Greatness comes from Great Objectives
Setting clear goals is tricky – but vital if you are to succeed
Having a vision, or “grand design” is one thing – but without undertaking activities to move forwards it will always remain a thought bubble!
The best objectives, and by that I mean ones that are achieved and celebrated, all have 6 elements in common; to help you capture each of these elements we have designed a set of 6 questions:
1. Good Wording
Ask what are you going to do? – start your objective with a verb (doing word) to focus on keeping you moving.
e.g. how can I improve my fitness?
2. One clear measure
Ask how will we capture progress? – include a metric; Dollars, Number of, Percentage.
e.g. sit-ups per minute
3. Realistic Target
Ask where do you want the measure to get to? – lock in an end value; make it a stretch but achievable.
e.g. 20 sit-ups in one minute
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4. Time-frame
Ask by when will the target be reached?– a period during which you will achieve the target.
e.g. by 1 Feb 2013
5. Actions
Ask what actions to you need to take this week/month to move you closer to your target? – activities undertaken to stay on track and achieve objective.
e.g. start by doing 20 sit-ups every third day and increase my sit-up speed to reach target
6. Tracking
Ask how are we going? – regular monitoring of progress and adjustment of actions if needed.
e.g. do a time trial once a week and log in diary to assess if I need to make any changes
To summarise: I set a goal to improve my fitness
“Achieve 20 sit-ups in 1 minute by the 1st November 2012”
I start with 20 sit-ups every third day and increase my sit-up speed until I reach my target. A simple table on the fridge can record my times each week to monitor progress to keep me motivated.
