1. Setting goals is easy but achieving them isn't. That's why setting "SMART" goals - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely - is the first step in making your goal a reality.
Make your goal as Specific as possible and express it in positive terms. Do you want to stop losing money or do you want to start making money? How much money do you want to make?
How do you Measure success? You'll need a way to evaluate your progress and determine if you're moving towards your goal. For example, if you want to improve your finances, then you should have a way of keeping track of income and expenses.
Is your goal Achievable? Consider whether you have the resources necessary to achieve your goal. If not, you need to determine if you can assemble everything required to streamline your process. Remove any obstacles before you get started!
Realistic goals are achievable goals, unrealistic goals are just dreams. It's not necessary to be negative but take time to honestly evaluate whether you're being realistic. Losing 30 pounds in 2 weeks is not impossible but it's not very likely and certainly not healthy.
Make your goal Timely by stating a due date for your goal AND the action steps involved in achieving it.
2. Align your goals with your values. If your goal doesn't reflect your beliefs and character then you'll have difficulty achieving it. And even if you do manage to get what you want, you won't be very happy. Set a goal which is meaningful to you and be clear about the consequences of your outcome.
3. Share your goals with three to five key people. Not everyone needs this strategy with every goal but almost everyone can benefit from it at some point. Finding supportive, positive people is key because you certainly don't need anyone sabotaging your progress.
4. Assemble everything you need before you need it. This prep work is vital in eliminating the frustrating and time consuming "running around" which can derail your progress later on.
5. Minimise potential challenges. There are 3 key ways to prevent overconfidence and poor planning from creating obstacles down the line:
- Create a complete, measurable, action plan which includes all the steps necessary to achieve your goal. Don't forget due dates for each step.
- Incorporate all your actions into your schedule. Add them to your calendar with anywhere from 10-20% flextime to help you control any unexpected delays.
- Regularly evaluate your progress. You may need to make changes or adjustments as your project takes shape. Anticipate them so you won't get blind-sided.
6. Complete at least one action per day. Consistent actions will propel you towards your goal. Even choosing a small task will make a dent in your to-do list and may motivate you to do even more.
7. Establish a support system. Who or what can provide you with encouragement, advice, healthy feedback or a willing ear?
8. Reward Yourself. Don't wait until you achieve your goal, especially if it's a long-term one. Reward yourself as you reach certain milestones. Something as simple as scheduling time for yourself or perhaps a special treat that you've felt guilty about indulging in can keep you motivated to keep going.
Merlyn Sanchez, Business Coach and Marketing Consultant teaches small business owners, consultants, and other solopreneurs how to attract more clients, make more sales and have more time to enjoy their lives. For a free report outlining the "8 SMART Strategies that Successful Business Owners Use to Attract More Clients", visit: http://www.smartbusinessowners.com 
By Duncan Haughey, PMP
Once you have planned your project, turn your attention to developing several goals that will enable you to be successful. Goals should be SMART - specific, measurable, agreed upon, realistic and time-based.
A goal might be to hold a weekly project meeting with the key members of your team or to organise and run a continuous test programme throughout the project.
The acronym SMART has a number of slightly different variations, which can be used to provide a more comprehensive definition for goal setting:
S - specific, significant, stretching
M - measurable, meaningful, motivational
A - agreed upon, attainable, achievable, acceptable, action-oriented
R - realistic, relevant, reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented
T - time-based, timely, tangible, trackable
This provides a broader definition that will help you to be successful in both your business and personal life.
When you next run a project take a moment to consider whether your goals are SMART goals.
SMART Goals
Specific
- Well defined
- Clear to anyone that has a basic knowledge of the project
Measurable
- Know if the goal is obtainable and how far away completion is
- Know when it has been achieved
Agreed Upon
- Agreement with all the stakeholders what the goals should be
Realistic
- Within the availability of resources, knowledge and time
Time Based
- Enough time to achieve the goal
- Not too much time, which can affect project performance
Leaders of all industries know the importance of setting achievable and effective goals for themselves. These goals are termed SMART goals. Goals are one of the most underutilised yet important tools that businesses have. Once the main outline of your project has been set, your attention needs to be turned towards developing certain goals that can help make your project a success. The SMART goals checklist can be used to evaluate the set of goals to be used. This process can help the employees as well as the employers share a certain understanding of how the goals have been set and how they are to be achieved.
SMART goals should be:
Specific: A precise goal has a greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. When charting out a specific goal make sure to specify what needs to be done and within what time frame. In order to set a specific goal you should know what you want. You need to ask yourself certain questions like:
- Who is involved?
- What do I want to achieve?
- Where do I need to do this?
- When should I be able to complete it?
- What are the requirements and constraints?
- Why am I doing this?
An example of a specific goal would be some thing like "Join a Gym and workout 4 days a week."
Measurable: Concrete evidence needs to be established in order to measure the progress you made towards attaining your goals. Measuring your progress enables you to stay on track, to meet your targets and to experience the excitement of achievement that encourages you. While setting up measurable goals you need to ask yourself questions like:
- How much?
- How many?
- How will I know when it is done?
An example of a measurable goal is "Edit 12 articles by the end of each workday."
Attainable: If you have partial blindness and you think you can become a pilot then you might have to rethink this goal. You need to set goals for yourself that are attainable and not out of reach. Setting unattainable goals is a recipe for disappointment and failure. Even difficult, long-term goals can be made attainable by planning steps wisely and creating a time frame for yourself in order to carry out those steps.
Realistic: You need to be both willing and able to work towards achieving your goals. This would make it a realistic goal. By setting unrealistic goals for yourself you would probably give up very soon. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide how high your goal needs to be. If you truly believe you can achieve your goal then it would be termed as a realistic goal. Another way of knowing if your goal is realistic is to think back and determine whether you have accomplished something similar in the past.
Timeline: All goals should have a set time in which you choose to achieve them. This ensures that you don't get lazy and keeps pushing you on further to meet your targets. Also you need to make sure that your timeline is realistic.
Business coaching focuses on helping a business owner create a business plan with its own identity. Business coaching involves teaching, helping, directing and encouraging individuals with their business problems. Business coaching is applicable to any field of commerce and it involves helping certain individuals with problems regarding business start-ups or with problems within the enterprise itself. Coaching enables you to gain clarity in your business planning which leads to progress towards your goals.
Your business coach can help you develop and achieve your SMART goals. Take the next step and contact a qualified business coach - in fact, make that a goal!
Visit www.businesscoach.com. for more information, free articles and be sure to sign up for our newsletter. BusinessCoach.com is a full service Business Coaching firm, founded in 1989 and based on the philosophy of Gary B. Henson, an entrepreneur and business owner for over 25 years. Chari Darneal is Vice President and Senior Business Coach. Our clients manage anywhere from five to 500 employees each, and cover more than 60 industries.
