Ian's Blog

There are five key components in the process of setting goals and it’s best to get it right the first time. Remember the acronym SMART and that each letter has an important purpose.

The S in Smart is specific. Your mind is a missile seeking device. It does not understand generalities. You want to be as clear as possible when you write your goals. Setting a sales goal and writing, ‘I will improve sales in the first quarter,’ is ineffective. This goal is not specific and does not program the sub-conscious effectively. Your sub-conscious needs a specific target. It is more effective to write, ‘I will sell a percentage or so many sales units in the first quarter of the year.’ Similarly, writing a goal that you will lose weight in the first quarter will not work for you. You need to give your mind specific targets in this case; the exact amount of pounds or inches lost is more effective. Your mind is a missile seeking device and you want to program it exactly to hit your targets. When you visualize your goals you want a clear and specific picture.

The M in SMART is measurable. When you set your goal it gives you a foundation from which you can measure your progress. Will your sales goal be measured by volume or sales units? How will you know that you are making progress? If your goal is weight loss, will you measure progress in terms of pounds, clothes size or inches lost? You need to determine how you’ll measure your goals to stay on track. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. You want your goals to be measurable. You are the magic bullet.

The A in SMART is attainable. This is where common sense is best applied. Writing a goal, ‘to triple sales in the first quarter,’ will in most cases set you up to fail. Writing a goal, ‘to drop 30 pounds in three weeks,’ is unhealthy and can make you ill. Writing a goal, ‘to run a marathon next month,’ when you haven’t run in ten years doesn’t make sense. Set goals that are attainable taking as many variables into account as possible.

The R in SMART is relevant. Your goals need to be relevant. Your sub¬conscious mind is a powerful force so you want to be careful what you ask for. If your sales goal is achieved, can your company support the increased volume and maintain service standards? Do you need to lose the weight? We have young women and men all over North America losing pounds they don’t need to. Some sadly die as a result. Their goal is not relevant. It’s important that your goals are relevant.

Finally, the T in SMART is tracking your goals in relation to time. Will you measure your progress daily, weekly or monthly? When you pre-determine your form of time measurement it will increase you focus and help you stay on track. Once again, whatever you measure will get better and whatever you don’t measure will usually get worse.

What is this power of writing goals? Like most principles of success it is simple. Have you ever had this happen to you? You need to do the grocery shopping, so you write out a long list of the foods you need to buy. When you get to the store, you can’t find the list you wrote. You go into the store anyway. As you walk down the aisles, you’re surprised by how many items you can remember. You only wrote the list once. When you write a goal you imprint the goal. Write it down! Write it down! Write it down! There is tremendous power in the written word.

I met a nice lady at a seminar I was presenting in San Diego, California. One of the best parts of my work is the interesting people I meet along the way. This charming woman was no exception. At the lunch break we sat together and the conversation flowed from one subject to another. She lit up when she told me of a hot date she was looking forward to on the Friday of that week. Then, with great enthusiasm she spoke of the list she had made. She had written a list for what she was wearing on this date. She was taking great care to make sure all the accessories would match. You know the routine guys, the dress, the shoes, the purse and all the other accessories.

Isn’t it strange to you that people will make lists for the food they want to buy or the clothes they are going to wear? They make travel lists, camping lists and many other lists. Often these same people won’t make a list for their lives? This is your life. This is not a dress rehearsal. Think of your goals. Now write it down, write it down, and write it down! Writing down your goals will change your life as well as others around you. Remind yourself 3 times a day for the next 21 days by asking yourself a simple yet profound question. Am I setting SMART goals? Thanks for tuning ion and I’ll see you in my next article.

Allan Baylis is world class Speaker, author of The Magic Bullet and an international business consultant. Allan helps others focus on business and personal Growth. He has delivered over 5000 presentations in the US, Canada and Europe.http://www.allanbaylis.com 
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