Making Resolutions about Goals
Making Resolutions about Goals
1. Review your accomplishments. I find that we often launch into goal setting without first identifying our own accomplishments. I think it is important to do this because of something I call the horizon problem (a metaphor I got from Bill Harris at Centerpointe Research Institute). Just as we finish something or achieve a goal, whether by training or by disposition, we automatically start thinking of a new goal. There is nothing wrong with that, but it can sometimes seem that we are never getting to where we are heading. This is like the horizon. No matter how far you advance, the horizon always recedes. Taking some time out to look back, say a year, to identify accomplishments and goals attained creates a sense of achievement and closure at important junctures, such as the arrival of the New Year. I started doing this exercise about a year and a half ago, when I was launching my consulting business just a few months after retiring from my military career. I was getting a bit discouraged with the apparent slowness of progress. However, just by listing everything I had achieved since the beginning of that year and my decision to retire from the military lifted my spirits and gave me new momentum to continue the drive for business success.
2. Learn from the past. This one might seem odd for an article about goal setting, but I think not. I’ve written about learning from failure before (see Why I Love Negative Feedback), but that’s only half the equation. In the past few months, I’ve learned that it is just as important – indeed more so – to learn from one’s successes. We only truly improve by building on our strengths, and not just by correcting mistakes and weaknesses. Unfortunately, many goals and resolutions at this time of the year take the following form: “I resolve to start doing X”, or “Next year, I will stop wasting time and procrastinating.” The problem with such intentions is that they represent the horizon problem run amok. How will you know when you’ve attained them? There is no measurable outcome, and they are often inherently moral in nature. You’re setting yourself up for guilt and other assorted bad feelings when you don’t attain the horizon they represent. Wouldn’t it make more sense instead to create goals that build on success? “Next year, I will approach more prospects using approach Y, because I got two sales in the last month of the year that way. I resolve to drop method Z, because I got no traction with prospects using that approach.”
3. Understand the nature of goals. I’ve only recently come to the realization that there is a difference between setting a goal and making a resolution. They are both useful, but it is critical to understand the distinction. A goal is expressed as a measurable outcome. “Our goal for 2008 is to increase sales by 20 % in Quebec.” We know what is to be achieved, by when, and where. It can be readily communicated to co-workers and a team and fairly easy to determine relative success or failure. What’s more, it doesn’t specify how it is to be achieved. Assuming you give yourself and others the tactical latitude and flexibility to find ways of achieving it, it just may be within reach. I would put more effort into creating clearer goals and finding ways of communicating and achieving them, rather than in issuing lists of resolutions, whether personal or organizational.
4. Understand the nature of resolutions. A resolution focuses on changing one’s thinking and behaviour. Behaviour can be observed – sometimes – but thinking can’t. Especially one’s own. Resolutions also focus on input, rather than output. A resolution should be expressed as an intent to take a particular action or to modify one’s behaviour. “Next year, we will start all meetings on time and adhere to the agenda. I will ensure we stay on track by creating a critical issues list as these are raised and assign responsibilities at the end of the meetings, because not doing so is what gets us off track and into long discussions.” It is measurable and focuses on actions and behaviour and represents an analysis of past action. On the other hand, resolutions that focus on perceived character defects or problem areas (for an organization) are notoriously woolly and moralizing. “Next year, I will be more patient.” How will you know you’ve achieved it? What happens if you don’t? A better formulation would be: “When I catch myself losing patience, I will exit the room, giving me time to cool down and regain my composure.” This is action oriented and is based on a method which can be validated – and changed if necessary – for effectiveness.
If I have one final bit of advice, it is this. Resolve now to make your goals more precise and measurable. Endeavour to drop vague intentions to correct mistakes and perceived weaknesses. Resolve to build on your successes and to focus 80 per cent of your efforts on the 20 per cent of your character that represents true strength. As consultant Alan Weiss says, “the secret of life is success, not perfection.”
Making Resolutions about Goals - To learn more about this author, visit Richard Martin's Website.
