 weeks per month), you would need to target $1,894 per week. Furthermore, if you know what your average revenue per sales call is, then you could calculate how many sales calls you would need to make per week to achieve that revenue target. Break it down and make it calculable.
Limited time – A goal without a set time frame is just a dream. Determine a time by which you will achieve this objective, otherwise it is a “someday” goal, or a “get around to it” goal. I have yet to see “someday” on a calendar and “get around to it” goals rarely get gotten around to. Without a set target date there is no means by which to establish the milestones you need to make it measurable and less daunting. Often people hesitate to establish target dates for their goals for fear that if they miss the target they will have “failed.” Not so. A target is just that, a target. If you miss the target, the goal does not change – only the time frame does. Simply reset the target achievement date, recalculate the milestone dates and get back to work on the goal.
Exact – Vague goals are rarely attainable. Unless they are exact, there is nothing specific to break down into bite-size pieces. To establish a goal that you will be the “best widget salesman you can be” is setting yourself up for disappointment. There is no way to measure when you have achieved the goal. (Furthermore, I find that we never believe we are ever the best that we can be, so it is not an attainable goal.) Instead, utilizing this scenario, decide that you will exceed last year’s widget sales by X%. That is exact – something that can be measured and broken down. Look at the goals you have established for yourself and make sure they are unambiguous and clear-cut.
Agreed upon – Your goals must be in writing and shared with like-minded individuals or associates. Mary Kay Ash, the late Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Mary Kay Cosmetics often said, “the faintest ink is better than the most retentive memory.” A goal that is not in writing is too easily adjusted when the road to achieving it becomes rocky. Make sure they are written down (in ink!). You also need to share your goals with the balcony people in your life (those people who believe in you and encourage you forward to action), and give them permission to inquire about your progress. Doing so will make you more accountable for actually doing the work necessary to obtain your objective.
Realistic – I believe a goal that does not make you just a little nauseated about how you are going to get there is not a big enough goal. That having been said, your goal must be realistically obtainable with sufficient effort. If you have never been on ice skates before, to set a goal of achieving a world championship in figure skating this year is not a realistic goal. You set yourself up for failure and disappointment. The goal should not be easy, but it should be realistic. Establish a realistic goal that you feel comfortable in achieving – then stretch it to half again what you think you can achieve. That will make it obtainable and a little bit scary at the same time.
High Road challenge for the day: Examine the goals you have set for yourself. Are they calculable, limited time, exact, agreed upon, and realistic? If they fall short in any of these critical areas, tweak them to make them more attainable. Set time frames so you can break them down into measurable milestone achievements. Write them down and share them with the balcony people in your life.
“What the mind can conceive and truly believe, you can achieve.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
There are many methods for establishing and working toward goals. I have found that setting CLEAR goals works best for me. CLEAR is an acronym that stands for:
Calculable
Limited time
Exact
Agreed upon
Realistic
Calculable – A goal must be easily broken down into smaller tasks and achievements that combine to create the larger objective. There have been many times in my life and career that I have established goals for myself that seemed unattainable until I broke them down into smaller, “bite-size” pieces. Broken down they are less daunting. This is achieved by taking the whole of the objective and dividing it by the time-frame you have established for achieving it. That way you create milestones for yourself annually, quarterly, monthly and weekly. If, for instance, you have a goal to achieve $100,000 in gross revenue in a year – that means you need to target roughly $8,333 per month. Breaking that down further (utilizing the IRS average of 4.4 weeks per month), you would need to target $1,894 per week. Furthermore, if you know what your average revenue per sales call is, then you could calculate how many sales calls you would need to make per week to achieve that revenue target. Break it down and make it calculable.
Limited time – A goal without a set time frame is just a dream. Determine a time by which you will achieve this objective, otherwise it is a “someday” goal, or a “get around to it” goal. I have yet to see “someday” on a calendar and “get around to it” goals rarely get gotten around to. Without a set target date there is no means by which to establish the milestones you need to make it measurable and less daunting. Often people hesitate to establish target dates for their goals for fear that if they miss the target they will have “failed.” Not so. A target is just that, a target. If you miss the target, the goal does not change – only the time frame does. Simply reset the target achievement date, recalculate the milestone dates and get back to work on the goal.
Exact – Vague goals are rarely attainable. Unless they are exact, there is nothing specific to break down into bite-size pieces. To establish a goal that you will be the “best widget salesman you can be” is setting yourself up for disappointment. There is no way to measure when you have achieved the goal. (Furthermore, I find that we never believe we are ever the best that we can be, so it is not an attainable goal.) Instead, utilizing this scenario, decide that you will exceed last year’s widget sales by X%. That is exact – something that can be measured and broken down. Look at the goals you have established for yourself and make sure they are unambiguous and clear-cut.
Agreed upon – Your goals must be in writing and shared with like-minded individuals or associates. Mary Kay Ash, the late Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Mary Kay Cosmetics often said, “the faintest ink is better than the most retentive memory.” A goal that is not in writing is too easily adjusted when the road to achieving it becomes rocky. Make sure they are written down (in ink!). You also need to share your goals with the balcony people in your life (those people who believe in you and encourage you forward to action), and give them permission to inquire about your progress. Doing so will make you more accountable for actually doing the work necessary to obtain your objective.
Realistic – I believe a goal that does not make you just a little nauseated about how you are going to get there is not a big enough goal. That having been said, your goal must be realistically obtainable with sufficient effort. If you have never been on ice skates before, to set a goal of achieving a world championship in figure skating this year is not a realistic goal. You set yourself up for failure and disappointment. The goal should not be easy, but it should be realistic. Establish a realistic goal that you feel comfortable in achieving – then stretch it to half again what you think you can achieve. That will make it obtainable and a little bit scary at the same time.
