Happy New Year!
If all has gone to plan you will have had a wonderful break and have started 2011 fully recharged and ready to make this year a glittering success.
If December was all about looking back and evaluating your 2010 successes, challenges and learnings, January is very much about looking forward to 2011.
January is a great month for setting GOALS.
In 1979 Harvard MBA students were asked 'Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?'
Only 3% had written goals and plans; 13% had goals but not in writing; 84% had no goals at all.
Ten years later these students were interviewed again. The 13% who had set goals (but not in writing) in 1979 were earning on average twice as much as the 84% who had not set goals. The 3% who had set clear, written goals were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other 97%!
So whether your aims are financial, personal, social, whatever, be sure to set clear goals, write them down and most important of all - TAKE ACTION!
Creating Dynamic Goals
Well-defined goals are vital in all elements of business. The following process is one I use in business and personally. Work through the questions and remember that your initial response is normally the most useful.
Stated in the positive
What do I want?
The evidence
What would be my evidence that I have achieved my goal?
How would I know if I were getting my goal?
What would I be doing to get it?
What would I be seeing/hearing/feeling?
What would be a demonstration of it?
The specifics
Where do I want this goal?
Where do I not want this goal?
When do I want this goal?
When do I not want this goal?
With whom do I want this goal?
With whom do I not want this goal?
The actions
What resources can I activate to get this goal?
What resources can I acquire to get this goal?
What can I do?
What can I continue doing?
The future
What will happen if I get this goal?
How will getting this goal affect other aspects of my life?
How does getting this goal benefit me?
What might I lose if it happens?
These questions will really help you define your goals and give you the motivation and a framework to achieve them.
Good luck with your 2011 goal setting. Bear in mind further research on goal setting which concludes that your goal setting will be more effective if you;
- Take action immediately and often to achieve them (obvious but...)
- Tell a supportive friend/colleague/mentor what those goals are
- Regularly update this person on the progress to achieving your goals
Wishing you a happy, healthy and very successful 2011.
Leigh Ashton
The Sales Consultancy
020 7903 5426
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