GOAL

SETTING
Goal setting is an important exercise for small business as well as
large business owners; without goals, we would just drift along.
Goal setting allows us to be proactive, instead of just being
reactive. We've all had days where we just seem to leap from one
crisis to another, but we know that it's not a preferred mode of
operation!

Your Goals Should Be

VIPIN Kumar Page 1 12/13/2010

Goal Setting: The First Step to Achievement
Goals Need Action
You shouldn't be. While you started out well, by setting a specific goal
to achieve, you didn't perform any action to help you achieve the goal.
What's missing from this scenario is a goal setting strategy to help you
accomplish the goal you have set. Without a goal setting strategy, or
series of actions, that you are going to use to work towards the goal,
whether or not you achieve the goal you have set is just a matter of blind
chance. And blind chance is no way to run a successful business! To be
successful, you need to make things happen, not just let things happen.

The Winnning Goal Setting Formula

So when you're setting business goals (or any other goals!), use a goal
setting formula that incorporates a strategy or strategies for
accomplishing the goal. For example, suppose that you want to increase
sales. When you're setting this goal, don't just write, "I will increase
sales." This goal is too general.

First, specify the goal. "I will increase sales this month by 25 percent".
Setting a specific goal builds in the criteria you will use to evaluate your
success; in this case, at the end of the month, you'll either have
increased sales by 25 percent compared to the previous month, or you
won't.
Then, specify the strategy that you will use to work towards
accomplishing the goal. "I will increase sales this month by 25 percent
by offering a 10 percent off sale on all inventory and advertising this
sale in local media."

VIPIN Kumar Page 2 12/13/2010

Goal + Action = Success
What happens when you go beyond the basic step of goal setting?
Evaluating your success or failure is easy, because your goal is specific
rather than general. And suddenly, instead of just having a goal that you
may or may not achieve, depending on chance, you have a specific
battle plan to follow to achieve the goal you've set. Instead of setting
yourself up for failure, you've set yourself up for success.

Objectives of Goals Setting

1) Choose goals that are worthwhile.
You would think it would go without saying but lots of people set
meaningless goals - and then wonder why they don't feel any sense of
achievement. Remember that the purpose of goal setting is to move us
forward and spur positive change. If a goal doesn't have this motivating,
transformational quality, don’t bother with it. You'll just be
disappointed.

2) Choose goals that are achievable

stretches.
The fact that goals have to be achievable is standard goal setting advice.
Pretty well everyone knows that there's no point in setting a goal that
you will never be able to accomplish. All you'll do is get frustrated and
abandon it. Less well known is the fact that goals need to stretch you in
some fashion. If a goal isn't engaging, you'll get bored and abandon it.

VIPIN Kumar Page 3 12/13/2010

3) Make your goals specific.
The big problem with the sample goals I've used to open this article is that
they're vague. To decide that you're going to lose twenty pounds, for
instance, is nice, but provides you with no guidance for doing that. Think
how much easier it would be to accomplish this goal if you knew exactly
what you were going to do to lose the weight. So when you're goal setting,
use a goal setting formula that gives your goal a built-in action plan. You'll
start accomplishing more than you thought possible

4) Commit to your goals.

You need to dedicate yourself to accomplish the goal you have chosen.
That's why writing your goals down is a common goal setting tip; it's the
first step to committing to achieving your goals. But you also have to
realize that accomplishing a goal is not an overnight process and that
you are going to have to work regularly at transforming your goal into
an accomplishment. And you have to set aside the time you will need to
work on your goal.

5) Make your goal public.

Making your goal public is a goal setting technique that is really
effective for many people. Think of organizations such as TOPS (Take
Off Pounds Sensibly) and their weekly weigh ins. Knowing that others
are going to be monitoring your results ensures commitment to the goal
and is extremely motivating. You don't have to join an organization or
broadcast your goal on a Facebook page to make your goal public;
having a goal buddy, a single person interested in your efforts, can be
just as effective.

