Five steps to achieve your goals
Everyone has heard of goal setting. There are plenty of books and courses about how to set goals. But it’s not SETTING goals that we want – we want to ACHIEVE the goals we set. Don’t get me wrong, setting goals is a critical part of the process, but, most importantly, how can you actually achieve that goal that you’ve set?
Being clear is the key: not only on what your goal is, but having a plan to get there.
Here are five steps that you can take to achieve your business goals.
Step 1: set your goals
This is a vital part of achieving any goal. Without this step you can’t achieve the goals because you don’t have a clear idea of what they are or how to measure them. I advise my coaching clients to set SMART goals:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Results-based
Time frame
Being clear is the key: not only on what your goal is, but having a plan to get there.
Step 2: have a clear plan
Now that you’ve got clear goals, you need to plan the steps that you and your business need to take in order to reach the goals.
- Figure out what actions are needed to achieve the goal.
- Identify the things that will help you to achieve your goal, and those things that will hinder you.
- Consider obstacles, threats and opportunities.
- Make a step-by-step plan, outlining the actions you need to take.
- Set some milestones and dates that you’ll reach them and remember to plan for things to go off-plan!
Step 3: execute your plan
Now that you have a plan you are way ahead of most people who simply set goals. But having a plan doesn’t mean you’ll achieve your goals. You need to take action, step by step. If you want the results, you need to actually DO what is in your plan. Block out time each week to implement your plan.
Step 4: measure your results
While you are working through your plan, how will you know that you are on course to achieving your goals?
Simple. By measuring your results. Usually people measure with their ‘gut feel’: they feel that their efforts are working or not working.
But it’s important to get a more accurate measure. What are the numbers telling you? You need the numbers for feedback, so you can know to change something or to keep doing what you’re doing. Often when people get a ‘gut feel’ that things aren’t working, they scrap their plan or chase a completely different goal – that’s why the next step is the most crucial of all.
Step 5: review & correct
If results tell us that we are off-course, all we need to do is simply review our plan and bring it back on course. You don’t have to necessarily change your goal. Sometimes it’s just a simple adjustment to the plan. The key to achieving your goals is CORRECTION. That way you stay on course. When we first aimed to reach the moon, we were off course 90% of the time. To get to back on course, they had to correct their direction based on the environmental feedback. Your business is no different.
Measure along the way. Keep correcting until you hit your goal.
If you follow these five simple steps, you will start to achieve your goals. You’ll achieve goals quicker as you listen to the feedback. The better you get at listening for feedback and correcting your course based on it, the quicker you will reach your goal.
Rueben Taylor, business mentor, educator, businesswealtheducators.com.au
