BizTalk: Two Goals are Better than One

Mayu used to ask me in the beginning of our relationship where I "wanted to be in 5-10 years". That was a tough question for me to answer as I have, more often than not, lived in the NOW moments, and left the future to shape itself based upon what I did right now. I am 43 years old, and I've made it this far, so it can't be a totally wrong concept. It has worked well for me.

There are, however, some changes in the air that will need to take place in 2009, due mainly to two primary factors: the subprime loan fiasco in the USA, and the collapse of the financial industry in the USA. These have rocked the entire world, and the splashback has actually hit over here in my little Shangri-la. Thanks to Americans drastically tightening their belts, the number one consumer economy in the world has gone into recession, and well.. the industry of the world, China, as well as everyone else on our fair globe, has been negatively influenced so much that this splashback is hitting everyone, everywhere.

It is time for me to set some new goals.

Everyone sets goals. In many cases they turn out more to be dreams than something we actually achieve with success. We set goals like:

• I want to lose 10kg.
• I want to make a million dollars.
• I want to get my MBA degree.
• I want to go on a cruise holiday.
• I want to move to a different country.
• I want to get married.
• I want a comfortable pension to live off once I retire.
• I want to retire early.
• I want to get divorced.
• I want to change my job.
• I want to make more money at my job.
• I want more customers.
• I want to start my own business.
• I want to landscape my yard.
• I want to blah blah blah blah blahhhh....

... and so on.

In some cases we achieve our goals, but in many cases we don't. I have always wondered what would be a good way to improve on the rate of success...

Here is something to think about: If we look at a goal as a final destination on the "flight plan", we will see that in order to reach that goal, we must pass through a variety of points on the map. Each point is but one part to the entire plan, but it is essential to the plan's overall success.

It's like I always say... make a plan for the future, but live in the NOW. The NOW are those little points we need to pass through. What does that mean in this instance? I think that if we focus on little things that we can do right now, eventually we will achieve our final goal. The final goal may seem lofty, but when broken down into these minuscule steps, it suddenly does not appear quite as daunting.

The following article I found in my Nikkei Weekly. When I read it, it resonated with me on both business, and personal levels.

I would like to share this article with you in hopes that if you have a seemingly insurmountable goal that you really want to achieve, you can try to apply this "set two goals at a time" concept and take all the little NOW steps in between that will get you to where you want to go.

So, where do YOU want to go, today?

I love you!

Cam

Setting a goal is surprisingly difficult, so set two at a time
Randy Cross, Nikkei Weekly, 2008/10/13

 

I have been studying and teaching time management for many years now. Everyone needs to manage his or her time effectively, but it is critical in my line. My business is recruiting and sales training. Therefore, my time is my only product. If I do not use my time efficiently, I cannot make money.

 

Time management is all about setting personal goals. If you do not have clear­cut goals it will be difficult to accomplish anything in a timely and efficient manner.

 

This sounds simple, but I have discovered that effective goal setting is surprisingly difficult. I struggled for many years until I discovered a basic fact about setting goals.

 

You must set both numerical and behavioral goals.

 

What is the difference between the two? In a sales context, a numerical goal would be something like, "I will sell $80,000 worth of product this month." In a weight-loss context, a numerical goal would be, "I will lose 10kg this month."

 

Behavioral goals are different. Instead of focusing on a numerical result such as selling $80,000 worth of product a month or losing 10kg, a behavioral goal focuses on your daily activities; For example, a behavioral goal in sales would be, "I will visit two new potential customers every week and ask them for an order." For the weight-loss scenario, the behavioral goal might be, "I will only eat breakfast and lunch for the next month."

 

Which type of goal do you think would be more effective in reaching the desired results?

 

The answer is that you need both numerical and behavioral goals. Of the two, however, the behavioral goal is the more important. Let us look at the weight­loss example again, as this is an issue for many people (especially for us overweight Americans).

 

Let us say that you want to lose 10kg this month. This is the only goal you set. You weigh yourself every morning and then try and adjust your daily diet and exercise to reach the goal. You concentrate on trying to lose 10 pounds.

 

Without a definite behavioral goal, you have to constantly remind yourself to eat less and exercise more. Sometimes you remember and sometimes you don't. You may lose some weight if you concentrate hard on the numerical goal, but even if you do, it is hard to sustain the same concentration day after day. If you do not meet your numerical goal of 10kg, you may become discouraged and give up.

 

Now, let's say that you want to lose 10 pounds and you set an effective behavioral goal such as skipping dinner for the next 30 days. This behavioral goal is much easier to follow. It is simple. Do not eat dinner for one month. It is also much harder to cheat on yourself when focused on behavioral goals.

 

Let us look at another example, this one in sales. Let us say you want to sell $80,000 worth of product this month and this is the only goal you set. Some days you are all fired up and run around seeing customers or trying to find new ones. Some days you are less energetic (or perhaps discouraged), sit at your desk and worry about how to increase sales. Again, your sales may increase but it usually takes a tremendous amount of self discipline to pursue a simple numerical sales goal.

 

Instead, what would happen if you stopped and thought carefully about the one activity (behavioral goal) that would definitely increase sales? Earlier we used the example, "I will visit two new potential customers each week for one month: In your business, it maybe something different like, "I will get my largest current customer to increase his orders by offering a weekly technical seminar to its employees." Or, "Every week, I will ask five current customers for a referral to a new customer."

 

I use these behavioral goals in my business. Four years ago, when our business was slow I set a numerical goal to increase sales by 30% in three months. I focused my behavioral goal on getting referrals. I set the numerical goal of calling three acquaintances or current customers every day. It worked. We ended up with more new business than we could handle.

 

Please try this yourself. Identify a problem in your business or personal life. Set a numerical goal and behavioral goal and then concentrate on the behavioral side. I think you will be pleased with the results.

 

-Randy Cross is president of Executive Resource Group Inc.