The Art of Setting & Achieving Business Goals

Most business owners go through the entire year without a real clear picture of the goals they have for their business. Just going through the paces, week after week, without a clue whether they are ahead or behind. I think the reason most business owners do this is because if they never commit to a specific goal, then they can't be disappointed when they miss it. It keeps them from feeling worse about their lack of a real plan to succeed.

But we're going to run this race differently. We're going to set very specific goals. We're going to make sure everyone on the team knows our goals and we're going to measure our progress towards our goals on a regular basis. Are you with me?

Start here. Write down your goals for this year's race in specific categories. For example, Sales, Marketing, Customer Satisfaction, etc. If you have other specific areas that are critical to your success, then write down a goal in those areas as well. Be specific. What do you want to accomplish in each particular area of your business? When do you want to be at that goal? Who is going to take the lead in this specific area?

Now, if your goals are for where you want to be by the end of the year then I want you to go back and break them up into quarterly goals. Rather than staring at a huge, seemingly unachievable goal, it will be more motivating, more achievable if you state it in quarterly terms. Where do you want to be by the end of March? How about the end of June? How about the end of September? Making the goals more timely and achievable will motivate you and your team to accomplish them.

Now that you have your goals written, determine how you are going to share them with your partners, your team and the person who is going to hold you accountable to them - your business coach. You must go public with your goals if you intend to achieve them. Shine a light on them. Don't hide them just in case you do not achieve them or you can be certain that is exactly what will happen!

Lastly, begin measuring your progress against your goals. This is critical. Having a goal is one thing, but having a measurement system so you can see your progress on a regular basis is the key to victory! Keep it simple. Find a place to record your progress on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Share the results. Celebrate the small wins. Make corrections and adjustments on a regular basis. These tactics will keep you and your team focused and will give you the highest probability of success!

[xr.com/BlgGols]


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Not Being Perfect is Perfectly OK!

By a special guest blogger
Okay – so you screwed up again! Then there is the resultant self-flaggelation afterward, a collection of responses from mental masturbation, that hamster wheel of thoughts as we mentally rehearse over and over what could have or should have been because, DAMMIT, it wasn’t our fault (projection), to lethargy to sleeplessness (more rehearsing even as we try to get a break from the barrage of thoughts), to isolating to sniping at our partners (displacement is Freud’s term – you know when the boss yells at us and we go home and kick the dog). Whew! I’m exhausted just reading this! And believe me, it is barely the tip of the iceberg of responses of how we berate ourselves when we feel as though we’ve done something wrong. No one is perfect – perfect is boring, an illusion.

Native Americans understood the importance of flaws. In Navajo rugs there is always a flaw built into the design on purpose – This flaw is intentional – the Navajo believe that this flaw allows the spirit, or soul, of the blanket to have the freedom to roam, and for the blanket to never truly end. In reality, there is no such thing as perfect as we are all changing from each millisecond to the next – our bodies are renewing and aging, expanding and contracting with each moment. It would be much more true to think that we are perfect in all of our our imperfections. I can really see the beauty in that. So the next time you screw up, I mean really pull a big one (that isn’t caught on You Tube or anything), try to create some space for self-forgiveness. It is sooo much easier and takes a lot less energy to do so. Ahhhhh.

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Appreciate Your Food More, Eat Mindfully

Start with focusing on part of your meal or snack as your "mindfulness" target--such as a cracker, olive, or orange slice. Before you put it in your mouth, note the color, shape and texture. Does it look appetizing to you? Do you notice any reactions in your body when you look at it? Does your mouth water? Does your stomach growl? Notice what is happening in your body. Move your hand slowly toward your mouth with your food. Take a moment to smell the food as it approaches your nose. Just notice. As you place the food in your mouth, notice all the sensations. Where is the food positioned in your mouth? What happens with your tongue? What tastes are you experiencing? Where on your tongue do you taste the different flavors? When you decide to chew, notice how the texture of your food changes. Notice the placement change of the food in your mouth. When you decide to swallow, notice all the changes that take place in your mouth and throat. Can you feel the food item moving down toward your stomach? What do you notice in your stomach now? Sit for another few seconds and notice any other changes in your body.


