Welcome to the fourth installment in my blog series The Business Growth Masterclass.

I’ve called this session:

How to Create, Manage and Achieve Your Goals

But first, lets just have a recap of the homework set in the last installment of the Business Growth Masterclass.

• You understand the importance of committing goals to paper.
• You have identified the areas of your business where you need to set goals.
• You practice using autosuggestion and visualization regularly – or at least before important meetings, presentations and sales calls.

Well done. Now lets move on and dive into this months installment of the Business Growth Masterclass.

I didn’t plan this when I started publishing the Business Growth Masterclass, but it’s seems very timely that, at the time of year when everyone is making New Years Resolutions and setting out what they would like to achieve/have or be in 2013, that this installment of the Business Masterclass deals with the crucial subject of goal setting. It is a documented fact that people who set goals and write them down, and use them as a basic and fundamental part of the way they do things, tend to achieve much greater things than those people who don’t.

Also, there’s no point in setting goals unless they’re SMART, because SMART goals have the highest probability of being achieved.

In this session you’re going to take some time to set a series of personal and business goals that will act as milestones as you work towards achieving your business vision.

Many people set goals, but not everyone reaches their goals. Too often, goals are too vague, or too broad. “I’m going to be a millionaire,” “I’m going to be the best parent ever,” or “My business is going to make much more money this year.” They’re big, bold abstract statements that are great for dreaming and visioning, but don’t stand a chance of being achieved in a meaningful or tangible way.

Today, you’re going to work through a step-by-step process for setting goals that you WILL achieve. How? You’re going to learn how to set SMART goals, and get some tools to help you stay on track.

In this E-Class we will cover:

• The SMART goal setting principle
• Examples of SMART goals
• When to review and revise goals
• A step-by-step goal setting process

SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time Bound goals.

SPECIFIC goals that describe details and articulate aims are easier to achieve than vague or broad statements.

Ambiguous or incomplete goals will only assist you in achieving ambiguous or incomplete results. Your goals need to be as detailed as possible so that you will achieve the specific results you are looking for.

A specific goal can be easily understood by anyone who reads it; your intention and desired results are clearly detailed and described, and the actions you will take to achieve it have been planned.

Ambiguous	Specific
I should lose weight.	I will lose 10 pounds in the next two months (that’s 2.5lbs per week) by eating more fruits and vegetables and exercising three times a week.
I will work harder this year.	I will increase my sales figures by 20% in the next six months by scripting and practicing my closing strategies.

MEASURABLE goals are the only kind of goals that you can actually achieve.

Your goals need to be measurable so you can assess your progress, manage your progress, and know when you have achieved your desired outcome. You can use standard measurements like time, numbers, money and distance.

When goals are measurable, they can be broken down and easily managed in smaller pieces. You can create an action plan and plot the steps towards achieving the goal. You can track your progress and revise your action plan if you need to.

Non-Measureable	Measureable
I will make more money this year.	I will increase my profits by 15% this year by increasing my prices (and value I offer) by 5% each 6 months and selling my audio interviews on ebay.
I will start running this spring.	I will learn to run a half marathon this spring by joining a running training group.

ACHIEVABLE goals have a better chance of being realized because they are grounded in feasibility.

You need to set goals that challenge and stretch you, but you also need to avoid setting goals that are far beyond the reach of your circumstances and skill level. It’s great to think big, and dream big, but too many people set goals that are simply beyond their capabilities and wind up disappointed. Goals that are not achievable will only demotivate and disempower you.

On the flip side, setting goals that are too easy to achieve will not help you grow as a person and as a professional. You need to strike the right balance between challenge and reality.

Unrealistic	Achieveable
I will climb Mount Everest this year.	I will begin a one year training programme today, and climb to base camp in 9 months from now.
I will earn a million pounds.	A million pounds is £2,739.73 per day, and £9,230.77 per week. I will earn 1 million pounds in the next 365 days starting today.

This is the part where you look at the reasoning behind your goal. It’s great to set goals in all areas of your life, but for the most part your goals will collectively achieve a common vision. The goal’s action plan can be reasonably integrated into your life, with a realistic amount of effort.REALISTIC – or relevant – goals make sense and can be integrated into your life and overall business strategy

Goals that are not realistic or relevant don’t appear to have a logical place in your life or overall business strategy, and can serve to derail you. You want to make sure that all of your efforts are working in a single, focused direction or you may run the risk of going in too many directions, spinning your wheels and never achieving your vision.

Irrelevant	Realistic
I will become a better Monopoly player, and win 25% more games.	I will spend more time with my family this year by staying at home one night each weekend.
I will become a NASA astronaut.	I will start my own on-line business, to compliment my existing business and add another stream, of income, by my birthday.