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Yes, it’s that time of the year again. It’s the time when we make resolutions and set goals for ourselves for the New Year. I thought it would make sense to give you my thoughts about this topic, because so much of my interaction with clients and others focuses on setting goals and identifying objectives for improvement. I also spend a lot of time thinking about my own goals. I would be interested in your ideas about this topic, so just send me a response to this article with your comments and pointers of your own if you have any.
1. Review your accomplishments. I find that we often launch into goal setting without first identifying our own accomplishments. I think it is important to do this because of something I call the horizon problem (a metaphor I got from Bill Harris at Centerpointe Research Institute). Just as we finish something or achieve a goal, whether by training or by disposition, we automatically start thinking of a new goal. There is nothing wrong with that, but it can sometimes seem that we are never getting to where we are heading. This is like the horizon. No matter how far you advance, the horizon always recedes. Taking some time out to look back, say a year, to identify accomplishments and goals attained creates a sense of achievement and closure at important junctures, such as the arrival of the New Year. I started doing this exercise about a year and a half ago, when I was launching my consulting business just a few months after retiring from my military career. I was getting a bit discouraged with the apparent slowness of progress. However, just by listing everything I had achieved since the beginning of that year and my decision to retire from the military lifted my spirits and gave me new momentum to continue the drive for business success.
2. Learn from the past. This one might seem odd for an article about goal setting, but I think not. I’ve written about learning from failure before (see Why I Love Negative Feedback), but that’s only half the equation. In the past few months, I’ve learned that it is just as important – indeed more so – to learn from one’s successes. We only truly improve by building on our strengths, and not just by correcting mistakes and weaknesses. Unfortunately, many goals and resolutions at this time of the year take the following form: “I resolve to start doing X”, or “Next year, I will stop wasting time and procrastinating.” The problem with such intentions is that they represent the horizon problem run amok. How will you know when you’ve attained them? There is no measurable outcome, and they are often inherently moral in nature. You’re setting yourself up for guilt and other assorted bad feelings when you don’t attain the horizon they represent. Wouldn’t it make more sense instead to create goals that build on success? “Next year, I will approach more prospects using approach Y, because I got two sales in the last month of the year that way. I resolve to drop method Z, because I got no traction with prospects using that approach.”
3. Understand the nature of goals. I’ve only recently come to the realization that there is a difference between setting a goal and making a resolution. They are both useful, but it is critical to understand the distinction. A goal is expressed as a measurable outcome. “Our goal for 2008 is to increase sales by 20 % in Quebec.” We know what is to be achieved, by when, and where. It can be readily communicated to co-workers and a team and fairly easy to determine relative success or failure. What’s more, it doesn’t specify how it is to be achieved. Assuming you give yourself and others the tactical latitude and flexibility to find ways of achieving it, it just may be within reach. I would put more effort into creating clearer goals and finding ways of communicating and achieving them, rather than in issuing lists of resolutions, whether personal or organizational.
4. Understand the nature of resolutions. A resolution focuses on changing one’s thinking and behaviour. Behaviour can be observed – sometimes – but thinking can’t. Especially one’s own. Resolutions also focus on input, rather than output. A resolution should be expressed as an intent to take a particular action or to modify one’s behaviour. “Next year, we will start all meetings on time and adhere to the agenda. I will ensure we stay on track by creating a critical issues list as these are raised and assign responsibilities at the end of the meetings, because not doing so is what gets us off track and into long discussions.” It is measurable and focuses on actions and behaviour and represents an analysis of past action. On the other hand, resolutions that focus on perceived character defects or problem areas (for an organization) are notoriously woolly and moralizing. “Next year, I will be more patient.” How will you know you’ve achieved it? What happens if you don’t? A better formulation would be: “When I catch myself losing patience, I will exit the room, giving me time to cool down and regain my composure.” This is action oriented and is based on a method which can be validated – and changed if necessary – for effectiveness.
If I have one final bit of advice, it is this. Resolve now to make your goals more precise and measurable. Endeavour to drop vague intentions to correct mistakes and perceived weaknesses. Resolve to build on your successes and to focus 80 per cent of your efforts on the 20 per cent of your character that represents true strength. As consultant Alan Weiss says, “the secret of life is success, not perfection.”
Making Resolutions about Goals - To learn more about this author, visit Richard Martin's Website.
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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