Business coach Tom Callos says that people make three basic mistakes when setting goals for themselves and their businesses. First, they set their short-term goals too high. This leads to burnout and discouragement. Second, they set their long-term goals too low. This means, overall, people accomplish far less than they are capable of. Third, they abandon their plans as soon as unanticipated problems appear. According to Callos, the purpose of setting goals and planning their accomplishment is to give a framework that allows both realistic expectations and easier navigation of problems as they appear.
Setting Goals
Step 1
Set a goal. "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" author Stephen Covey writes that an effective goal is expressed in concrete, measurable terms with a defined end. For example, "sell more books" is concrete and measurable, but has no defined end. "Sell 100,000 more books by the end of the business year" is better expression of the same idea.
Step 2
Write your goal down. Post it someplace you will see it every day. Callos recommends posting it, or even writing it with dry-erase marker, on your bathroom mirror. This means you'll see it every morning and every night.
Step 3
Set benchmarks for your goal, each with its own deadline to accomplish. If you gave yourself 10 months to sell 100,000 books, you might set benchmarks at 25,000, 50,000 and 75,000 books. Depending on your understanding of sales trends, you might divide those evenly along a timeline, or set them to take advantage of normal hills and valleys in your sales year.
Step 4
List the actions you need to take in order to meet your benchmark goals.
Step 5
Plan and schedule how and when you will take each action item on your list.
Step 6
Follow your plan as exactly as circumstances allow.
Dealing With Problems
Step 1
Identify the problem. Callos advises that many people encounter difficulty in problem solving because they're trying to fix a symptom of the problem, rather than the problem itself.
Step 2
Brainstorm solutions to the problem. If possible, do this with a team of people knowledgeable about both the problem and its context.
Step 3
Select one solution. Treat that solution as a goal and run it through the same process you did for your original goal.
Step 4
Work your solution plan. If it works, adjust your goal's benchmarks to account for the hiccup. If not, repeat step three with another solution from your brainstorming session.
References
- Tom Callos; Small Business Consultant; New Way Network; Hilo, HI
- "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People"; Stephen Covey; 1990
- "Getting Things Done"; David Allen; 2006
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