How to Create an Action Plan and Achieve Your Goals
Overview
The ultimate key to success is setting goals. This book makes you an
expert.
Why is it that some people consistently seem to get more done than
others? The answer is that they know how to set specific, achievable
goals for themselves...and then follow through on them. This revised and
updated edition of
Goal Setting features worksheets, quizzes, and
other practical tools, giving readers powerful techniques they can use
to set a goal, make a plan, and acquire the resources and power
necessary to achieve their objective. The book shows readers how to:
act upon their objectives in a precise, targeted way • recognize
obstacles and overcome them • become more assertive • change
counterproductive behavior • establish priorities • make the most of
their time
Achieving goals takes hard work and discipline. This expanded edition of
Goal Setting gives readers the tools and techniques to accomplish anything.
About the Author
Susan B. Wilson (Stevensville, MI) is a coach, facilitator, and writer,
as well as the President of Executive Strategies, a firm that aids
organizations in goal setting, leadership, and team building.
Michael S. Dobson (Bethesda, MD) has over twenty years of experience in
project management, and is a business writer. He was part of the team
that built the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
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Press Release
HEADLINE:GOAL SETTING:HEADLINE
SUBHEAD:How to Create an Action Plan and Achieve Your Goals:SUBHEAD
New AMACOM Book on How to Accomplish Any Task, No Matter How Challenging
Why is it that some people consistently seem to get more done than
others? The answer is that they know how to set specific, achievable
goals for themselves...and then follow through on them. While you may
be working very hard, without setting goals you'll find that all of your
effort doesn't yield meaningful results. To achieve any goal, you need
to understand why you want it in the first place, how it relates to your
other goals, how reaching it will change your life, and what elements of
the goal are the most valuable and important to you.
Authors Susan B. Wilson and Michael S. Dobson have more than twenty
years of experience in helping clients to set goals, develop a plan, and
acquire the resources and power necessary to reach them. As they write
in their latest book, "If your goals are challenging (and they should
be), achieving them takes hard work and risk. The more reasons you have
to pursue a goal, the better you'll likely do in terms of achieving it.?
This revised and updated edition of GOAL SETTING: How to Create an
Action Plan and Achieve Your Goals, 2nd edition (AMACOM 2008) $12.
00 Paperback), features worksheets, quizzes, and other practical tools,
giving readers the advice they need to stay on the right track and
succeed at any task. Readers will learn to:
• act upon their objectives in a precise, targeted way
• recognize obstacles and overcome them
• become more assertive
• change counterproductive behavior
• establish priorities
• master the eleven strategies to optimize reaching their goals
• understand key planning steps
• make the most of their time
• delegate more effectively
Filled with helpful worksheets, quizzes, and other practical tools, the
book has been revised and expanded, featuring up-to-the-minute
strategies for setting specific, achievable goals, putting them down in
writing, and then following through on them. It also contains brand new
sections on getting help in achieving goals, leveraging the power to get
things done, and how to use project management in goal setting. Timely
and practical, this expanded edition of GOAL SETTING gives readers the
tools and techniques to accomplish anything.
About the Authors:
Susan B. Wilson is a coach, facilitator, and writer, as well as the
President of Executive Strategies, a firm that aids organizations in
goal setting, leadership, and team building. She lives in Stevensville,
MI. Michael S. Dobson has over twenty years of experience in project
management, and is a business writer. He was part of the team that built
the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. He lives in Bethesda, MD.
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Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Getting Started
Have you ever wondered why some people seem to have the ability to
accomplish a lot? They know where they are headed and exude an enviable
confidence. Effective goal setting is one of their keys to success. You
may be working very hard at what you do, but without setting goals
you'll find that your hard work doesn't yield meaningful results.
Remember Alice in Wonderland? At one point in the story, Alice stops at
the crossroads to ask the Cheshire Cat which road to take. He responds
by asking where she wants to go. When she tells him that she "doesn't
much care where," he replies, "then it doesn't matter which way you go."
As a result, she wanders aimlessly in her travels.
Like Alice, we often travel the road of life without a specific
direction or goal. Few of us make goal setting a priority. In fact,
studies have shown that most people either do not know what they want
from life or, if they do, have no plans for realizing their dreams. Only
a small percentage of people have specific, well-defined goals. And
people who most frequently reach their goals are those who write them
down and develop the plans to reach them.
Take a moment to consider why writing down your goals makes such a
significant difference in ultimate performance. Why do you think that
writing down one's goals is so important?
If your response included the idea that goal achievers record their
goals so that they can read them, absorb them, and plan for them, then
you are on the right track. People who achieve their goals take an
active role in achieving them. They write them down, and then plan for
their achievement. This chapter considers ten guidelines for evaluating
and writing down your goals. If you follow these guidelines, you will
establish your goals in a way that nearly guarantees your effort will be
rewarded. Time and again, your reward is successful goal achievement.
Before learning the ten guidelines for effective goal setting, take a
few minutes to identify two of your goals—they can be anything as long
as they are meaningful to you—and write them down. Then, complete the
self-audit, which identifies ten elements for effective goal setting.
Evaluate the extent to which you use these ideas when developing your
goals.
Your Goals
1. ___________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________
Now complete the self-audit on page 5 by checking either "Nearly
Always," "Sometimes," or "Rarely" for each statement.
