Managment Talks: Setting Goals

What is the purpose of setting goals? At this point, you might be asking yourself: if we can’t plan perfectly, then what is the purpose of goals? If you see your work as a map, your goal is the destination on that map - the big red X showing where you want to get. Although our culture is oversaturated with talk about goal setting, we still fall short of achieving our goals. Distractions, procrastination and lack of prioritization are all villains trying to prevent us from getting where we want. So how can we slay these villains? It's quite simple: by breaking down your goals into tasks with these three easy steps: 1. Establish your goals Of course, before you break down your goals into tasks, you need to have goals. Not just goals, but well-established goals. If your goal is to sell 200 copies of your e-book, for example, what does this mean exactly? Selling 200 copies in a week or in a month? In what country? Does this include repeat purchases? A scientific review of behaviour change in diet and exercise shows that specific, challenging goals lead to better performance than vague goals. It’s very likely that this also applies to areas outside of nutrition and physical exercise. Get crystal clear about what you’re aiming for, and write it down. 2. Create a map of milestones Goals can usually be divided into milestones. Following our earlier example of selling two hundred e-book copies in a month, the milestones would look something like this: • determine the best channels to broadcast and advertise your e-book • determine the best channels to sell your e-book • sell at least 20 copies during the first week Milestones are still big steps, but they help you think of your goals in terms of what you need to achieve them - the logistics. Whether it’s new gear or new knowledge, you can begin to grasp what is necessary to get to each milestone. 3. Come up with a task list Now that you have a map of the milestones you want to achieve, you can come up with a task list. You don’t need to map out your whole goal from the start. Remember, you know less in the beginning than you will ever know. Start with the first milestone and go from there. If your first milestone is to determine the best channels for selling your e-book, here’s where you might start: • describe target customer • interview three target customers to determine which channels they listen to most • determine which channels did best in the past Weekly team task agenda to keep on track In a team setting, it’s important for everyone to be aligned and working towards the same goal. Consider having a weekly team meeting to look at how close you are to achieve your goals. This will allow people to see where the company is, and find ways to adjust where needed. It will also allow team members understand how each of them are contributing to achieving the company’s goals. A time to work, a time to play Sometimes it can seem that taking time off for yourself means you’re betraying your goals. You should be working, not playing. But working too much can drain all energy and creativity - for both individuals and the overall team. Leisure is closely connected to the creative process (the word recreation, a synonym for leisure, basically means returning to a previous state of ‘creation’). Taking time for leisure allows you to generate a positive flow of creative energy. Bringing this energy back to your work will help you to pursue your goals even more passionately.