It would have been interesting to be a ‘fly on the wall’ as the alarm clocks sounded around the country in the bedrooms of all the business owners this morning. For some, they will have leapt out of bed with a feeling of excitement and anticipation, they have the bit between their teeth and can’t wait to take their business to a whole new level in 2015. For others, it may have been totally different, the snooze button may have taken a bit of a battering, the thoughts going through their heads may have been along the lines of, “Here we go…another year in paradise,” they may feel ‘stuck’ and are living a carbon copy life. Been in business 10 years when actually they have been in business one year and just lived it 10 times. So, what is the difference between these two types of business owner?.....A decision.
A decision that things will be different. A decision that they will take ownership for their business results and get out of the blame game. A decision that ‘if it’s to be it’s up to me’. A decision to finally set some compelling goals for the business.
A great many people look upon goals as they do New Year’s resolutions; something we go through the motions of thinking about, but, in the end, they are never given the level of importance they deserve and take a back seat to the urgent, day to day stuff involved in running a business. So the goals get shelved, after all, who wants to be reminded of their failures? That is not good for the self-esteem which is already taking a beating from spending most days dealing with the urgent stuff. The goals get parked in the Someday File.
What if it could be different? What if there was a proven system for goal achievement? Where could you and your business be in a years’ time if you achieved some compelling, stretching and exciting goals over the coming months? Well here is such a system and I know it will work for you because I see it working day in day out for our clients and it helps them achieve remarkable results, year in, year out.
It starts out with challenging yourself to step outside your comfort zone and aim really high. For a great many business owners, goals for business growth will err on the side of caution; for instance, a 10% increase would be seen as a great goal after all why set yourself up for failure. For some if next year is as good as this year they would be happy. The only problem with that is that you can’t stand still in business, just like a tree, your business is either growing or dying. So start by setting goals that are stretching compelling and just a little bit scary. Some of you may have heard of the term BHAG, Big Hairy Audacious Goal. I’m not sure if anybody really wants something big and hairy! So I prefer to think of HUG’s.
Once you have decided on your stretching goal, I want you to start living the achievement of your goal every single day and you do this by visualising yourself having achieved your goal. Imagine how life will be different, how you will be feeling, what will be different in your environment? What new skills or capabilities will you have attained? What new behaviours are you noticing? Your mind cannot distinguish between what’s real and imagined and what you focus on you will manifest to you. So focus on what you want as opposed to the way a great many people focus which is on what they don’t want.
Maintaining motivation can become a challenge and it helps if you understand how you tend to be driven. Do you prefer the positive pull of a goal or objective, or are you driven by the negative consequences of not achieving the goal or objective? Neither way is wrong, it is a fact that some of us do our best work when our backs are to the wall. Once you understand your driver, you can put in place some strategies to help you stay motivated, this could include:
- A reward for achieving the goal.
- A list of reasons why the goal is important. If you don’t know why you want the goal it will be really difficult to achieve it.
- A list of consequences for not achieving the goal
- A forfeit for not achieving the goal
- Let friends, family, team know what you are setting out to do and let them hold you accountable to its achievement
Now it is time to explore various ways you could achieve the goal. It might be that you have to obtain some new knowledge which could involve reading books, attending a workshop or two, researching on the internet. There is a strong probability for most goals that someone has already achieved something similar so learn from others and save yourself the possibility of making the same mistakes they may have made.
Once you have decided how you can achieve the goal, it is time to put in place a plan. How much time are you prepared to put in each and every week in pursuit of the goal in order that you can achieve it in your desired time frame? What are the necessary steps to be taken to achieve the goal? You could think about this in the context of taking a journey in your car. If the journey was for instance from Chester to London, what route will you take? how many times do you plan on stopping for a refreshment breaks? How long will each break last? What time do you need to arrive at each stage of the journey to achieve your goal of arriving in London at your desired time? Are there any other stops you want to make on the journey? As with a great many journeys and indeed plans things outside your control can come along to slow you down or take you off route, traffic, road works, etc so it is always useful to have some alternative strategies in reserve for these type of events commonly known as plan B. A word of caution here, if you continually find yourself reverting to plan B then you may need to check two things your commitment to the goal and whether or not your plan A contains the correct strategies. If you look at any successful person or company the one thing they are clear on is what they want and they don’t let anything get in the way of their pursuit of that objective.
You have decided your destination (your HUG), have a step by step plan for the journey, and have in place motivation strategies and a reward for achieving the goal.
All that is left now is to give it some momentum. What is the first step you need to take to start the journey? What are the weekly and daily to do's and indeed not to do's that will continue to move you in the direction of achieving your goal?
A key step here is to keep the goal visible make sure you are checking in with it a least twice daily and visualising the achievement of the goal. Having it written down and displayed is a great way of keeping you reminded of the goal on a day to day basis. This also has the added incentive that if you ever feel yourself flagging or being indecisive you can ask yourself, “Is what I am doing now taking me in the right direction to achieve my goal? “ Alternatively, consider having someone to hold you accountable to the goal as already mentioned that could be a family member, a friend, a member of your team or you might be time for you to work with a Coach.
A tool that our clients find really useful to keep their goals visible is our HUG Planning Sheet (Drop me a line if you want a copy).
I remember a mentor of mine Keith Cunningham saying “Hell on earth would be to meet the business person you could have become!” Following the above steps will make sure that doesn't ever happen to you.
Thoughts:
“New year, new dreams, new choices, new decisions, new opportunities – how exciting!”…Bev James
“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new”….Albert Einstien
“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars”…Les Brown
“Success isn’t a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire”…Arnold H. Glasgow
If you would like to explore the possibility of working with Kevin or Susan as your Business/Executive Coach or would like some training for team simply drop us an email at info@mpcforprofit.com or call the office on 0151 348 1202 and we can pop a date in the diary for a coffee and a chat that just might Grow your profit, Transform your business and Change your life.
Dedicated to your success
Susan
Business Performance Coach
"Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?" said Alice
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to" said the Cheshire cat.
"I don't much care where..." said Alice.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go’
Telephone 0151 348 1202 / 07802 434 872
Growing Your Profit, Transforming Your Business, Changing Lives
www.mpcforprofit.com
I agree with your article with the proviso that the goals or objectives need to be SMART. I know all about working smarter rather than harder but some people can become overwhelmed by this. It is crucial to maintain your health whilst you are working.
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