VIPIN Kumar Page 4 12/13/2010

6) Prioritize your goals.
Goals don't have to be huge projects that take months or even years to
attain, but because they require commitment and need to be worked on
regularly, every single goal that you set will be demanding. So don't
sabotage yourself by taking on a bunch of goals at a time. Assuming that
you are following all the other goal setting tips presented here and
setting goals that are worthwhile, I would recommend working on no
more than three at a time, and even then you should choose one goal as
your top priority.

7) Make your goals real to you.

Goal setting is basically a way to approach the process of
accomplishment. It's a very successful way, if done right, but like all
such processes, it's a bit abstract. Using techniques such as visualization
to focus on what actually accomplishing your goal will be like and what
it will do for you can be very powerful - and a great help in staying
motivated. Choosing and posting pictures that represent successfully
accomplishing your goal is another way of doing this.

8) Set deadlines to accomplish your goals.

A goal without a deadline is a goal that you have not fully committed to
and a goal you will not achieve. For one thing, if working on achieving
a goal is something you can do whenever, you won't. For another,
having a deadline will shape your plan of action. To return to the weight
loss example, it makes a great difference whether your goal is to lose
twenty pounds in four months or in ten. You will have to do a lot more
exercising and cutting down of your food portions if you want to lose
the weight more quickly.

9) Evaluate your goals.

Remember that goal setting is a process - and evaluation is an important
part of that process. Don’t just settle for a 'good' or 'bad' assessment;
VIPIN Kumar Page 5 12/13/2010
think about what you did, how you did it and what you got out of it.
Whether you successfully accomplished your goal or not, there's always
something to be learned; what works or doesn't work for you, whether
achieving your goal lived up to your expectations, why you failed.
Extracting these lessons will increase your accomplishments even more
as you apply them to your future goal setting experience.

10) Reward yourself for accomplishment.

Internal satisfaction is a great thing, but external rewards can be
immensely satisfying, too. When you accomplish a goal, you've devoted
time and effort to your success, so take the time to celebrate your
success, too. One caveat; don't undermine your efforts by choosing an
inappropriate reward. Eating a huge slab of cheesecake is not an
appropriate reward for losing twenty pounds; for example, a new outfit
would be a more suitable choice.

11) Set the Stage for Your Goal Setting

Success
So don't defeat your goal setting efforts before you even
start to work on accomplishing your desired goals. Set
yourself up for success rather than failure by applying
these ten goal setting tips and start achieving what you
want to achieve.

VIPIN Kumar Page 6 12/13/2010

Importance of Goal Setting As a Time Mangement Tool

What's This?
A time management system needs milestones and goals in order to be
effective. Without deadlines to meet, then it just becomes a system of
watching the clock and waiting for the day to end. There are many ways
to incorporate your goals into your time management process, and if
your day becomes goal oriented, then you will find yourself
accomplishing much more in the course of a day.

Function
Developing a goal-oriented approach to time
management can help you achieve success in two ways.
The first is that you are no longer watching the clock and
waiting for the day to end so you can go home. When you
set goals for yourself, you are driven by those goals and
the clock becomes an instrument you use to ensure that
you meet your deadlines. The other advantage to using
goals to manage time is that you are able to accomplish
more in a day than you could when you were watching
the clock. When we base our performance on reaching
VIPIN Kumar Page 7 12/13/2010
goals during the day, we can eliminate the things that waste time such
as extended phone conversations and Internet surfing.

Features
When you set goals as part of your time management
system, it is important to set specific goals with defined
criteria. Setting generic goals can make your goals seem
unattainable, while using specific and definable goals can
help you to complete tasks on time. For example, if the
goal you set is to finish all invoicing by the end of the
day, then that goal is too vague and encompasses too
many tasks. Break down that vague goal into specific
goals that involve generating invoices based on various
ranges of dates and you can then attack those goals in
order and complete the task on time

Identification
Taking on too much can help derail your attempts at
creating a time management system based on goals.
You need to determine which goals are the right ones to
achieve, and avoid being distracted by tasks that are not
going to be productive. For example, if you are trying to
include tasks such as cleaning your desk as part of the
goals you hope to accomplish then you may find yourself
getting sidetracked by unimportant tasks. There is a
difference between goals and activities. Goals are tasks
that are important to your job and your career, while
activities can make doing your job a bit easier but are
not essential to your success. Schedule activities after
you have achieved your goals.