“To plan it, is to dream it… to schedule it, is to make it REAL. Attach a written timeline!”TIME-BOUND goals give you a frame of reference and keep you motivated.

Just like any task without a deadline is easy to push off your desk or down your to-do list, a goal without a timeframe will never be achieved. Goals that are not attached to a timeframe are merely dreams or lose intentions.

You need to make sure that the timeframe you set for your goal is realistic and achievable – not too short or too long – and reflects any elements or factors beyond your control that may influence the timing of the outcome. This will keep you motivated and focused, and allow you to check in on and track your progress.

Loose	Time Bound
I will join a gym and start an exercise program.	I will join a gym by the end of this month and start a regular weekly exercise program.
I will start a new marketing program.	I will invest £750 on an online product by the end of this month, and start selling it online by my birthday this year.

Once you’ve come up with some goals for your personal and professional life, work through our test to see if they are SMART goals.The SMART Goal Test

When you’re creating your goal statements, put them through the following test:

Specific	How detailed is this goal? Can it be more detailed? Can I be more specific with what I wish to accomplish?
Measurable	Can I measure my results over time, distance, money or quantity? How will I measure the results? How often will I measure the results?
Achievable	Is it possible for me to reach this outcome? Do I have what I need to reach this outcome? Will I be able to achieve this goal in the short-term or long-term?
Relevant	Is this goal consistent with my values and overall vision for my life? Is this goal a priority for me to focus on right now? Is this a primary or secondary goal?
Time Bound	Have I set a time frame for this goal? Is it a reasonable time frame? Is it a manageable time frame?

Here are some examples of SMART goals compared to other goals.

Other Goal	SMART Goal
I want to write a book.	I will write a book on internet marketing that is at least 150 pages long, and have the first draft completed by January 23rd. I’ll commit to writing at least three pages each day (I understand that wealth creation is created before 9am and after 5pm – during the day I earn a living) until I finish.
I want to be really wealthy.	I will double my income to £200,000 within 18 months by starting an internet marketing business.
I want to become a millionaire in four months.	I will become a millionaire within three years by starting my own small business marketing company and positioning myself as an expert public speaker with engagements worldwide. I will supplement that income by creating a source of passive income.
I am going to do my taxes.	I am going to finish my taxes by Friday, and I’ll achieve this by spending two hours on them each night until then

Goals, like everything in business, have the potential to grow, change and evolve based on circumstances beyond our control. Depending on the length of the goal – daily, weekly, monthly or yearly – you’ll want to set up a schedule for reviewing and potentially revising your goals.You need to review and revise your goals on a regular basis so they have room to grown and change with you.

Build this review period into your goal setting process – schedule times to review your goals and take stock of your progress. Here’s a guideline:

Goal Timeframe	Frequency of Review
One Week	Daily
Two Weeks	Weekly
One Month	Weekly
Three Months	Monthly
Six Months	Monthly
One Year	Quarterly
Five Years	Yearly
10 Years	Yearly

Now it’s time to working through the goal setting process and create a few SMART goals of your own.

(Note: If you prefer, I can let you have a series of pre-set spreadsheets to help you with this. Use the form at the end of this post to claim your own personalised spreadsheets).

Have a go at working through the following steps to creating 18 SMART personal and business goals.

TIP: This is a great exercise to have your employees and management work through.

1. Establish Your Personal Values
Since you’ve already worked through a business visioning process, use the same process to work through a personal visioning process. When you’ve completed this, combine your business and personal visions and set your goals in one place.

2. Take a Personal Inventory
Using the information you discovered in the previous Personal Values exercise, carry out a Personal Inventory to think big about your future and your success. What are you dreams for yourself and for your business?

3. Set SMART Goals
Using the SMART principle described in this blog, plus the personal and business visions that you have just created, write down three personal and three business goals for each of the following time frames: 6 months, 12 months, 5 years. Remember that these goals should support your personal or your business vision.

4. Create an Action Plan for Each Goal
Now, for each of the 18 goals, create an action plan. This will include steps to take, potential obstacles to overcome, milestones to note, and other information that will help you as you work to achieve the goal.

5. Display Your Goals
Put your goals in a visible place where you can see and be reminded of them on a regular basis. You may wish to place business goals in your place of work, and personal goals on your desk or at your computer.

You’ve now completed the only envisioning and goal-setting process you will ever need to be successful. Congratulations!

I hope you’re getting really excited about the future potential of your business, and the power you have in you to achieve the vision and goals you have set while you’ve been taking part in the Business Growth Masterclass.

The next couple of installments will lay down further groundwork for your success, and then we will dive into the marketing strategies that are really going to transform your vision into reality.

For more information on the goal setting process described above, or to discuss any other aspect of your business growth strategy, use the following form to get in touch: