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 November 2006

8 Goal-Setting Steps For Achieving Success In 2007

Where are your goals for 2007? If they're still in your head, it's time to get them out, and onto paper. And if you haven't even thought about them yet, you need to do it now.

Next year will be here before we know it, and getting off to a fast start is essential to having a successful year.

Surprisingly, though, many businesses miss this opportunity. People come up with all sorts of excuses. They say they're too pressed for time, or they'll get to it right after New Year's.

But when the New Year finally arrives, these people are so busy catching up from all the time off, that they still don't have time for this critical leadership process. And strategic planning or goal setting IS a critical leadership process.

Other people say, 'We already did the strategic plan in the summer.' Or the fall. Or two years ago.

Even if you've already done it, now is an excellent time to revisit it, to see what has changed since then (especially if it's been years since the plan's creation), and make changes as needed.

And then there are people who never do any formal (written) plans. 'It's all in my head,' they say. So is their success. If it's not written down, it's less likely to get done.

So, here are the steps you need to take to develop and execute meaningful plans for 2007. These apply to you as a leader of your organization, department, division, or team. If you're not an 'official' leader in the organization, apply these steps to your individual development.

1) Survey your environment to consider how it will affect your operations. You're looking for what has changed in the environment. You're trying to identify current or future trends that will affect your business.

2) Commit to establishing S.M.A.R.T goals: Specific,
Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timed (given a specific time frame for accomplishing). Goals that lack these attributes are less likely to be done.

3) Establish five or six broad goals that, if achieved, will
make for a successful year. These are your annual goals.

4) For each annual goal, determine what shorter term actions you'll have to take in each quarter to meet that goal. You're establishing quarterly goals that, if met, will contribute to achieving that particular annual goal Do this for each annual goal.

Now you've established your annual goals, and four sets of quarterly goals. Although this completes your plan for the year, it's not the end of your work. Next are the steps that, on an ongoing basis, keep you moving toward fulfilling the quarterly and annual goals.

5) At the beginning of each month, determine what you'll have to do to achieve each quarterly goal. This gives you a set of goals for the current month.

6) Each week you should plan your activities so that they contribute directly to meeting your monthly goals.

7) This of course leads to your daily schedule. The activities on your daily To-do list, should tie into those weekly goals.

8) Frequently look at your annual, quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily goals. This is how you keep these goals firmly in mind as you proceed through the year.

Keep in mind that plans need to be flexible. As the world
around you changes, you may need to modify elements of your plan. As you look at your goals, you need to continually ask yourself a lot of questions:

Is this particular goal still valid? Will doing this really
contribute to accomplishing the next higher level goal? If not, what do I need to change about this goal? By changing or even eliminating this goal, what changes will I need to make in lower lever goals?

Make sure that these changes are written down, and not jut in your head. When you make changes at one level, make sure you make changes at lower levels.

One key is starting now with the planning part. A second key is writing down SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timed). The final key is having the discipline to frequently check your plans throughout the year to keep you on track.

What planning will you do now to achieve success in 2007? How will you measure success? What happens if you don't plan?

Until next edition, keep leading the way!

Copyright (C) 2006 by Terry Wall

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