VIPIN Kumar Page 8 12/13/2010

SMART
The SMART process is an excellent way to quantify and
prioritize goals so that they can become a regular part of
your time management routine. The "S" stands for
choosing specific goals. Outline exactly what you want
your goals to be, and how you intend to reach them. The
"M" is to remind you to make your goals measurable.
Give them a time limit and develop a system that will
allow you to know when the goal is satisfied. This is
critical to making your goals a part of time management.
The "A" reminds us to make sure the goal is attainable. If
you determine a goal is not attainable, then you may
need to break it down into smaller goals to make sure the
job gets done. The "R" means that you need to keep the
goal realistic. The "T" stands for the time frame needed
to get the job done. If you pay attention to your
SMART system, then you have a better chance
of making your goals a integral part of your
time management system.
Considerations
It is easier to set a series of smaller goals if you can
identify your main goal or goals. A series of goals should
look like an organizational chart. You have your main
goals that you need to accomplish, and then you have
the series of smaller goals you will use to achieve those
main goals. You prioritize the main goals based on
importance, and then get to the job of achieving your
smaller goals to get the job done. The process of making
goals part of your time management program is made
easier when you write your goals down, and then check
things off as you complete them.

VIPIN Kumar Page 9 12/13/2010

 Setting Goals
The strategic planning, after gathering all necessary information, is the
setting of goals for the organization based on its vision and mission
statement.
A goal is a long-range aim for a specific period. It must be specific and
realistic. Long-range goals set through strategic planning are translated
into activities that will ensure reaching the goal through operational
planning.

VIPIN Kumar Page 10 12/13/2010

 An objective is a specific step, a milestone, which enables you to
accomplish a goal. Setting objectives involves a continuous process of
research and decision-making. Knowledge of yourself and your unit is
a vital starting point in setting objectives.

Strategic planning takes place at the highest levels; other managers are
involved with operational planning. The first step in operational
planning is defining objectives - the result expected by the end of the
budget (or other designated) cycle.
Setting right objectives is critical for effective performance
management. Such objectives as higher profits, shareholder value,
customer satisfaction may be admirable, but they don't tell managers
what to do. "They fail to specify priorities and focus. Such objectives
VIPIN Kumar Page 11 12/13/2010
 don't map the journey ahead - the discovery of better value and
solutions for the customer."6
The objectives must be:
• be focused on a result, not an activity
• be consistent
• be specific
• be measurable
• be related to time
• be attainable

Goals and Objectives

Goals and objectives are statements that describe what the project will
accomplish, or the business value the project will achieve.
Goals are high level statements that provide overall context for what the
project is trying to achieve, and should align to business goals.
Objectives are lower level statements that describe the specific, tangible
products and deliverables that the project will deliver.
The definition of goals and objectives is more of an art than a science,
and it can be difficult to define them and align them correctly.

Goals
Goals are high-level statements that provide the overall context for what
the project is trying to accomplish. Let's look at an example and some of
the characteristics of a goal statement. One of the goals of a project
might be to "increase the overall satisfaction levels for clients calling to
the company helpdesk with support needs".

• Because the goal is at a high-level, it may take more than one

project to achieve. In the above example, for instance, there may
be a technology component to increasing client satisfaction. There
may also be new procedures, new training classes, reorganization
VIPIN Kumar Page 12 12/13/2010
 of the helpdesk department and modification of the company
rewards system. It may take many projects over a long period of
time to achieve the goal.
• The goal should reference the business benefit in terms of cost,
speed and / or quality. In this example, the focus is on quality of
service. Even if the project is not directly in support of the
business, there should be an indirect tie. For instance, an IT
infrastructure project to install new web servers may ultimately
allow faster client response, better price performance, or other
business benefit. If there is no business value to the project, the
project should not be started.
• Generally, non-measurable: If you can measure the achievement of
your goal, it is probably at too low a level and is probably more of
an objective.
• If your goal is not achievable through any combination of projects,
it is probably written at too high a level. In the above example, you
could envision one or more projects that could end up achieving a
higher level of client satisfaction. A goal statement that says you
are trying to achieve a perfect client experience is not possible
with any combination of projects. It may instead be a vision
statement, which is a higher level statement showing direction and
aspiration, but which may never actually be achieved.

