Are you reflecting on the goals you made for this year?

Perhaps those you meant to make but didn’t quite get around to?  Be honest, do you find there are excuses being developed, considered and accepted as to why we didn’t get there or what will happen next year?

So maybe it’s a good time to at least learn a lesson from what didn’t happen and develop a process that will get us there.

Start by critically analysing what happened and what didn’t happen last year versus your goals.

For example, if it was a business sales goal you could consider how many significant conversations you had that led to closed sales versus discussions that went nowhere. This will help to realise with whom you should be investing your time.  Also examine the rationales you come up with to justify those you did loose.

Break your top level goals down into sub goals.

Simply telling ourselves we need to close so many sales for so much revenue simply isn’t enough. We need to specify and commit to the specific behaviours we will do to achieve the target, and monitor results.

So, how will you manage accountability?

We need to write down these measurements and compare our progress from week to week, month to month, and quarter to quarter. And we need to keep squarely in mind the consequences of hitting these measurements or not reaching them.

Consider how you find motivation is it—pleasure or pain?

Think how your feel when you achieve one and avoid the other. If the thought of reaching your goals fills you with delight, recall and rely on that to motivate you. Or if the thought of coming in below your goals fills you with fear, that let that serve as your motivation driver.

Fundamentally, it should make it clear that achieving goals needs clarity, discipline and focus. Ultimately staying on track brings us the freedom to achieve the sales goals we set.

Most importantly, make your goals as meaningful as possible. Connect with them on as deep a level as you can.  Consider why you want to achieve that goal and build some emotional connection with achieving it.