In seeking out the long term goals of a recent client, I asked "where do you want to go?" He paused for a moment and responded "I don't know, I just want to make money." He was moving from sale to sale without much consideration as to what he was working toward other than a nice check.
This is where the power of goal setting comes in. Yes, there are thousands of business books, blogs, articles, etc. about the importance of goal setting and how to do it. There are some good reasons why this continues to be such a popular topic. Namely, goal setting is a corner stone of success. If you don't know where you're going, how are you going to get there? And exactly where is "there?"
The act of sitting down and visually writing down your goals immediately helps you clarify what you want. This gives you a starting place. You can clarify your goals and develop milestones in order to reach the goal, but the act of setting the goal gets you to focus right away on what's important. Once you have the goal in place, you now have a framework to reference when a new project or opportunity comes along; you simply ask yourself "How does this activity help me reach my goal?"
Once this framework is in place, you will find that your time is more productively spent since you are focusing on the things that take you to where you want to be. You'll recognize and seek out opportunities that lend themselves to that process. And you'll feel more energized and purposeful as you move through the day accomplishing tasks and taking care of the little things that will take you to where you want to go.
Goal setting is the first step in self management. Stay tuned for the next post which will focus on planning and time management. Until then, please share any suggestions or expertise!
