Is Goals Setting Really That Important For Business Success?

Why is GOAL Setting so important?

If you think of your goal as a target you need to hit.

The best-case scenario is you hit the target right on the bullseye

Worst-case scenario, miss it altogether.

Either way, you are closer to the goal that you would have been without a target to aim for?

That’s why so many people feel as if they’re adrift in their career or business, in life for that matter.

They work hard, but they don’t seem to get anywhere worthwhile.

A key reason that they feel this way is that they haven’t spent enough time thinking about what they want from life, and haven’t set themselves written goals.

“All who have accomplished great things have had a great aim, have fixed their gaze on a goal which was high, one which sometimes seemed impossible.”

After all, would you set out on a major journey with no real idea of your destination? Probably not!

World-class athletes and all successful business people achieve a high level of success by setting, planning and defining their goals.

Goals setting, planning & defining provides you with a long-term vision but short-term motivation – the perfect way to stay energised, organised and focused.

A recent Harvard Business School survey found that without goals setting & planning, just 3% of people achieved their New Year goals – that’s an astonishing 97% that end in failure within the first 4 to 6 weeks.

So WHY if we have resounding evidence of the power and motivation of setting goals do we still fail to see them through.

The real answer is, your probably doing it all wrong.

Goals setting, planning & defining should be an easy process, well at least once you know what you’re doing.

The problem is most people are doing it wrong, make it too complicated or set their goals way too small or realistic as some would say.

My own viewpoint on a REALISTIC goal is this: I would rather miss my £250K goal by 30% than miss my £120K goals by 20%, SIMPLE!

All Goals are realistic if you are willing to put in the effort.

Those who set goals, plan them and put them into action can:

Focus on what they need to do, not want they want to do!
Enjoy more fruitful personal and family relationships
Have lower stress levels
Live longer and healthier lives
Have a planned purpose in life
Advance more rapidly in their chosen careers or business
Make more money, faster than ever before

How to Set a Goal

First, consider what you want to achieve, and then commit to it. Set SMT (specific, measurable, and time-bound) goals that motivate you and write them down to make them feel tangible.

Then plan the steps you must take to realise your goal, and cross off each one as you work through them.

Goal setting is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal future, motivating yourself to turn your vision of this future into reality and to keep you moving forward.

Goals setting is a systemised, consistent and persistent process, it takes time, however by taking small specific daily actions you end up with massive results over time.

The process of setting goals helps you choose where you want to go in life. By knowing precisely what you want to achieve, you know where you have to concentrate your efforts. You’ll also quickly spot the distractions that can, so easily, lead you astray.

Why Set Goals?

Top-level athletes, successful businesspeople and achievers in all fields all set goals. Setting goals gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation. It focuses your acquisition of knowledge and helps you to organise your time and your resources so that you can make the most of your life.

By setting sharp, clearly defined goals, you can measure and take pride in the achievement of those goals, and you’ll see forward progress in what might previously have seemed a long pointless grind. You will also raise your self-confidence, as you recognise your own ability and competence in achieving the goals that you’ve set.

“You have to set goals that are almost out of reach. If you set a goal that is attainable without much work or thought, you are stuck with something below your true talent and potential.”

SMT Goals: A useful way of making goals more powerful is to use my SMT process, SMT stands for:

S – Specific (or Significant).
M – Measurable (or Meaningful)
T – Time-bound (or Trackable).

For example, instead of having “to sail around the world” as a goal, it’s more powerful to use the SMT goal “To have completed my trip around the world by December 31, 2020.

As you make this technique part of your daily life, you’ll find your career or business accelerating at a faster pace than ever before, and you’ll wonder how you did without it!

So start 2021 by setting and planning real goals with real results!

The Power Within IGNITE: Goal Setting Strategy Sessions can help you set realistic goals for real life and, give you the power and process to achieve them.

Goal Setting, Defining & Planning will help you to:

Develop a positive mental strategy and business focus
Set specific goals based on desired outcomes, timelines and results
Refine and develop these goals as your business progresses
Understand the planning process to identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT)
Recognise and prioritise your High Payoff Activities (HPA)
Create daily, weekly and monthly action plans
Become accountable for your actions