It is important to understand business and project goal statements,

even though goals are not a part of the TenStep Project Definition.
Goals are most important from a business perspective. The project
manager needs to understand the business goals that the project is
trying to contribute to. However, you do not need to define
specific project goals. On the other hand, objectives definitely are
important.

VIPIN Kumar Page 13 12/13/2010

 How to Write Business Goals

Instructions
1. Choose a medium for writing down your business
goals and objectives. You should base this decision
on how you intend to use your stated goals. You can
use a simple piece of paper and a pen if you are
creating a rudimentary plan for your own use. If you
plan to include your stated goals and objectives as
part of a formal business plan, they should be typed
in paragraph form under the heading "Goals and
Objectives" using word processing software.
Additionally, you should create a new paragraph for
each goal. Your stated objectives will create the body
of each new "Goal" paragraph.
2. Create a list of goals. Goals differ from objectives in
that they encompass a broader vision of what you
wish to accomplish, whereas objectives operate as a
means to an end. It is best if you define your goals in
VIPIN Kumar Page 14 12/13/2010
 terms of one year, five-year, 10-year and 20-year
goals. For example, if you plan to operate a clothing
company, your one-year goal may be to make
$50,000 retailers. Your five-year goal might be to
make $1 million in revenue and start a franchise for
your business. You should think in terms of where
you want your business to be, regardless of your
perceived ability to actually get there.
3. Create a list of objectives for each goal. Objectives
are specific points or details that will allow you to
reach your broader goals. For example, if your goal is
to make $50,000 in your first year, your objectives
would include ideas and details on how you will make
that happen such as, "Sell 1,000 t-shirts," "Advertise
clothing line in X magazine" or "Host a community
fashion show."
4. Break your objectives down into specific actions with
time lines. You can't complete all of your objectives
at one time. You will need to prioritize them and
decide when you will execute each objective. If you
have 12 objectives that are necessary to complete
your one-year goals, you will probably need to
complete at least one objective each month. You can
allow for some overlap here, and some objectives
may lend themselves to multitasking. Once a time
line is assigned, break each objective down into
specific steps. For instance, to break down your
objective of hosting a community fashion show, you
would list the steps necessary to complete the task
such as reserving the location, sending out invites
and press releases, choosing clothing items for the
show, etc. Pencil each specific action item into your
calendar to ensure that all tasks, objectives and
goals are completed.
5. Go back and review your list of goals and objectives
every few months to make sure that you are on
VIPIN Kumar Page 15 12/13/2010
 track. Don't be afraid to add new goals and
objectives to your list on a periodic basis. Similarly, if
a previously stated goal is not feasible or is no longer
desirable, don't be afraid to remove it from your list.
After all, businesses evolve in a positive way by
consistently creating, evaluating and changing their
goals and objectives.

The importance of setting goals for

your business.
One of the most important things you can do when
setting up your s business is to define objectives and
set smaller goals to achieve them.
Before you can really set realistic goals and
objectives, it is important to first define them. Goals
are set with the idea of achieving a specific thing.
Maybe you want to increase sales by 30%. Or maybe
your goal is to lower turnover. Goals are set with the
purpose of achieving an overall objective. The end
goal is referred to as your objective, and goals are
the smaller accomplishments you make along the
way that will help you to reach your objective.

In order for your goals and objectives to be useful for

your small business, you will need to make sure they
cover some key points.

