Most people have goals – even if they are only in their head. What is the difference between those who achieve their goals, and those who don’t? Do you really need to spend weeks refining your goals every year? Are certain types of goals better than others? What are SMART goals? What are HARD goals? What are BHAGs?
These and other mysteries addressed this week at Wily Manager.
Monday’s Tip: Write down your goals. It is less important what format or method you use to articulate your goals, but it is critical that you write them down.
Tuesday’s Tip: Don’t have too many goals. You should have somewhere between 3 and 8 goals at any given time. If you have upwards of this, you end up with a list of things that do not delineate what is important.
Wednesday’s Tip: Don’t be too narrow in your focus. If you only have one goal, you need to look more broadly at your business. While improving revenue or production is an important goal, you must have some goals that articulate how you will do those things effectively.
Thursday’s Tip: Be specific with your goals. “Increase revenue” is not a goal, it is a wish. You need to articulate by how much and in what time. For example, “Increase revenue by 4% in the next fiscal period”, is more specific.
Friday’s Tip: Breach your comfort zone. Great things only occur when people are willing to take risks and breach their comfort zones. Caution: attempting to get 100 hours work done in 40 hours is NOT a stretch goal – it is insanity. Find something inspiring and create a stretch goal.