Don’t Show the Boss Your Goals!

Think you don’t need to set goals just because no one expects you to? You should consider goal setting even if your job doesn’t require a business plan and a plan of action, because your life is not your job. If it is, that is even more reason you need to set some goals! 

Having written goals works, and not having written goals works against you.  

Which is more important: Written Goals, or a Business Plan? Is there a difference?  

The approaching dawn of a new year is a time of reflection on where we are, and where we want to be in the future. This is the time to evaluate what worked, what didn’t, and what we are going to do differently to attain better outcomes in the next twelve months.  

Many conversations and helpful articles pop up regarding business planning and goal setting at this time of the year. Anecdotes abound showing the power of written goals and specific, measurable action steps to achieve them. 

It has stood out to me this year that you need both Aspirational Goals and also a Specific Business Plan. 

But don’t show the boss your goals! 

Your boss wants to see your business plan if you are in sales or an industry where your activities generate business. It needs to have the action steps broken down into a daily plan of action so that you know what you need to do each day to accomplish the daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual benchmarks.  

The thought that goes into deciding what you want to accomplish, and then breaking it down into bite size tasks, significantly improves the chances for success.  

Your business plan will likely be shared with your supervisors and co-workers on your team. Holding each other accountable helps tilt the scales in your favor. 

However, your goals probably should not be shared with very many people. Your boss may not see how you could accomplish them working for him, and could discourage you from pursuing the things that give wings to your hearts’ desire.  Some of your close friends and family will also ridicule your goals. It is easier to crush someone else’s dreams than to go to work improving your own life.  

The doubts that reside inside you don’t need to be fed, they need to be eliminated! I am going to briefly touch on goal setting, and encourage you to explore the topic further. Much has been written about the life-changing act of dreaming on paper.  

What makes goals so different from a business plan? Many people use the terms interchangeably, but I am going to stop doing that myself.  

Search the phrase “Business Plan 2014” or “business plan template” and you will have plenty of sources to walk you through the process. Many of them are quite similar. 

Goal setting is not as precise, and the recommendations on how to set goals vary dramatically.

Even the types of goals you are told to focus on seem to be opposites: 

SMART Goals:

·       S – Specific (or Significant)

      ·       M – Measurable (or Meaningful)

·       A – Attainable (or Action-Oriented)

·       R – Relevant (or Rewarding)

·       T – Time-bound (or Trackable)

 

 HARD Goals Achieve Results

•   H- Heartfelt: Your goals enrich the lives of others, not just others.

•   A- Animated: You can vividly picture how great it will feel when you achieve your goals.

•   R- Required: Your goals are absolutely necessary for you and/or your family.

•   D- Difficult: You will have to learn new skills and leave your comfort zone to achieve your goals for this year.

Some thought leaders suggest that your goals should be reasonable so that you can lay out a plan on how to achieve them. Others say that if you have any idea how you can accomplish it, then your goal isn’t big enough! 

One term used is “BHAG” (Big, hairy, audacious goals).  

BHAG goals are definitely the ones you should be careful who you share them with. A SMART method goal-setter will tear you up with questions on how you think you are going to accomplish that?!?! Then they will write them off as a pipe dream and may even take opportunities in the future to ridicule you and your foolish exercise.  

That touches on the topic of “Stretch Goals”: Goals that are big enough to move you into action and that will require you to learn new skills. Everything around you that man has built started as a dream. Some of those dreams were ridiculously big! 

It is preferable that you are dreaming big during the initial goal setting exercise. Some questions to help you get the juices flowing and open your mind to possibilities that you keep deeply buried:

·       What one great thing would you dare to dream, if you knew you could not fail?

·       If you received $1 Million today, tax free, how would your life change? Or $10M?

·       If you had unlimited time and unlimited money, what would you do with your life?

·       What do you want to Do, Be, Have, Achieve? 

You want to set goals in all areas of your life so that you maintain some balance.  

Physical and financial seem to top the list of New Years’ Resolutions. Healthy and Wealthy, anyone? 

You also want to have family, career, spiritual, educational and attitude goals.

Lifetime, 10 year, 5 year, 1 year, and 6 month goals.  

Find a quiet, auspicious place to brainstorm. Revisit your lists later and ask “WHY?” as you review the goals and dreams you have written. That will help you to prioritize and also can reveal the true motivations of your heart.  

Search the phrase goal setting, or pick the books off your shelf with goal setting exercises, and let’s get started on a great new year! 

Jim Sweat is the author of the upcoming book Real Estate CSI: Controversy, Secrets, Insight. A Real Estate Agent Exposes Dangers and Dirty Tricks That Cost You Money

He has proven that having written goals works, and not having written goals works against you. Jim’s first time to set goals was just prior to beginning his 19 year career in real estate.