Write Down Your Goal

"Write down on paper your goal in life. With that down in black and white, we really can get somewhere. Few can define their goal, much less write it. You cannot find happiness until your goal is clear and in view." A quote from Ross Byron, author of The Rosses of Rossville and that ilk.

Although this quote is from a book written in 1945 it is none the less true today. Even more so if you are an entrepreneur or leader of a small to medium sized business.

When asked why they started their own business, an overwhelming majority respond with the same answer: "so I can do things my way and be in charge of my own destiny." However, the end result is not always what was intended.

Somewhere along the way those particular objectives became a bit fuzzy. Some might even say they were lost in the struggle to earn enough revenue to pay the bills and still make a comfortable living. The problem here is not that the person is unfocused. Far from it, quite often the individual is very focused on their daily tasks and is quite successful in their field of endeavour.

However, the goals may not have been properly articulated and after 5 - 10 or even 15 years their still exists a feeling of not quite getting there. The hours have become long, the income somewhat consistent but ever vulnerable to shrinkage in the market. The freedom that was the original target, remember "so I can do things my way and be in charge of my own destiny" has not been met. We find that we have created a job for ourselves rather than a business.

Without written, specific and measurable how do we assess whether or not they have been achieved. Goals need not just be financial or business related. The goal is for us to work to live not live to work.

Think about it for a few minutes:
- What do you want the business to give back to you in 2 - 3 - 5 years?
- What would you personally want to have / possess as a result of your efforts in 2 - 3 - 5 years?
- What do you want your business to achieve specifically, not just more revenue, but in terms of dollars or percentage growth over the next 2 - 3 - 5 years?

If you can clearly articulate the answer to these three basic questions in writing such that another person, not involved in your business would understand them, congratulations. On the other hand if you have trouble expressing the answer explicitly in writing, what are you going to do about it? Make your first specific goal, the articulation of your specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timely goals.

Gordon J. H. Newman, CPT

Gordon is President of The Newman Learning Group Inc. an organization dedicated to providing value add solutions to improve the bottom line performance of organization and individuals. Gordon may be reached at gordon@newmanlearning.com or 905-790-2944; http://www.newmanlearning.com