Setting Personal & Business Goals

 Start At The Beginning But Keep The End In Sight

·       What’s important to you?  

·       What do you really want?  

·       What’s stopping you?

·       Which way do you want to travel?   

·       And how will you know you’ve got there?

You’ve probably, on occasions, given some thought to these burning issues.   However, have you have ever really tried to bring your thoughts together in an organised way?   And, can you imagine the effect it would have upon you if you did?  

Often the only real difference between people who are very successful and those that aren’t is having a sense of direction.

Having a sense of direction is motivational.    

Knowing where you are going and feeling that you can get there is motivational.  

Knowing the benefits of what you get when you’ve got there is motivational.

Outside-In / Inside-Out

What’s important to you?   -   What do you really want?   

These are crucial questions that can’t be suddenly rushed at – they are too important for glib answers.   You may have an impression that most people seem to know where they are going and why they are doing it.   Well, take it from me, that this simply isn’t true.  Most people can act.   What they portray isn’t really who they are.

There is an outside person and an inside person.   The outside person is the one we try to portray to others.   The inside person is the one we sometimes prefer to keep to ourselves.  The outside person is full of shoulds and oughts about who we ought to be and how we should be thinking.   The outside person will tend to answer these two crucial questions on the basis of what other people think and also on established social norms.   Whilst these are important considerations worthy of inclusion in any decision you may make, there are other factors that are worth considering.   The outside person often looks at material outcomes, sets monetary goals and has career goals in mind.    Inside person includes these as only a partial set of the full of goals.    The inside person will also consider their own personal values, their own ecology as well as material considerations.      The inside person will look at what drives them, what motivates them, what will really turn them on.

A Personal Mission Statement

Now that you've had a while to think about what is important to you the next thing to do to help create the changes in yourself to allow yourself to become very successful is to create a personal mission statement.  A personal mission statement helps to keep your mind focused on who you are, who you want to become and what you want to successfully do.

Remember that you are unique so your personal mission statement will be unlike anyone else's both from the point of view of content and the way it is structured.

Now write your own personal mission statement.  

SETTING PERSONAL Goals

Look at the diagram below.  In it we see aspects which many people regard as important areas of their lives.  The next step is for you to put your focus on is setting goals.

In the fundamentals of marketing, as you probably realise, we focus very much on work and money.  Nevertheless it is regarded as extremely important to set goals in all areas of your life.  Of course, your coach will be concerned that you are successful in building your business and creating the income you deserve, but it is very important that the other aspects of your life are not forgotten.  Otherwise, even though you will be successful in the area of work and money, forgetting the others would lead to a very unbalanced life, indeed a very unhappy life.  Success in business and money are not ends in themselves but are means towards achieving the life that you want.

Keeping in mind your personal mission statement, consider each of the six areas of life and create a set of goals for about three years from now and then a set of intermediate goals for about 12 months from now.  Use the table below to complete the task.

Use the following to verify and strengthen your goal list

Conditions for a WELL-FORMED Outcome

Below are the conditions for a well-formed outcome. These have been identified as the minimum requirements to ensure outcomes are clearly defined in terms of which are realistic and can be evaluated. Experience shows that outcomes that meet these conditions are more likely to be achieved, especially when other people are involved.

At any time during the process you might need to redefine or even change your outcome, or help someone change theirs, until you are sure it meets all these conditions.

1.                  Is the outcome stated in the positive (towards language)?

2.                  What do you want to achieve?  (Rather than what you want to stop doing, avoid or quit?

3.                  Is the outcome within your power and/or control?

4.                  Can your outcome be initiated and maintained by you?

5.                  Is the outcome testable through sensory experience?

·   How SPECIFICALLY will you know the outcome has been achieved? 

·   What will you see, hear and feel?  

·   What will others see and hear?

6.                  Is the outcome 'Ecological' for everyone affected by it? 

·   What are the benefits of the current way of doing things?  

·   How can you keep these benefits when you achieve the outcome?

·   What will be the long term effects for you of achieving the outcome?

·   Who else will the outcome affect? 

·   How might they perceive the outcome as a threat or challenge?

·   What are their needs and what will be the benefits to them?

SMART GOAL RULES

When you have created a goal check to see if it is SMART.  It is much more likely to succeed if it is SMART.   Discuss the meaning of the above terms with your coach and check with them that your goals are SMART.
 

Give Your Business a Sense of Direction

Review your personal mission statement and work and money related goals and then create a company mission statement and three year and one-year business goals.