To be effective, a properly set goal must meet all eight of the following characteristics. Each goal, whether professional or personal, must:
1.) Be Specific—A goal or an objective must be calculable and finite. A goal stated along the lines of “Be a better manager” lacks definition and can be achieved based on subjective opinions that can vary from one person to another.
2.) Be Measurable—There must be a criteria for determining the extent to which you are moving toward or have achieved the goal or objective.
3.) Be Attainable—If you can’t reach a goal under reasonable circumstances, it may be motivational or comforting (or frustrating) to have such; it may be a dream or a wish, but…it’s not a goal or an objective that is helpful to success at anything.
Setting too many unattainable goals may also yield a lifetime of unhappiness.
4.) Be Time Bound—There must be a point in time when you know you have either achieved the goal or objective, usually defined as success, or you have not achieved it, sometimes defined as failure. Don’t be afraid of either one.
5.) Be Meaningful—Don’t set goals that are too easily achieved or select goals that have already been achieved or nearly so. By setting goals or objectives that you were on the verge of achieving anyway you not only waste time but you give yourself the false sense of accomplishment that enables you to keep on failing without consequence.
6.) Be Controllable—Goals must be within your ability to achieve and not left to events that you cannot control.
7.) Be Written—Reduce your goals and objectives to writing. Something that exists only in your mind doesn’t really exist.
Keep written goals in a highly visible place. Review your written goals regularly to keep focus or to occasionally revise when necessary and appropriate.
8.) Be Communicated to Relevant Others—This is the most often forgotten rule and is the embodiment of successful goal achievement. Those who don’t tell others their goals are trying to avoid embarrassment if they fail, which just increases the chances that they will fail. To maximize your chances for success, communicate your goals to others who will be critical of you for failing and complimentary when you succeed.
Then…GET TO WORK!
Information excerpted with permission from Platforms of Success, www.platformsofsuccess.com
