“You can’t keep doing the same thing everyday and expect different results. … In order for your life to change, you must change, to the degree that you change your actions … If you can do these two things, success will be yours!”
– Albert Einstein
It is the beginning of a new year and many of us begin to think about what we can do better or differently. To make successful goals though, we have to consciously change our behaviors and habits.
To get you started on the right foot, here is a list of 3 steps for successful goal setting.
- Take some time to seriously think about what changes you want to make. Changes or goals could include starting your own business, becoming a better manager or a being a successful leader. Write down the changes you would like to make and the reasons behind each change. By writing down the reason for making the change, it helps you understand the importance of why you want to make a change. For example, you want to start your own business because you have a great service or product you want to offer. You may want to become a better leader because you want to help the people who work with you to grow in their skills and knowledge.
- Once you have your changes and their reasons in writing, you want to break down each change or goal into smaller steps. These are the steps to success. For example, for starting our own business you may have steps such as checking with the county clerk to register your business name, or find a way to advertise your product or service through social media, in the local paper or in person, or completing a business plan. To become a better leader steps may include sitting down with employees to see what their goals in the company are, or become less of a micro-manager and allow employees to make decisions about their own processes, or involving employees more in the decision-making process. You don’t need every step written down or a lot of steps, but what you want to do is to break down what you want to change so it is not so overwhelming. It is much easier to work on a small step towards a large goal.
- Once you have your list of steps under the changes you want to make, then take the first step. If a step is to set up your Facebook page to attract customers, do it! If a step is to begin a process with employees that will open the lines of communications between the two of you, make the appointment with the first employee. Each small step will take you closer to your ultimate change or goal. As you complete each step, cross each item off your list to give yourself a sense of accomplishment and incentive to continue. At the end of each week, take a look at your list. What did you complete or not complete. Do you have items that were more difficult than you thought they would be? If not, good for you! Keep going or add new changes and goals to your list. If you are having trouble completing an item on your list under a goal maybe that item needs breaking down into smaller items that would be easier to complete. Keep working on your list under each goal or change, crossing off items or adding new items each week. Before long you will notice you are well on your way to successfully reaching your goals.
Use this process for goal setting and for making any changes you would like to reach. The process of writing goals down and taking smaller steps to reach them gives your mind a path to follow towards success. This process has worked for me and it can work for you too.
Have you found these steps to reaching your goals helpful? Let me know what you think and if you have used different strategies to help you meet your goals.
Hi, I’m Karen. Welcome to my website! I will show you how to establish the framework for an organized and successful leadership and office management system.
