Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Enhance the Success of Your New Year’s Goals 3: Goals

SMART GoalsThis continues our series on how the GoalsWork model will help you improve your career

Warren’s career languished. He’d been in the same job, doing the same thing, for 8 years. He kept waiting for management to notice his potential and move him into a better job.

Then, he learned about the GoalsWork model. He realized that he had never decided where he wanted to go. So, he set a SMART goal. He wrote “Work at the corporate headquarters, at pay grade XX, in the XX division, within four years.”

He began to visualize himself, in detail, in that job. Following the GoalsWork model, he achieved his goal six months early.

Words from Walt

You probably notice that I quote a lot from Walt Disney. I admire him as a dreamer who made his dreams a reality. As the song from the Carousel of Progress at Disney World proclaims

“Man has a dream—and that’s the start. He follows his dream with mind and heart. And soon it becomes a reality. It’s a dream come true for you and me.”

He declared “If we can dream it. We can build it.”

Walt also set very specific goals that were relevant to his motto “The inclination of my life—the motto, you might call it—has been to do things and make things which will give pleasure to people in new and amusing ways.”

Set SMART Goals

I like setting SMART goals. I didn’t create it, but I encourage you to set them. SMART goals are:

  • Specific: You will achieve your goals the more clearly you can visualize them. Outline in specific terms what you want to achieve
  • Measurable: Include a measurement in your goal to measure if you achieved it
  • Achievable: While you want to stretch yourself, set goals you can realistically achieve
  • Relevant: Ensure your goal takes you where you want to go, doing what you want to do, & being what you want to be
  • Time-bound: Include a deadline for the goal. Keep working toward the deadline

Friday we explore how others help you achieve goals—especially others who did them already

No comments:

Post a Comment