It's 2018 and time to reset. Setting your annual goals is a critical aspect of success. It has been proven that setting goals, visualizing the steps it takes to achieve each and putting timelines on your actions will dictate trajectory.
Goal setting should be personal and done in a manner of complete clarity throughout the process. Bill Gates wrote many years ago about his annual "Think Week", where he would check out and spend 3 days in confinement determining his goals for the year. If this is something that can be achieved we would highly recommend the process.
Many only look at their professional goals as with many roles this is a requirement for your job. We recommend a more well-balanced diet of goal setting focused on not only professional but also personal and charitable objectives to be set.
Professional
Setting your professional goals should be about working backward from where you see yourself next December. The top sales professional, business growth, monetary objectives... All should be selfishly created as a starting point to the "How".
Your goals may span much farther than three targets, but it's important to ensure trackability of the steps it takes to achieve each with a quarterly check-in to self-regulate. We recommend setting a top 3 and from there creating sub-goals or other objectives with less priority can also be leveraged. This will help you stay focused on each with little room to deviate.
Focus on what is in your control, whether its lofty career aspirations or detailed revenue objectives think not only about the end state but the process to achieve your target.
Personal
Carol Dweck the famous author of Growth Mindset said: "Change can be tough, but I've never heard anybody say it wasn't worth it". Setting your personal trajectory for growth should be filled with new aspirations you would like to set out to achieve, experiences and moments that will last far beyond 2018.
Focusing on personal growth whether reading a book a month, learning to cook or spending more time with your family. It's the personal balance that will give you the success in all areas of your life that is important. Most people who set personal goals take their achievements with them for the rest of their life. This is an opportunity to take a small step towards a long-term objective you have always dreamt of accomplishing.
Charitable
The act of giving back is essential no matter what you have. Whether it's your time or money, setting goals to do more to benefit others is the soul to your goals. A favorite quote of Zig Ziglar's "You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want". This is often seen as a mindset to sales, but also should be your objective in life.
Determine a set of charitable goals that elevate you as a person with purpose. Create a nonprofit, serve the homeless, coach a recent college graduate... Just a few ideas to help determine where you spend your time and money to raise the tide for all boats. These goals are often the most fulfilling of them all.
After you have determined the list of goals in all areas of our three pillars, it is critical to keep a regular rhythm to review each. Do monthly reviews to see what has been accomplished and what adjustments need to be made.
One last recommendation that we use in addition to the written goals is to create a vision board to complement those goals. Our brains are visual and creating a board of visual goals you hang in your office will plant those images into your subconscious which will work with you throughout the year.
Its only through structure and discipline can any goal be achieved. Set the trajectory for your year and launch your 2018 goal plan now!
Sales Rake
Looking for a template?: Free 2018 Goal Setting Template