Have you ever really looked at what it takes to attain a goal? It's easy to make a goal and then go to work towards it but it's really only half the exercise. You need to break it down. What are the component parts of the goal and what are all of the steps needed to attain it?Once you start working out the actual steps and any numbers associated with attaining the goal, beef up your numbers because I can almost equivocally assure you that your numbers will be low. People are masters at underestimating what is needed to attain a goal. You need to do your homework upfront, work out the actions needed and work out the correct effort needed to attain the goal. If you feel you have overestimated it, that's OK because it means your either right on track or you may produce slightly more which is a plus-point. So for your next project or goal, take some time to plan what it takes to make it happen. Don't just write down the plan or goal and then start pursuing it. Work out all of the actions to pull it off. This will help shift your reality and open your eyes to the work involved to make it happen. You can then plan and predict better and execute the actions needed which will make the target infinitely easier to attain and the overall probability of attainment will skyrocket.
- Robert Cornish
CEO, Richter10.2 Media Group
Curious that you posted this today, as I last night authored a post on the same topic - albeit on the subject of setting & achieving goals for a family (http://bit.ly/AdminScale) -- the approach & technology is the same though, and it is immensely important to decompose one's goals into doable and real actions you can then take.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I'd also add that it's important to first make sure that one's goal is clearly articulated - a goal that's ambiguous and not fully "named" will be a rough one to reach indeed.