High Road challenge for the day: Examine the goals you have set for yourself. Are they calculable, limited time, exact, agreed upon, and realistic? If they fall short in any of these critical areas, tweak them to make them more attainable. Set time frames so you can break them down into measurable milestone achievements. Write them down and share them with the balcony people in your life.
“What the mind can conceive and truly believe, you can achieve.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Spring Forward
“Oh my gosh, get up! Get UP! We over-slept. I forgot to set our clocks forward last night,” my husband confessed. This is how I was roused awake this morning and why I looked just a little disheveled and out of sorts as I headed off to church this morning.
Today most of the nation “sprang forward” into Daylight Saving Time, some more gracefully than others.
The original brainchild of Benjamin Franklin, Daylight Saving Time (DST) was originally intended to “save daylight” for the evenings when people were out and working. This was a tough concept in its inception, as there was no uniformity at that time in how the nation set its clocks.
On March 19, 1918, an “Act to preserve daylight and provide standard time for the United States” was enacted by the U.S. Congress. It both established standard time zones and set summer DST to begin on March 31, 1918. It was observed for seven months in 1918 and 1919. It’s had a bumpy ride since, with each state and local government being able to establish its own standard for time and adoption of DST. Indeed, in the mid-1960s while traveling the 35 mile stretch on Route 2 between Moundsville, W.V. and Steubenville, OH, one would endure seven time changes!
In1966, Congress decided to step in once again and end the confusion. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 was signed into federal law by President Lyndon Johnson. It established DST to begin on the last Sunday of April and to end on the last Sunday in October. This act also created broader and more uniform time zones as well as a standard system of DST within each time zone throughout the U.S. and its possessions. Any state that wanted to remain exempt could do so by passing a state law. Most recently, with the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (which took effect in 2007), DST was adjusted to begin at 2:00 a.m. local time on the second Sunday in March and end at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday of November, which is why most of us "sprang forward" last night.
Now that we have spent our day bemoaning our missed hour of sleep and adjusting to a confused body clock, I recommend a different take on “springing forward.” Let’s take this opportunity to look forward as we spring forward. Take this time to re-evaluate the goals you established for yourself at the start of 2010. Are they still viable? Do they still make sense for your life and work’s purpose? Where are you at with them? If you are not where you want to be, or had planned on being – I recommend that you recommit to them. If they need to be adjusted or sidelined for new ones, determine what the new ones should be and put together a new plan. Rather than looking back at what you haven't accomplished since January, focus forward on corrective actions you can take.
High Road challenge for the day: Now that most of the nation has more “daylight,” refocus that daylight on your plans and take positive steps toward achieving them. Visualize the successful result of reaching those goals. Break them down into monthly, weekly and daily accomplishments necessary to get there. Write them down (again, if you already wrote them down) in ink so they are on permanent record, and share them with the balcony people (those people who believe in you and encourage you forward to action) in your life. Utilize this “spring forward” opportunity to take a quantum leap toward your goals.
And for my friends in Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Hopi Nation – I challenge you to do the same, even though you do not observe this biannual ritual of adjusting your clocks. :-)
Today most of the nation “sprang forward” into Daylight Saving Time, some more gracefully than others.
The original brainchild of Benjamin Franklin, Daylight Saving Time (DST) was originally intended to “save daylight” for the evenings when people were out and working. This was a tough concept in its inception, as there was no uniformity at that time in how the nation set its clocks.
On March 19, 1918, an “Act to preserve daylight and provide standard time for the United States” was enacted by the U.S. Congress. It both established standard time zones and set summer DST to begin on March 31, 1918. It was observed for seven months in 1918 and 1919. It’s had a bumpy ride since, with each state and local government being able to establish its own standard for time and adoption of DST. Indeed, in the mid-1960s while traveling the 35 mile stretch on Route 2 between Moundsville, W.V. and Steubenville, OH, one would endure seven time changes!
In1966, Congress decided to step in once again and end the confusion. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 was signed into federal law by President Lyndon Johnson. It established DST to begin on the last Sunday of April and to end on the last Sunday in October. This act also created broader and more uniform time zones as well as a standard system of DST within each time zone throughout the U.S. and its possessions. Any state that wanted to remain exempt could do so by passing a state law. Most recently, with the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (which took effect in 2007), DST was adjusted to begin at 2:00 a.m. local time on the second Sunday in March and end at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday of November, which is why most of us "sprang forward" last night.
Now that we have spent our day bemoaning our missed hour of sleep and adjusting to a confused body clock, I recommend a different take on “springing forward.” Let’s take this opportunity to look forward as we spring forward. Take this time to re-evaluate the goals you established for yourself at the start of 2010. Are they still viable? Do they still make sense for your life and work’s purpose? Where are you at with them? If you are not where you want to be, or had planned on being – I recommend that you recommit to them. If they need to be adjusted or sidelined for new ones, determine what the new ones should be and put together a new plan. Rather than looking back at what you haven't accomplished since January, focus forward on corrective actions you can take.
High Road challenge for the day: Now that most of the nation has more “daylight,” refocus that daylight on your plans and take positive steps toward achieving them. Visualize the successful result of reaching those goals. Break them down into monthly, weekly and daily accomplishments necessary to get there. Write them down (again, if you already wrote them down) in ink so they are on permanent record, and share them with the balcony people (those people who believe in you and encourage you forward to action) in your life. Utilize this “spring forward” opportunity to take a quantum leap toward your goals.
And for my friends in Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Hopi Nation – I challenge you to do the same, even though you do not observe this biannual ritual of adjusting your clocks. :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)