Great Starts for 2008 - Your Map to Success

A study was done several years ago with college graduates just preparing to enter the work world. 3% of them had written their goals out; 10% had goals in mind only; the remaining 87% had no goals at all. Several years later, the 3% who had written goals were 10 times as successful as both the other groups. The 10% with goals, but only in mind, were just 2 times as successful as that largest group who had no goals at all.
The obvious lesson here? Write your goals down.

Whatever tools you choose to plot out your success this year, be sure to write it down somewhere in whatever form most appeals to you. A plain and simple Word document, Excel spreadsheet, a colorful Mind Map, a yellow tablet, or a Vision board will all do the trick – get your ideas out of your head and onto something you can review regularly. In fact, looking at your goals first thing in the morning and again last thing at night feeds your subconscious mind exactly what you want it to work on behind the scenes. That GPS in your head will surely get you where you want to be with a clearly defined, visual map.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.”

This week, get clear and fine tune your 2008 plans and get them out of your head and onto a piece of paper or computer screen. Review them regularly, adjust when necessary, and watch for a Great 2008. It’s that simple!

Great Starts for 2008 - Use your very own GPS

Some more thoughts on your Goal Setting as 2008 gets underway:
According to a recent study of 60,000 people, only 77% of their New Year Resolutions survived the first week of the New Year; one month later, only 55% made it through the first 4 weeks. Another study showed that a mere 15% of those who make Resolutions manage to keep them at all. Do you see yourself in these statistics?

Perhaps that first draft of New Year goals is just too vague or too broad. “Exercise more”, “Eat healthier foods”, “Find a new job”, are all great ideas. However, they don’t provide the clear details that your inner GPS, your mind, needs in order to achieve them. Just like the GPS in a car, your mind needs a clear understanding of where it is and where it needs to be so that it can get you from where you are to where you want to be. “Work out 2 times a week during the months of January and February”, “Shop at the Farmers’ Market once a month”, and “Apply for 2 jobs per month at companies on my target list” are much clearer and action-oriented.

I've mentioned SMART goals before, the process of assigning important details to your goals, making them Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-based. That’s only one method of many to get moving in the right direction.

Here’s another way discussed in a workshop I helped conduct last week for emerging women leaders:
First clarify your vision – start out with that Big Hairy Audacious Goal (“BHAG”, a concept first coined by author Jim Collins), one that is long-term, inspires you to action and is perhaps somewhat outrageous.
Second, write it out, down to the last detail so you have an even clearer picture in your mind of what it looks like.
Next, start breaking it down into manageable chunks, listing the most obvious things that need to take place.
Review one more time and break those down even further until you have a list of short-term goals that you see as do-able in the near future.
From there, determine the action steps needed for each short-term goal, assigning a due date to each step. These tasks should be small enough to be completed in a few hours.
Note these in your calendar and keep yourself on track, always moving forward. Let a friend in on your plans so they can help hold you accountable.

Set yourself up for success this year by remembering your internal GPS. Make those resolutions, turn them into specific goals and create the action steps needed to see them through. Check them off as you go along, enjoy your achievements, and by the end of December, you’ll have had a terrific 2008!

Post your thoughts and success stories for keeping your New Year resolutions intact.

Great Starts for 2008 - Be a little Unreasonable!

I attended a business planning workshop recently and one of my “take-aways” was the idea of challenging myself to be “unreasonable” this year. This is done by setting and pursuing goals without thinking about failing - that getting “out of the box” thought process, if you will. This should allow me to break away from the conventional thinking that’s so easy to follow and enable me to do extraordinary things in 2008.

Sounds good, really good. Now just how to go about being unreasonable with our goals this month? Here’s a book aptly named Be Unreasonable: The Unconventional Way to Extraordinary Business Results by Paul Lemberg. He says that unreasonable strategies can bring unprecedented success. These include:

· Be Uncompromising by sticking to your goals no matter what.
· Be Demanding by expecting more, not less, from everybody.
· Be Critical by changing old systems that just don’t work.
· Be Prepared for real success on your terms.

He also says “Being unreasonable is about assessing the situation and leaping into the unknown-not foolishly, but courageously. Only by going against the norm, and perhaps ruffling feathers, can you be competitive, innovative, and successful.”

While Lemberg is a leading business growth consultant, his ideas can easily apply to us individually in both our careers and personal lives. Stretching ourselves just a little further than normal when setting a goal can be considered unreasonable enough for some. And so what if it really sounds unattainable and against the grain at first? As I’ve mentioned here many times before, our subconscious mind will work night and day to find a way to make it happen if we really want it.

Here’s your challenge this month: Look at those goals you’ve set for 2008 so far. Pick one and stretch it out some until you feel uncomfortable. Commit to it and expect success. Then let your mind do its magic and start figuring out ways to reach it. Push yourself, get out of the comfort zone, and watch those extraordinary things happen this year. Good luck!

Great Starts for 2008 - Set SMART Goals

Now that you have that Vision of what you want 2008 to look like, put pen to paper and develop Goals and the ever-necessary Action Steps for each goal. And not just any Goal, but a SMART Goal - one that is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-based. Having these details written out makes it more manageable and easier to achieve.
Here's an explanation:

Specific: It must be well defined and clear and should say exactly what is expected, by when, and if applicable, how many. Example: By February 15th, I will have 2 new versions of my resume ready to send to prospective employers.

Measureable: To stay motivated to reach your goal, it’s important to have milestones to reflect your progress. You must know that it is obtainable and when it has been successfully completed. Example: Each Friday, I will work on one section of my resume.

Attainable: The best goals require you to stretch a little to achieve them, but not to extremes. They are not out of reach, nor are they below your usual performance. Are you sure it’s not too easy, or too hard?

Realistic: This means you currently have the resources, knowledge, and time to actually achieve it. It might not be the right time for this goal if you don’t have enough hours to see it through or need to develop a new skill first. Is everything you need in place right now in order to achieve this goal?

Time-based: Your goal should have clear starting and ending points. Committing to a deadline or schedule for achieving your goal keeps you focused and headed toward success!

Make a SMART goal this week following this simple process. Now add some even smaller action steps to each piece that make it even more do-able. See what kind of results you create by being this detailed and focused!

Please post your comments. Visit my website at http://www.lousbergunlimited.com/ for more information about career transition services.

Great Starts for 2008 - Visioning

As 2008 gets underway, now's the time to put some thought into how you want this year to turn out, both professionally and personally. Over the next few days, I'll be sharing some of my favorite career planning activities. Here's #1:

Visioning is an exercise that requires quiet, distraction-free time along with your imagination. Grab a pen and paper to capture your ideas after you've imagined what 2008 will look like.
Get comfortable, close your eyes and ask yourself a few questions to get the images rolling:

What kind of work are you doing?
Where are you working?
What type of company is it?
What does the environment look like?
What are you wearing to work?
What type of co-workers and colleagues do you associate with?
What does that paycheck look like?
What are you accomplishing in 2008?

After the picture gets clear, jot down some notes about that vision to help you keep it in mind. Now, time to set some goals around it and make good things happen! More on that next time...