Goal Setting - Planning and Strategy

What is Goal Setting?

I decided that I never really had a good definition for goal setting, so I went out and "googled it" and found a really good definition.

Goal Setting is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal future, and for motivating yourself to turn this vision of the future into reality.

The process of setting goals helps you choose where you want to go in life. By knowing precisely what you want to achieve, you know where you have to concentrate your efforts. You'll also quickly spot the distractions that would otherwise lure you from your course.

Thank you to MindTools for this explanation! You can find out more at, http://www.mindtools.com/page6.html

So, How would you go about setting the goals and what would you do upon finding your goals?

You wouldn't just leave them on that piece of paper would you? I tried that, it doesn't work ;-) You must take ACTION!

What needs to happen can be explained in 2 easy steps.
1) Plan
2) Strategy


Step 1) The Planning phase.

-take the time to sit down and develop a plan, find a final destination and other short-term goals
-Inadequate planning and control is the leading cause of lost productivity in most businesses
-Planning GETS THINGS GOING. It provides you with a direction to aim and a target to hit



You must be AWARE of your "big picture" and keep this in mind daily.

Step 2) The Strategy phase

-slow down
-have clear priorities and take strategic view of daily problems
-set up short-term goals(30-60 days)
-set up intermediate goals (3-10 months)
-set up long-term goals (2-5 years)
-develop a "plan of attack"

Strategic Plans, The success of organizations today require that every employee, on a daily basis, considers the "big picture" and thinks strategically about gaining and keeping a competitive edge.


In general, there are 4 steps to approaching Goal Setting and Achieving your Goals. If you can master these, you can master your business.

1- Formulate Plans
2- Carry Out Plans
3- Compare Preliminary & Final Results With Plans
4- Take Corrective Action

After going through the steps, you improve and re-do, going back to step 1 and trying to improve upon the final goal.


One of the biggest problems today is the "Busyness Trap"
You do not want to confuse being "busy" with being effective and efficient, we all know that RESULTS do matter. Results are the reason we are doing the things we do. If we didn't want results, we wouldn't be taking action.

Remember that activities and speed without results are an energy-sapping waste of time.

Slow down, have clear priorities and take strategic view of the daily problems.