TEN GUIDELINES THAT REALLY WORK
The questions you just answered identify ten guidelines for effective
goal setting. Using these ideas ensures that you establish goals that
can be accomplished. The ten guidelines are:
1. Effective goals are written. Many of us daydream about what we
would like to accomplish. But how many of us pick up a pen and write
down those things we most want to achieve? Once a dream is committed to
paper, it becomes concrete. Your dream is given a sense of reality.
Writing down your goals is a first step toward achieving them.
SELF-AUDIT FOR GOAL SETTING
Nearly Always Sometimes Rarely
1. When I set a goal, I write it down. _________ ________
________
2. I describe my goal in specific, measurable terms. _________
________ ________
3. I often visualize my goals. _________ ________ ________
4. My goals are achievable. _________ ________ ________
5. I set realistic deadlines for completing my goals. _________
________ ________
6. I break a large goal into manageable units. _________ ________
________
7. I look for the potential problems that may keep
me from reaching my goals. _________ ________ ________
8. I take action to remove or minimize those potential
problems. _________ ________ ________
9. I review progress toward my goals on a regular basis. _________
________ ________
10. I know the personal rewards of reaching my goals. _________
________ ________
Assess your responses by counting the number of times you responded
"Nearly Always" and multiply that number by 3. Multiply the number of
times you responded "Sometimes" by 2, and the number of times you
responded "Rarely" by 1. Then add the resulting three numbers for a
total score.
Nearly Always ______ (number of responses) x 3 = _______
Sometimes ______ (number of responses) x 2 = _______
Rarely ______ (number of responses) x 1 = _______
GRAND TOTAL = _______
Analyzing Your Score
Score of:
24-30
Excellent job of setting effective goals. If you find that you do an
excellent job of setting goals, but you feel you could be more
successful in reaching them, then Chapter 2 may be especially meaningful
for you.
18-23
You are on your way to achieving effective goal setting. Take another
look at the statements where your responses were less than "Nearly
Always." These are the areas for additional concentration.
Below 18
There are several areas in which you can improve your goal setting. In
setting the goal of reading and using this book, you are becoming a more
effective goal setter.
2. Effective goals are written in specific, measurable terms. If
you write your goal in specific terms, then you probably have expressed
it in a measurable way. A goal needs to be measurable so that your
progress can be evaluated and so that you will know when you have
achieved your goal. For instance, you may think about learning a new
computer software package. But only when you describe your goal as
"taking a class in WordPerfect between March and June and spending six
to eight hours a week to learn its applications to my job" will you have
a definable, measurable goal.
EXAMPLES OF MEASURABLE GOALS
* By April 1, I will have my taxes completed and ready to be mailed.
* This week I will make fifteen sales calls and close on four of them.
* We will hire a new secretary within two weeks.
3. Effective goals can be visualized. Picture yourself reaching
your goal. Picture the result, the moment, and your feelings. Much of
our energy for reaching goals comes from a desire to attain them.
Usually, the more you desire something, the harder you will work toward
achieving it. For example, a sales rep has won several awards. He
accomplishes his extraordinary sales goals by visualizing his reward of
receiving the plaque and winning the trip each year. He says, "I can see
myself walking across the stage, being congratulated by the CEO, and
enjoying my moment in the spotlight. When I'm having a slow day, I just
visualize the result that I want, and it renews my energy."
Victor Frankl is a Viennese psychologist and survivor of a World War II
concentration camp. In his book Man's Search for Meaning, Frankl
describes people who were able to visualize their goals for living and,
consequently, were able to withstand the tortures of their
circumstances. He maintains that people who had no purpose died quickly;
those who kept an eye on their goals were more likely to survive.
4. Effective goals are achievable. Goals need to challenge your
skills and abilities, without discouraging your effort and performance.
For example, when initially implementing a quality management program,
companies do not usually target the highly acclaimed and highly
competitive Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award as their first goal.
Instead, they establish less stringent quality goals at first so that
work teams can experience success in reaching those more realistic
goals. As competency, success, and confidence grow, work teams may then
decide to stretch for the higher goal.
5. Effective goals have realistic deadlines. Goals need a
schedule. You are more likely to take action when you set a realistic
time frame for accomplishing your goal. Schedule enough time to reach
the goal, but not so much time that you lose interest in it. How many
people have you heard say they need a vacation from their work but don't
get around to taking one? A far higher percentage of people meet their
goal when they record their specific intentions. "I will plan a vacation
for the second week in March and arrangements will be settled by January
15."
6. Effective goals are manageable. Sometimes a goal can seem
overwhelming because of its size. But if it is divided into smaller
components, then it becomes easier to manage and is achievable. To hear
your boss say that he wants you to open seventy-two accounts this year
may sound unrealistic, but if you think of it in terms of six accounts
each month, then the goal is more manageable.
7. Effective goals are analyzed for their potential problems. As
you establish a goal, consider the steps you must take to accomplish it.
Analyze the goal for potential problems that might keep you from
reaching it. If a goal initially is considered in terms of what could go
wrong, then you can take action to resolve or minimize problems before
they occur. Critical thinking helps you cover all the angles and stay on
the path toward achieving your goal.
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