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Jim Moore is a principal at Jim Moore Career Consulting and Coaching.
Photo/MIKHAIL PETGRAVE
Each month, Toronto Business Times solicits opinions from four experts on a question of relevance to the small business community. This month’s question is: What are the most important factors for a small business owner to consider when setting goals?
In my former life as a manager with a global company goal setting was ubiquitous - and mandatory. I learned a lot about setting goals, although probably more about the technique than the why.
Then I started a career consulting business. What emerged was a different perspective on goal setting, less about a structured, compulsory exercise and more about the human side of goal setting. Here's how that happened.
Clients use my services for just one reason. They want change. They want a new job, or they want more from their current job. They want to become leaders, or they need to build leaders. They want to jump-start their careers, or they want to wind them down.
Whatever, these are people who find the status quo unacceptable. And I have seen their goals become the drivers of the change they desire, the tools that pry them free from the status quo.
So, goals are about people making a deliberate choice to succeed, and the human strengths and tendencies they must take into account to do that. Thinking back now on my corporate experience, it seems to me the following observations apply to both individuals and businesses.
You must mean it: Don't set goals that in your heart you know you will not pursue with conviction. Who can afford the expense of half-hearted goals that fade away? Words are not actions. Empty, abandoned goals undermine our faith in the value of goal setting.
You must write it down: If it's not written down it doesn't matter and it won't happen. That's the way we are. Documenting goals helps validate them. It forces us to think things through. And there will be days we need a written reminder of why we set that goal.
You must keep pushing: Goals defy Newton's laws of motion. In simple terms, those laws say things put in motion tend to stay in motion. Not so with goals. Without the constant input of energy things will coast to a stop. Plan accordingly for the time and effort that success requires.
You need a cheerleader, a tough one: In my work I encourage people to set and pursue their goals, and then hold them accountable for what they said they would do. I am their tough cheerleader. Find one for your goals, someone who understands what you are trying to achieve, will support you, and will hold you to your commitments.
One more thing. You need celebrations! A big success is a series of small ones. Build meaningful milestones into your goal planning. Share your milestone achievements with others. Never let small successes pass unnoticed.
People, commitment, accountability, growth, celebration - essentials for setting and achieving our goals.
Jim Moore is a principal at Jim Moore - Career Consulting and Coaching.