Productive Goal Setting – Goal-Setting
Productive Goal Setting
There's been a lot written about goal setting and there are many different approaches and methods ? in fact, it's easy to get caught up in the confusion about how to set goals and not end up setting any. These simple steps will help you to set powerful goals and make goal-setting an invaluable part of your life. You'll be amazed at what you can achieve with the help of some well though-out, written goals ? try it!Make a date. Make time in your diary to find a quiet, comfortable location to set your goals. I spend a morning at my favourite table in the tearoom of the Sheraton on the Park (a beautiful hotel in Sydney city) in January every year to review my goals and set new ones for the year ahead.Take five. Create five categories for which to set goals: physical, educational, spiritual, financial, relational. By setting goals for each of these areas of your life, you will be taking a balanced approach and not neglecting any important aspects of your life.Write it. You must write your goals down ? it makes them more powerful. Use positive language ? words like "I will" and "I am" ? this will help you to feel as though you have already achieved your goals and to change your behaviours accordingly, for example, "I am going to the gym three times per week". Make sure you allocate a specific timeframe for the completion of each goal, for example, "By the beginning of March, I am going to the gym three times per week". Now, identify a reward for achieving each goal ? don't just make a list of rewards, relate a specific reward to the achievement of a specific goal. This will inspire you even more toward the achievement of your goal. And finally, list the possible obstacles that will get in the way of you achieving each goal, and how you will overcome these. This will help you to pre-empt the things that might go wrong and immediately swing into action with your solution, rather than giving up on your goal.Share. Make yourself accountable to someone you trust. Share your goals with them and ask them to check in with you regularly to see whether you are on track, and if not, why not.Review constantly. I have been told that the difference between a millionaire and a billionaire is that a billionaire reads their goals twice a day. Simple really. I keep a copy of my goals in several locations around my house (on the bathroom mirror, on the printer, outside the shower screen, on the fridge, on my bedside table and in my wallet), which makes it easy for me to see my goals and be reminded of what I am working towards several times a day.Keep track. When you return to your favourite place next year, review your progress and take the time to feel proud of those goals you achieve before you move on to setting goals for the next year.Neen is a Global Productivity Expert: by looking at how they spend their time and energy ? and where they focus their attention ? Neen helps people to rocket-charge their productivity and performance. A dynamic speaker, author and corporate trainer, Neen demonstrates how boosting your productivity can help you achieve amazing things. With her unique voice, sense of fun and uncommon common-sense, Neen delivers a powerful lesson in productivity. Find out more at http://www.neenjames.com/
Achieve Your Goal – Goal-Setting
Achieve Your Goal
Have you seen those ads that promise to make thousands and millions of dollars over night, they are just hype. You have to do whatever it takes to get where you want to be. Believe me there are no shortcuts. Sorry if I burst your bubble, but I am not trying to sell you anything.I know you might think its too much hassle, you don't have the time for it what ever your doubts, excuses or fears might be, make sure you keep in mind that you are worth it and that in the end it will pay off. Go ahead your self esteem; pride and respect depend on it.I see so many people out there who wish they were movie stars, millionaires, published authors, next Donald Trumps etc. and I think they have potential, most might already act the part. What ever your dream or goal is, I believe that it is attainable as long as you plan ahead and follow trough.By taking and tracking one step at a time you will be able to keep your goal in mind and stay motivated. Think about it, each time you take a step you'll be closer towards it. Want to go back to college but don't have the money? Then you might want to consider one of these choices save money, learn and apply for student loans, scholarships, going to a cheaper school etc.The bottom line is look at your life and your goals? Are you walking towards it? are you where you want to be? if the answer is no, then you need to sit down analyze and outline once you have your master plan follow trough it and when you complete your objective sit down, exhale and celebrate.You can do it,About The AuthorKenia Morales is the publisher of online magazine http://kpatra.com "For Every Aspect of Today's Woman. Visit her site to find a variety of women related issues and topics" click here http://www.kpatra.com/keniascolumn.htm to find Kenia's little piece of heaven her inspirational column.keniamorales@kpatra.com
