Thursday, September 9, 2010

If I Ran My House Like I Run My Home Business

This is what it would look like:

1. I would be mission driven.
2. I would not give up.
3. I would have a sense of urgency.
4. I would be able to discern between income-producing activities and time wasters.
5. I would take responsibility for communicating clearly.
6. I would be courteous.
7. I would establish efficient systems.
8. I would show up consistently.
9. I would celebrate success.
10. I would have clearly defined goals that are broken down into specific, daily, measurable tasks.
11. I would have a budget.
12. I would have a servant's heart.
13. I would try to continually improve.
14. I would seek out the best people for my team.
15. I would innovate.
16. I would lead by example.

H/T: Mary Lee

Goals Need Tending

Write Your Goals Down:  
Writing your goals is the first step to reaching them. Then take those first steps and simply keep going.
I think that writing goals by hand (the old fashioned way) rather than using a computer is kinestetically pleasing -- you own it.
Have you ever heard the expression, "Lead, follow or get out of the way."
When I coach people I invite them to learn how I run my business (follow) and I match their efforts. 
Soon they are taking leadership roles (lead)
 
Have A Deadline: Goals without a deadline are not helpful. You must set a deadline. The deadline can  be a year from the today or next week.  
I always encourage re-assessment at appropriate intervals so that goal time lines can be tweaked.
Goals without deadlines are just dreams.

Have Realistic Goals: The goals must be realistic. A goal with no relevance to your life and no plan to create relevance is destined to fail.  A goal that has dis-congruity between desired end and either ability and/or plan of action must be re-drafted so that it is achievable.

For example:
  • If a non runner's goal is, "I will run the 10K one year from today and finish it," they must plan to train properly to achieve that goal.
  • If the goal of a tone deaf performer is to win American Idol next year -- that is a recipe for failure. 
  • If the goal is to reach a six figure income in 6 months by working 2 hours a day, the ratio of time to desired achievement should probably be changed!
The assessment of the feasibility of a goal by a qualified is prudent.
That non runner needs to find a running club or personal trainer, 
The tone deaf performer might consider another venue for different talents and a mentor in the field of music can help them with that decision.  :-)
The goal of a 6 figure income with such a small amount time towards the goal is unrealistic in any legitimate and ethical situation. A mentor in the field can help that person set realistic, achievable goals.

In my business we have a mentor for each new business person. That mentor can help the newby pull up stats and audited statistics, work to pay ratios and advancement plans.
Having a qualified mentor is priceless!
 
Write goals in future tense: When crafting your goal statement, always use the word "I" in the sentence because it brands it as your own. Branding a goal as your own adds to the emotional fuel that drives you to achieve your goal.

Make Them Specific: Make your goals very specific. Don't have a goal like ‘I want to drive a good car in 2 years'. Write down exactly what car you want to drive in 2 years. This will put a monetary value to your good car goal as well. So you will know how much you need to save to reach your goal. I found that even posting pictures of the new car I want up at my desk to remind me and to keep me focused on it.
Make Them Detailed: Write down the steps you need to take to reach your goal. Without the path how will you get to the destination? You have to write down a detailed goal plan and the way you want to get there. I like to break my goals down into small steps.

Finally
Monitor and review your progress periodically. This is very important. If you just set a goal and forget about it then there is no point. You have to go back and see where you are regularly.


SMART Goals: A useful way of making goals more powerful is to use the abbreviation S.M.A.R.T. While there are plenty of variants, SMART usually stands for:
S=Specific
M=Measurable
A=Attainable
R=Relevant
T=Time-Bound


H/T: Laura Gelnett @ http://wahguidebook.blogspot.com/