Martin Riley - Business Coach - The Business Jet Engine
In our last blog post, Planning for Success we looked at the Power of 3s; setting just three priorities for the year ahead. To achieve these, so they don’t just remain a wish, you need make them specific - by thinking them through in detail.
This helps you to:
To help define these details we use 2 simple tools; SMART Goals and Strategy Templates.
SMART goals are:
Why do you need smart goals?
Have you ever said to yourself, ‘I am going to get fit this year’? And if so, did you succeed? Approximately 80% of people who make New Year’s resolutions to get fit drop off by the second week of February. Gyms typically sell memberships with the expectation that a mere 18% of people will use them throughout the year.
Why do so many people fail? Because they did not actually set a goal. What they did was make a wish. Their wish was just a vague notion of what they wanted, with few or no specifics. A SMART goal creates actions that will be measurable, so that it becomes clear whether you are succeeding or failing.
A specific goal about getting fit might include measures of losing X amount of weight, or being able to increase a running distance by Y. It might specify going to the gym on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for Z hours training time, with the allocated exercises and performance targets on each day.
A SMART goal reminds you of exactly what you need to do, and allows you to measure if you have achieved it
The art of effective planning is to consider the most pertinent facts; to clarify your own thinking and to engage your team. You need to be thorough, but avoid creating confusion or mental overload to ensure you think clearly.
These questions highlight mission critical information required for most projects:
What:
Why:
How:
Who:
Where:
When:
How Much:
At What Cost:
At What Risk
We use these questions in a strategy template to get greater clarity on the overall picture of our objectives. It ensures that we have all the relevant information in one place and helps to clarify thinking and decision making during the project/task.
You can get this template as a free .pdf download from our website.
Martin Riley - The Business Jet Engine
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