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How to Remain Calm No Matter What the Storm

There has been a major storm in our economy for almost two years now. Understandably, this resulted in many people feeling very stressed. When you’re overly stressed the chemistry in your brain changes. Your problem solving abilities are reduced and your judgment is diminished - you may even experience an increase in aggression. In fact, being stressed it is a very similar state as being drunk! This is no state to be in when making important decisions about any area of your life. 


When the markets hit tremendous lows in the past year and a half, many investors panicked under the stress and sold all their investments. In most cases, this was a major mistake because they sold low and locked in all those loses. They did so because they were stressed and not thinking clearly. The Dow Jones has increased by about 40 percent since March, 2009 - unfortunately, anyone who panicked and sold stock before that date lost out on those huge market gains. Before you make any major decisions in any stormy circumstances, discover how to overcome the effects of stress on your brain.

Here are some simple and quick steps to take to begin to relax and reduce stress:

Ø Take at least 3 deep, slow, regular breaths – this will start to slow your heart rate, lower your blood pressure and restore cognitive clarity.

Ø As you breathe, let your shoulders relax and loosen your jaw – you may be surprised at how much tension you hold in your jaw.

Ø Focus your mind on the present moment – to help you with this maybe focus your attention on your breath passing through your nostrils as you breathe, or pick a spot on the wall or floor and focus your eyes gently on that spot. When focusing on the present moment you prevent yourself from regretting the past and fearing the future – both of which increase stress. (For a deeper understanding of this concept, read The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.)

Ø When uncomfortable thoughts and feelings arise, don’t try to ignore them but acknowledge them as if from a distance and label them – recent research at UCLA proves this practice allows you to detach from negative emotions so they do not hijack your calmness.

Once you sense you are relaxed, you can start to look at your situation more realistically. Perhaps first take a break, go for a walk, get out in the fresh air and sunlight – it is advisable not to make major decisions during the dark of night when your mind seems to magnify problems. Then, like the serenity prayer says, accept the things you cannot change and have the courage to change the things you can. Regarding the things you cannot change - e.g., the markets crashing - simply accept the situation and let go of any tension you feel about it. If there is nothing you can do about it, why worry? 

Regarding the things you can change. Once you are relaxed and mental clarity has been restored to your brain, make an objective list of what you need to do – not one swayed by emotion. Then, calmly and as relaxed as possible, complete each task to the best of your ability.

Will this calm the outer storm in our economy and stop the markets crashing? No. But it will calm the storm within you and make you less likely to do something irrational that you will later regret.

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There Is No Such Thing as a Time Problem

By Sandi Smith, special guest blogger
I know it’s a bold statement and a lot of you will disagree. But please have an open mind and hear me out.

Time is the great equalizer. We all have the same number of hours in a day, yet some entrepreneurs, many of them self-made, become wildly successful, while others languish. Only one in twenty business owners in the U.S. (2002 numbers) make it past $1 million in annual revenues. I believe the way they use their time is a big factor in their success or failure. Here are three better explanations of your time problem:

1. You are not delegating enough. This could be on a couple of levels: you might not be delegating enough tasks, but you also might not be delegating enough authority. This problem is based in fear of letting go of control and trusting. (If you don’t think you can afford a team, then you have some kind of marketing problem that needs to be addressed.)
2. You are doing everything from memory without having documented, automated, or systematized your business to the extent that makes you competitive with others. Read Michael Gerber’s The E-Myth. This one is more of a skills issue than a fear issue.
3. You remain in a reactive mode, fighting fires all day. There could be many reasons for this, and fear is at the root of most of them: we tend to do what we already know how to do, we may have some boundary issues with clients we need to work on, and we might be doing #1 and #2 above which contributes to this one.

(There are several more, but I have to leave some content exclusively for the benefit of my coaching clients!)

When you can go deeper to root out your so-called time problem, then you have something you can work on to improve your business. What can you do to better leverage your 24 hours each day?

About the author:
©2010 Sandra L. Smith, Inc. Business growth and high performance expert Sandi Smith is a coach, public speaker, author, and scientist. She’s one of a handful of women who have co-piloted a single-engine airplane around the world. Sign up at www.sandismith.com to get her FREE newsletter full of business-building tips.
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Phone: +1 (321) 214-5824