Creating Well-Defined Goals

In a previous article, we talked about the value that comes from being able to recognize your own success through clearly defined goals and plans. This time, we’ll talk about how to create well-defined goals that help you to ensure that you’ll get there.

The first step in any goal-setting process is to understand and be able to clearly articulate what you value and how that translates into life, career and achievement goals. Most of us have a pretty good handle on what we value, but few of us take the time to create a template that outlines this in concrete ways. For example, some people value achievement for its own sake while others value achievement for what it brings with it, such as financial reward. Here’s where you need to be really honest with yourself about what is and isn’t important to you.

• Make a list of the things that bring you satisfaction and joy. Seriously, write these things down. There is enormous power in putting pen to paper and “declaring” yourself. (e.g., I enjoy filling a job order.)
• For each item, identify the motivating factor behind it. (Because the customer is happy and will likely use our service again.)
• For each motivating factor, ask, “Why does that matter?” (Because I want to build my business.)
• Keep asking, “Why does that matter?” until there are no more ways to answer it. (Because I’d like to earn more money; because I’d like to have a big nest egg as I get older; because I want to travel when I retire at age 55.)
• Tuck this list away where you can get to it periodically – say once a year – because it becomes your “touchstone” – your point of reference for whether you are doing things in your daily life that support your values or conflict with them.

Recognize, too, that as life events happen, your values may shift. When someone gets married, has children, gets a big promotion, loses someone close to them – all of these are pivotal events that tend to make you look at your life in different terms. While some change is necessitated by these pivotal events, think twice about a “total life makeover.” It’s helpful to use a time-based review at every three to five years as a way of ensuring that you don’t make decisions based purely on raw emotion.

So one of the things this person values is earning enough money now to be able to retire at age 55 and travel the world. That’s the big goal. You’ll know if you are successful when you are packing your bags for a trip to Venice on your 55^th birthday, right? OK, so it sounds a little vague and overwhelming taken as a single statement, and maybe a bit unrealistic too.

Making Big Goals Manageable

Here’s where we can begin to see the value in clearly defining plans and in “chunking” the goal into smaller, more manageable and more achievable pieces. Here’s how:

1. Brainstorm. Really – take a great big sheet of blank paper, like a flipchart page, and write your Big Goal at the top, for example “Retire at age 55 with sufficient funds to travel the world in style.”

Under that, brainstorm the things you could do to support getting there, using the simple question “What can I do to make this happen?” followed by “What else?” until you exhaust your idea supply. Some examples might include “save more of what I earn” or “earn a promotion that will help contribute to better income” or “manage my cash flow more effectively” or “reduce my long-term debt” or “make the kids pay for their own college expenses.” – Hey we’re brainstorming here –anything goes! If this goal involves others, get them to be part of this exercise. Ideas beget other ideas.

2. Evaluate your brainstorming, identifying ideas that feel realistic and in alignment with your values. Reject ideas that don’t fit the “realistic” criteria, as they will do nothing but add frustration and divert your attention from things that can really help! For example, “Play the lottery using 15% of my income to win a gazillion dollars” is not a realistic or likely achievable goal. That’s one you can just dream about, but don’t make it part of your vision!

3. For each idea or item, create a goal statement about what it “looks like” when you achieve it, for example “Automatically deposit 5% of my net income from every paycheck into a dedicated, untouchable savings account, starting on the 15^th of this month. ” Use the SMART formula as a way of testing the quality of your statement:

S – Is it specific? (Detailed, visible, behavior-based)

M – Is it measurable? (Quantifiable, “is” or “isn’t”)

A – Is it action-oriented? (Can you identify steps in making it happen?)

R – Is it realistic? (Have you taken into account limitations or issues that may present roadblocks?)

T – Is it timely? (Are there milestones and deadlines; is now the right time for this goal or plan?)

We’ve used a couple of terms in this article and the previous one that some people may find interchangeable, and you might be asking “Is there really a difference between a goal, a goal statement and an action plan?” For purposes of clarity and specificity, we’d like to define them thus:

• Goal - the Big Idea that keeps you moving forward, i.e. “Retire at age 55 with sufficient funds to travel the world in style.”
• Goal Statement - the more defined, specific expression of commitment that helps you to identify your progress toward the Big Idea, i.e. “Automatically deposit 5% of my net income from every paycheck into a dedicated, untouchable savings account, starting on the 15^th of this month. ”
• Action Plan – the nuts and bolts strategies and tactics you employ to achieve the specifics you outline in your Goal Statements, i.e. “Contact the Payroll Department to get a Direct Deposit Authorization change form.”

For each goal statement that you decide is viable, is in alignment with your values and meets the SMART formula criteria, create an honest-to-goodness action plan. We’ll tackle the details of how to do that in another article. For now, invest a few moments in yourself to get a handle on the two or three personal goals and two or three professional goals that drive and motivate you.