VIPIN Kumar Page 16 12/13/2010

 Process of goal
setting
Define the "Want"
 Define what you want to achieve, change or obtain. At
this stage, focus on the want and be as specific as possible.
For example, do you want to achieve a promotion, change
your weight or obtain a new car.

Determine if the Goal is Actionable

 Decide if the "want" is actionable. For example, you
may "want" to buy a car, but the goal may not be
actionable in the near future. Write down possible actions
that can be taken to achieve the goal and be as specific as
possible.

Conflict With Other Goals?

 Verify that other areas of your life do not conflict with
the goal you want to set. For example, you may "want" to
save a certain percentage of your earned income, but
doing so would conflict with a goal to buy a new car, as
spending conflicts with saving.

VIPIN Kumar Page 17 12/13/2010

Write the Goal as an Affirmative Statement
 Write the end result that you want to achieve. For
example, "I will buy a new car in six weeks paying in cash
for the full amount."

Write How the Goal Will Be Achieved

 Write a step-by-step actionable plan for how the goal
will be achieved. For example, "I will work 60 hours each
week for the next four weeks to earn the $11,000 needed
to buy a Brand X car."

Setting and Achieving Your

Business Goals

VIPIN Kumar Page 18 12/13/2010

1. Brainstorm - Start writing a list of things you'd like to
accomplish. At first, you might think you don't have any ideas, but
soon they will come pouring out. You may even end up with too many
goals that you could realistically accomplish. Prioritize and decide
which are most important.

2. Write your goals down in one central place and record any
changes you make to your goals - This way you can track your
progress and will be become even better at setting goals for yourself in
the future.

3. Make sure your goals are challenging, yet attainable - In

other words, don't make them all too easy, but then again, don't list a
bunch that you will never achieve. If you make them too easy, you will
feel like you haven't accomplished much and if you make them too
difficult, you'll feel defeated.

VIPIN Kumar Page 19 12/13/2010

4. Set a realistic timeframe for your goals - Remember, you
can't do everything at once. If you have short and simple goals, set
short timeframes. For your more involved goals, analyze the steps
needed to complete them and be realistic about how much time you
will need to accomplish your goals.

5. As you write down your goals, ask why is this my goal? - If

your goal is to set up an affiliate program for your site, you will
motivate yourself better if you understand and remind yourself why
you are doing this. It may be to increase your website traffic, to earn
more income or to create brand recognition for your product. It could
be any number of things, but make sure you know what they are.

6. Make your goals measurable - Don't just say, you want to learn
about graphics. Make a specific plan. Perhaps, you want to learn
about Flash graphics and you want to be able to make your own Flash
movie. Or perhaps, you're happy just being able to design your own
animated gif. You need to be able to see when you've achieved your
goals.

7. Identify what "tools" you will use and how will obtain the
"tools" to achieve your goals - Perhaps, your goal is to build your
own web page for the first time. You need to think about what you
need to do that. Two of the many things you might need are software
and a tutorial or the help of knowledgeable friend. You'll need to
purchase the software or find the freeware. You'll also need to look
around for the tutorial or see when your friend might have time to
help you.

8. Don't overload yourself - We all want to get everything done

and to be as perfect as possible, but don't give yourself too much.
Remember, time with family is why you have a home business. It's
okay to have a larger number of small, easily attainable goals, but do
limit the number of major goals that require a number of resources
and significant time to achieve. Remember, as in a previous step, you
can always revisit and revise your goals if need be.

9. Divide your goals into short term and long term goals - If
you keep this list separate, you can better organize yourself to
complete them. Short term goals usually can be completed at anytime
VIPIN Kumar Page 20 12/13/2010
with not much time commitment. Your long term goals will require
more involvement and you don't likely want to take on too many long
term goals at one time.

10. Revisit and revise your goals when necessary - This

doesn't mean that if you're a procrastinator, you can just come back
and push all your dates back. This exercise is to see if you are on track
with your goals. Perhaps, you're a little ahead of schedule and you can
add a goal or two.

VIPIN Kumar Page 21 12/13/2010