|
Secrets to Success
Deborah Cole Micek |
The SMART way
to get a jump on goals
One advantage I've had in business I credit to my coach who taught me to get a jump on setting goals before everyone else who is starting to think of setting goals in the new year.As you celebrate during the Thanksgiving weekend, giving thanks for all that you have, begin to assess what you'd like to give thanks for a year from now, and start setting your goals for the new year now.
Anytime you do something before your competitors do, or "before the crowd" follows suit, you'll have the edge that all business owners need.
While everyone else is busy setting their goals, you'll be accomplishing them, because you dedicated the time today to decide what you want to be checking off come January.
Whether you know what constitutes a good goal from a bad goal, allow this article to be your catalyst to define your three-month goals. Starting now.
Acronyms help us remember things easily. So let's use the acronym SMART to set our yearly goals today.
Ready? Here are five characteristics that all good goals must have in order to achieve success faster than your competitors.
Specific: Be as specific as possible when you decide what you want to accomplish over the next three months. Dates, time frames, dollar amounts, percentages and quantities are all things you can include in your goal in order to know exactly what you're shooting for.
Measurable: Every goal you write must have a target that you can measure in order to know if you've achieved success, or determine how much you still need to accomplish to reach success.
Achievable: The more possible your goal is to achieve within a specific time frame, the more goals you'll accomplish in one year than most business owners do in a decade. You'll feel good along the way, which will encourage you to set more and more goals that you'll accomplish each and every month of the year.
Realistic: If you think a goal is impossible, your brain will not work as hard for you compared with when you think your goal is realistic and possible. It may be something no one has ever achieved before. But you must believe it's possible in order for your brain to find a way to make it happen.
Timed: Scheduling your goal into your calendar is critical for ultimate achievement of your goals.
We tell our coaching clients there are no unreasonable goals -- but there are unreasonable time frames.
So ... if you want to get the SMART jump on your competitors, start setting realistic goals right now, and you'll get the edge in getting your ideas and products to market (before someone reads this article first and decides to beat you to the punch.)