Smart Goal Setting

Set goals that you will actually achieve

Goal setting is something that is attempted by a lot of individuals and organizations with varying amounts of success, but usually not even close to the levels that they would like.

You can leverage the layout and organizational capabilities of NovaMind to develop goals and associated action plans that will rocket your success to new heights!

Mental attitude

One of the really big things about setting suitable goals is approaching the goal setting process in the right mental attitude. If you approach the exercise with an unwilling frame of mind, or feel under pressure to "get something out" in a limited amount of time, or if you feel under pressure by a crisis situation, you are not likely to develop good goals and plans to achieve them. You would be likely to develop plans aimed at getting away from something bad rather than having goals that inspired you and those in your company to reach higher and achieve more.

In order to be in the right state of mind, you need to be in a relaxing but business-like environment - this is not a time to be going to sleep, but nor is it a time to have emails and phone calls and interruptions breaking your train of thought.

Now you need to think of some of the successes you have had in the past, and see how you have overcome obstacles, and your business and you personally have advanced, even sometimes in the face of adversity. Remember both big and small successes. Write them down and read them out to reinforce them by hearing, writing, speaking and being physically involved. If you are in a group, going through a strategic goal setting session, you should all take turns in reading out something that the company has achieved so that you are all in a good frame of mind.

These successes need to be on your Mind Map so they remain in front of you all the time - you can't build on failures; you build on success, and you need to leverage every success to the maximum.

Choice of Goals

Obviously the reason for the goal setting session is going to have an impact on the goals you set, but the following are some of the ideals for setting goals that will be achieved:

The goals are something that you want to achieve, rather than something that you feel that you are obliged or forced to do.

You should be inspired and motivated by the goals - your enthusiasm will carry to your communications and body language when you are bringing other people on board.

The goals are challenging worthy goals, but not impossible.

Achieving the goals is something in your control, and not dependent on some unlikely external event.

You have a clear way of measuring whether you have achieved the goals, and preferably have measurements along the way telling you whether you are heading in the right direction.

SMART goals

This is an acronym to help with your goal setting:

S: Specific

M: Measurable

A: Achievable

R: Realistic

T: Within a defined timeframe.

You can use this as a checklist to make sure that you goals are appropriately defined.

Achieving your Goals

Make sure your goals are represented on a Mind Map which shows the goals and objectives clearly as well as how they are going to be achieved. Make certain that the reason why you are going for these goals is very clear. This will make a dramatic difference in getting other people on board with your vision - they will be able to see why it is happening and how they can contribute, and feel a sense of ownership of the outcomes.

Visualize the achievement of the goals, and what that will mean for you personally, for others who are involved and for the company. Commit to achieving the goals and start the momentum by acting on the goals you have decided straight away.

Review your progress on a regular basis to make sure you are advancing, and that the reason why you are working towards those goals is still clear in the minds of all those involved.

If you encounter problems achieving the goal, treat it as a learning situation and change your strategy for achieving the goals without changing the goals themselves unless something that you have uncovered by your actions has made it clear that the goals need to be altered.

When you achieve your desired outcome, celebrate, and record your success, what you did right, and what you could improve on next time. Make sure you leverage each success to its maximum.