On a recent trip, I left my book behind to catch up on work but couldn’t pass up the latest issue of Harvard Business Review titled “How Successful People Reach Their Goals”. Today I wanted to share my insights from this article and five tips to help you reach your business goals!
Get specific: The more clear you are with your goal, the easier it will be not only to measure success but map the process to attain it. It’s much better to say you want to book five new clients in the next 30 days than to say you want to grow your business. You can come up with a plan and action steps you need to take to attain five clients, but just wanting to grow is too vague.
Seize the moment to act on your goals: Having a clear idea of what you need to do is great, but you need to act on it! Instead of accumulating task after task on your to-do list, break your day down into one-hour segments, and write down specific tasks you can complete that will get you closer to that goal.
Tip: I personally break my day down to the minute. Some call it neurotic, I call it genius! The reason is, I factor in things like preptime, drive time, and set up time so I can make the most of my time instead of getting behind because I was only accounting for the time it would take to complete the task itself.
Focus on getting better rather than being good: To me this is all about giving yourself some grace! Instead of being hard on yourself for not being where you want to be, celebrate that you’re farther than you once were and you’re on your way to getting to where you’re working to be!
Focus on what you will do not what you won’t do: This mindset hack will help you as you pursue that goal! Instead of focusing on the things standing in your way or the reasons why you can’t do something, focus on what you can do about it! Once you know what your obstacles are, it’s time to step into solution-focused mode! This is where you come up with ideas on how to capture five new clients. That might mean reviewing the things you’ve tried that didn’t work. It might also mean jotting down every idea that crosses your mind until you land on the viable options to try.
Get started: Once you have a goal and come up with a plan, you have to execute it! Remember that doesn’t mean things will always go according to plan. It does mean that you’re dedicated to figuring it out as you go along and making adjustments as you learn from mistakes and lessons along the way.
There’s no magic formula or shortcut on the road to success. I’d argue that everyone’s roadmap looks different because their path and destination varies. So stay focused on what lies ahead for you and the best path to get you there. Above all, don’t forget to take the steps to get you there because after all, it’s not the map but the person navigating that determines where you’ll go!