25 Oct Top 3 Reasons Goal Setting Fails
We’ve all been there… we make a goal, think we’re committed to seeing it to fruition and then somewhere along the lines we drop the ball and never reach it. And, for the busy business owner, this happens all too often when other things get in the way. But, as we are well into the 4th quarter and start to think ahead about next year’s goals, it is important for you to restructure your approach and avoid the top mistakes that may kill your goals before you even get started.
1) People don’t effectively plan. Believe it or not, many goals are thought of without truly considering what the final outcome should be. For example, having a goal so broad as “making more money” is not specific enough to really guide you to achieve it. After all generating $10 more in revenue is making more money. But, would you define that as success? The key is to plan time to reflect on your goals, come up with specifics so you have a clear picture of what accomplishing that goal means and set deadlines to keep you moving forward.
2) Accountability falls through the cracks. Who do you have that will check in on your progress? Do you have a team that can support you as you work toward your goals? What resources do you have in place to help you with your goal? These are all questions to consider and have answers to before you can effectively work towards getting the outcomes you want. With no accountability, your forward momentum can easily be stalled, leaving you halfway through the year with no sight of the finish line or your goal.
3) No key metrics are set and no way to track progress. This is usually the biggest mistake I see entrepreneurs make. You establish a goal, you commit to it, but then there is no system in place to monitor if and how you are working toward the goal. I always recommend taking your year-end goal and breaking it into smaller sub-goals or tasks (with deadlines) that you can use to guide you along the way. If you don’t have a “scoreboard”, get one now and update it regularly to keep track of everything you’re doing to work toward your goal. For me, I monitor how many podcasts I’ve done each week, how many client calls I made, and how many new clients I’ve onboarded each month. This keeps me honest and on top of how I am performing at any given time. And, when my performance starts to slip, I can immediately see it and fix it without derailing my momentum.
So, this week I challenge you to begin crafting your 2019 goals. Take the time now to put the systems and teams in place to ensure that you are able to perform and hit all of your goals next year.
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