Situation:
Here it was November again and Billy Bob was reviewing his goals for the year. Frustration began to set in as Billy Bob discovered he missed on both his personal and work goals. Billy Bob was not unique - other sales team members were discovering the same thing. They had missed their goals and missed them badly. All were angry which led Billy Bob to say, "I guess it's best not to have goals - that way I will not be frustrated and upset when I miss them."

Problem:
Each year people start out with the best of intentions when it comes to setting goals. The unfortunate reality is that most goals go unrealized for reasons like: making conditional commitments, failing to define clear values and purpose, and most important of all, failing to understand that goals must be clearly stated, written, consistently reviewed, adjusted, tracked, and announced. Key to the entire process is defeating procrastination by having a yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily plan.

Solution:
Begin by understanding that goals are precise declarations of what you want to achieve in the future. Goals become your statement of intention. Goals are broken down into two types:

When you use your "values compass", goals become your destination which helps to establish a business and life balance. Only when you become crystal clear on where you are going, can you determine the correct path to get there. If you have not taken time to clearly describe and write down SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Trackable) goals, then you will never know when, or if, you have arrived in the correct place. Distinguish between a goal and an activity and make sure your goals are non-routine, high-value, extremely important, and preferable not urgent.

Goals clarify your purpose. They assure that you have chosen the correct tasks. Goals give you the right to say no to tasks that lead you astray from where you want to go. They energize you to move forward with a daily action plan that is linked to your values, vision, and purpose. Goals keep you on the right track. Goals help to determine if you are effective or efficient.

What do we mean by effective or efficient? The "effective person" does the right thing for the "right reason" at the "right time". The "efficient person" also tends to do things right but is activity driven which always creates a sense of being overwhelmed. Take our quick quiz to determine if you lean towards efficient or effective.

Billy Bob and the sales team must also remember that although goals are important, it's the things you learn along the journey that makes you a better person. So this year, instead of beating yourself up for missing some targets, ask yourself, "what did I learn and accomplish, and how can I get even better in the future."