It’s That Time of Year Again

Published by kes-admin on December 7, 2016December 7, 2016

With 2016 coming to a close, most business owners should be looking back at their goals to see where they stand.  Did you accomplish what they set out to do?  If so, GREAT!  If not, why not?  Were your goals achievable?  Maybe you were not specific enough with what you were looking to do.  Did you give it an appropriate time frame?  Goals are something we always talk about in business, but often we don’t know how to set them where they can help us.

I would love to ask the readers to comment on what they do to set their goals and how you track them?  I ask this of business owners and just anyone in general.  Do you write them down?  If so, where (notebook, computer, whiteboard, etc.)  How do you keep track of them and know if you are on the right path?

Goals that are not written down (just kept in your head) are more like dreams than an actual goal.  Goals have exact steps laid out to give you a better chance of accomplishing them.  Without some direction, where do you go?  Do you even really know where it is you are looking to go?  You can start general with laying them out, but then go back to them and get more specific with what you are looking for and what steps you think you need to take to get there.  You will not always come up with the perfect roadmap, but that is why you re-visit your goals and determine if you need to make changes.  Changes will always be necessary as you will never know everything ahead of time.  If we did, life would be pretty dull.  You have to adapt to the changes in industry or even your personal life.  Just writing something down at the beginning of the year is not enough, and sadly most don’t even do that.

Take the coming of the new year to heart and set some S.M.A.R.T. Goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound).  Write them down, study them, re-visit them and start moving forward.  You need to start holding yourself accountable.  If you can’t hold yourself accountable, which is VERY DIFFICULT to do, then find someone that can.  There are several ways to do this:  Peer Groups, Consultants, Coaches, etc.  Remember, the most exceptional performers crave accountability!