At this time of year most people take a moment to reflect on the year that has just ticked by to consider what may lie ahead. Even those individuals that say they don’t set goals or resolutions for the coming year think about what they would like to achieve. If they want to achieve them, they need SMART goal setting.
For those who do set goals for themselves, 83% will completely fail and 17% will only achieve a portion of their goal. It is a slim 3% that achieve what they set out to do.
The most common reason for lack of success is quite simply, they bit off more than they could handle. In fact, they set themselves up for failure by taking on too many goals.
Let’s assume for a minute that the goals you set are actually achievable and not something that cannot be achieved. An example of an unachievable goal would be me wanting to be six feet tall. As someone vertically challenged, this goal would be ‘unachievable’ and therefore I would fall in with the 83% who completely fail.
Let’s assume; however, that your goals fall into the acronym of ‘SMART.’ Meaning Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Reasonable and Time stamped.
To be with the 17% that achieve at least part of their goals, you not only have to have a SMART goal, you also have to limit your number of goals to three or less.
What causes people to fail 87% of the time, even when their goals are well thought out, is having too many.
Studies and statistics all confirm that when you chase too many goals (four or more), your chances of success dramatically decrease. Why? It’s because you’re trying to focus on too many things and it becomes too confusing. Sometimes the goals even compete with each other.
When you are setting your goals, follow these 3 steps, and you will succeed:
Robert Murray is a Vancouver, BC based Business Strategy Consultant, partner at Incrementa Consulting Inc., #1 Best Selling Author, and International Keynote Speaker. For further advice, insight and inspiration on how to unlock your inner leader, follow Robert on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
Tags: Business Goals, It's Already Inside, Robert Murray, Robert S. Murray, Strategic Planning, Success
