Being a business coach, every New Year’s I am asked “so what is YOUR New Year’s Resolution?”
My response is always that I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions and quite simply the reason is that traditionally 92% of these resolutions (made in haste, usually after several drinks at a party) fail by Valentine’s day.
The reasons New Year’s resolutions fail primarily is that the resolutions are:
-
Not written down
So you set up yourself for failure straight up. By writing down your resolutions (or goals), that makes them real and statistically more likely to happen.
-
Not S.M.A.R.T.
We’ve all heard the acronym (specific, measurable, achievable, reporting, timely).
-
Not thought through.
The goal was somewhat of a whim which you thought about one moment, got yourself another drink, and it’s a distant memory.
So, rather than a New Year’s Resolution, what do I do?
I plan and write down goals. I review last year’s list and mark what was achieved or not. Usually, I do this during the week between Christmas and New Year. Based on last year’s list and the direction I am heading, I then decide what I want to achieve this year. I get specific … if I wanted to lose weight, it would not be “get thin” but rather, lose X kilos per month, or get down to X kilos by 31st March. This is specific, measurable and able to be reported on and it’s timely as there is a time limit for the activity. The final aspect is ‘achievable’ and as long as your goal is realistic and can be attained, then you are on track. With goal setting and my clients, I am always pushing them a little out of their comfort zone (with support, of course) but never so hard that I set them up to fail.
For business goals I add two more items, S.M.A.R.T.E.R. In business, for a goal to occur and be achieved, the business owner has to be passionate about the goal. If making more money motivates them, great. If they don’t give an iota whether waste is reduced, then there is no passion and chances are that the goal won’t be achieved. Finally, by business goals, the goal needs to be linked to a budget. There is no point in getting $1K more in sales every week if it’s going to cost $2K a week.
These are my 12-months goals; which I then break down into quarterly action plans which are very detailed and outline all the specific steps as to how that goal will be achieved.
If you’d like to know more about my goal setting and business planning sessions (which run all year round, not just in December or January) then make contact with me at donna@donna-stone.com.au … I’d be happy to send you some info and pricing. Naturally, ongoing coaching adds another aspect to goals – accountability and focus. By having a coach, you will be focussed to stay on track, action your steps to achieve that goal and be held accountable for your action (or lack thereof).
If you made some New Year’s Resolutions that you are still serious about – change them into written down goals and approach them with a matter of determination and focus. Happy New Year!
Read my blog Why 2017 Didn’t Go Well for You as A Business Year.
