Goal Setting Basics

Many of us set goals.  Around New Year’s time, most of us take it to the level of resolutions. Many people I talked to seem to make the same goals and resolutions yearly – year after year.  So, this article, while elementary, will address some of the basics of setting goals.

First, you need to have a goal, and you do – even if you don’t know it.  As a matter of fact, you have many goals.  You just don’t think of them as such.  Think about all of the things you set out to do.  It may be as simple as just getting to a meeting on time, or as big as saving for a new home.  There are many different types of goals.  They can be related to business, health, personal, material, important and immediate, important, but not urgent – the list can go on and on.  They can be big or small. It doesn’t matter.

Let’s take for granted that you can deal with what I call the “routine goals.”  Those are like “making sure you get up in the morning and get yourself to work on time” kinds of goals. They happen without much thought or effort.  What I want you to think of are the other types of goals that need some management.  Some believe that writing goals down is what it takes, but it takes much more.  You don’t lose ten pounds by just writing down that you want to lose ten pounds.  Let’s use weight loss as an example, which is not just a goal for many, but also an annual New Year’s resolution.

So you want to lose weight?  How much?  Be specific.  At my personal peak, I weighed 196. I wanted to get into the 180s – a goal of about eight to ten pounds.  An ideal weight would be 182 – that’s 14 pounds.

So, how did I get there?  Here are the steps I took:

• I wrote my goal down; 182 pounds.
• I decided on a reasonable period of time to get there.  Two pounds each month was doable.  So, I gave myself seven months.
• I made sure that the goal was at the forefront of my mind by seeing it written on my daily/ weekly planner, which I see every day.  Determining my obstacles,  my love of desserts, and my need for more exercise, I gave myself a choice.  If I continued to eat desserts, I would have to exercise more.  Already I exercised three times a week.  I bumped it up to six times.
• I looked for a support team.  It was my wife who made sure I got up every morning to work out.  I made sure to routinely check myself (on a scale) – a minimum of once a week. Finally, I started.

Within three weeks, I had dropped my first two pounds. I was relentless. I didn’t miss a day. The goal was reached, and it didn’t even take seven months!

I do this with all of my goals and projects.  The steps are:

1. Write it down and have a definitive description and clear picture of what you are trying to do.
2. Create a plan or procedure.  How are you going to achieve it?
3. Acknowledge others may be involved and make sure they are aware and in agreement with your goal.
4. Determine the length of time.
5. Determine any obstacles and brainstorm how to overcome them.
6. Determine if you need someone to support you – someone who you will be accountable to.
7. Set up a checking system to monitor the goal/project.
8. Start and stay on track.  If you stray, don’t give up.  Come back and realign your timeline.
9. If you don’t reach your goal on time, then don’t go crazy.  Celebrate what progress you have made.
10. Finally, if you didn’t reach the goal after celebrating, set a new one.

Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops at www.Hyken.com. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.