Goal Setting or How Being SMART Isnt Always the Right Objective – Goal-Setting
Goal Setting or How Being SMART Isnt Always the Right Objective
Over the years much has been written on the subject of goal setting with most conventional wisdom coming down in favour of the SMART objective setting process.SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timebound) has been around since the 1960's and is used by organisations to create effective objectives for themselves and their staff. In fact the SMART objective setting process is taught on many management training programs as the right way to set objectives in any situation.There is, however, a slight failing with the whole idea around SMART objectives which is, to be fair, not a problem with the process but the wider context in which goals are set. All too often organisations set objectives for their staff only to find that in the final analysis that very few have been achieved or even attempted.So, what is the problem with this approach to objectives, and why do they so often fail to capture the imagination of employees? The SMART model is missing two very important elements that will nearly always sabotage the take up of any objectives.WII-FMOften when organisations impose objectives on their staff the initial question that will be raised is 'What's In It For Me?' and in fact this is a perfectly valid question. A goal or objective whether at the corporate or personal level must be something that is a personal objective. It needs to be initiated, understood and bought-in to the individual for whom it is a goal.High level corporate objectives by their very nature are impersonal and as such there is rarely significant buy in from employees. Even objectives that are tied in to personal rewards (such as a bonus) do not have a high buy in factor if they are too impersonal. There needs to be a sense of 'I can make a difference to this' at a personal level for it to really be taken up by staff.It can be often be difficult with corporate objectives around profitability and growth to make these personal, and rightly so. These are corporate, high level objectives and unless an individual is tied in to them in some way (as a shareholder for example) then any attempt to cascade these down to lower levels will fail.The WII-FM issue is for the most part the highest motivator for an individual and a truly effective goal setting strategy takes this into account.Fascinating CaptainThe other and equally important theme missing from the SMART objective setting process is that of interest. For a goal to be really effective and attained it needs to be interesting, exciting and something the individual can get passionate about.Too many goals, especially corporate ones, are lacking in the area of being interesting. For example, an objective on quality will only be pursued by someone who believes that quality is of interest, for those people who believe it to be important (but not interesting) they will try to ensure that the quality doesn't drop but it is unlikely that they will go out of their way to ensure quality improves.Interest in a subject can be generated through corporate reward, however it is rare that this happens as, like the personal side of objective setting, it is outsise the SMART model.PRISM - the lighter side of objective settingThe SMART model is good and has served for a long time, however in todays modern society, with vast tranches of the working population becoming dissatisfied with their lot a new approach to coporate oblective setting is required.The PRISM model covers all 5 points of the old SMART process and adds 2 more. PRISM is an acronym for Personal, Realistic, Interesting, Specific and Measurable.Does this mean that PRISM objectives are not Achievable and Timebound? Not at all, in the PRISM model for an objective to be truly Realistic by definition it has to be Achievable, if it is not achievable then it isn't and could never really be realistic.As for the time element of the objective this is covered by measurable. In a science experiment for something to be measurable it needs a start and an end, in life the same applies, if an objective is to be measured it has to be measured against time as well as any other measure, so in the PRISM model Measurable means against all criteria and not splitting out the time elements.It's all Me, Me, MeThe PRISM model doesn't profess to be the ultimate solution for corporate goal setting woes however the addition of the personal and interest features into the process will add new dimension to the objective setting process and will guarantee that the objective has a considerably higher take up than those set with the SMART model.Corporate goals do not have to be faceless and force fed onto the workforce, by making any objective Personal to the individual and of Interest (with or without reward) then your chances of actually attaining it will dramatically increase.So, next time there is a strategy session and the subject of goals appears, just ask yourself 2 questions, 'What does it do for me?' and 'Just how interested am I in this?', if you can't answer those then perhaps, just perhaps, you need to rethink your goals.More information regarding staff performance, the PRISM