In our Business coaching pages, International Speaker, Peak Performance Trainer and Business Mentor Arnon Barnes wants us to be very specific.
If there is one thing I can’t stress enough, it’s the importance of setting clear, very specific and intentional goals. Therefore, in the last quarter of 2019 I took the time to reflect, get crystal clear on my business goals for 2020, and I push my clients to do the same.
Whilst coaching thousands of entrepreneurs from all over the world, I’ve noticed that goal setting does one of two things. A small group gets extremely excited, whereas the majority of people get completely overwhelmed.
Aside from limiting beliefs, one of the main reasons I see is that most entrepreneurs don’t know what they really want. I mean, do you? Do you know exactly what you want? When this happens, I ask them to make a sketch of their ideal situation. We spend a good amount of time painting this situation on a clean canvas and, whatever it may be, start breaking it down piece by piece.
Because, how do you eat an elephant? Bite by bite. And to be able not to forget your goals you must be S.M.A.R.T… Personally, I don’t fully agree with this notion, and let me tell you why. Yes, your goals should be specific and measurable, but achievable?
do you think the people then thought this was achievable? They probably thought this was a very unrealistic and unachievable goal. I don’t believe in unrealistic goals; I only believe in unrealistic timelines. Get a little unrealistic and get excited about your unrealistic goals.
To me, the ‘A’ stands for Agreed Upon. There is nothing more frustrating than having a team where everyone’s nose is pointed in a different direction. Ultimately, this costs time, energy, resources and money. Therefore, it is very important to have your goals Agreed Upon.
The ‘R’ stands for Relevant. Yes, goals should support the company’s mission and vision. Why else would you work on them? Yet, I’ve changed the ‘R’ to Rewarded. You must reward yourself, even after achieving the smallest of goals. My team and I celebrate all our wins, no matter how big or how small. It’s important to nurture your inner child or else you will always feel unfulfilled, and that’s no way of living.
Lastly, yes, your goals must be Time Sensitive. You must give yourself a realistic time frame for accomplishing your smaller goals, which are necessary to achieving your ultimate objective.
It’s all good and well focusing on smaller goals. Smaller goals are the stepping stones to our ultimate goal. Now, here’s the catch. To me ‘smaller goals’ just sounds a little weak. Words have meaning, and we are what we think, what we say and what we repeat. That’s why you shouldn’t focus on smaller goals, but rather on Game Changers. I’m not saying neglect your smaller goals, but rather put a large amount of focus on something that will change the game for you and get you to your ultimate goal faster. Who would you have to send emails to? Who would you have to joint venture with? Call and have meetings with? The key here is to think out of the box, be willing to get a little uncomfortable because we all know that that’s where the magic happens.
At the end of the day, ultimate goals, smaller goals and Game Changers are a crucial part of a company’s survival. Nevertheless, they need to be backed up by ACTION. Otherwise they’re just great ideas. After all, the greatest gifts on planet earth are reserved, not for the thinkers, but for action takers. So, my question to you is: “What Game Changers are you going to act on in 2020?”
Meet and work with Arnon Barnes live? Join one of his upcoming events in Europe. For more information on the event or coaching, contact his office via info@arnonbarnes.com or check out his website www.arnonbarnes.com
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