星空传媒

鈥楳any people fail in life, not for lack of ability or brains or even courage but simply because they have never organised their energies around a goal.鈥�

Wise words indeed from author Elbert Hubbard, and having worked with the elite in sport and business over the last 20 years, one thing is clear 鈥� setting effective goals is a vital component for success 鈥� those who set effective goals excel, those who don鈥檛 usually under-perform.

The good news is that goal-setting is a science and there are some key steps to making them work for you:

Step 1: Constructing the goal

The 鈥榯riangle of fire鈥� is a phrase used to explain that a fire needs three things 鈥� oxygen, fuel and a source. Without any one of these, the fire will simply not work, and goals are just the same 鈥� they also need three vital components:

• what you intend to do
• how you will do it
• by when you will do it

Without all three of these things, it is more of a vague aspiration rather than a goal. 鈥淕iving up smoking鈥� is not effective 鈥� there鈥檚 no 鈥榟ow鈥� and no 鈥榳hen鈥�!

Step 2: Checking your goal

It鈥檚 also vital to ask yourself key questions about your goal:

- Is it expressed positively?

A positive goal is much more powerful than a negative one. 鈥淚 want to be more confident presenting to clients鈥� is much better than 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to feel so anxious when I have to present.鈥�

- Do you own the goal?

Personal responsibility is a vital factor. 鈥淚 want my boss to be nicer to me鈥� is unlikely to work as there鈥檚 no personal ownership. 鈥淚 want to learn how to communicate better with my boss鈥� is far better.

- Is it realistic?

Setting fantastic goals that are completely unreasonable is another common pitfall - a desire to cross the Arctic on a skateboard in a pair of swimming trunks is wonderfully ambitious, though probably unreasonable.

So don鈥檛 set yourself up to fail!

- What鈥檚 the first step?

Initially you might feel overwhelmed by the scale of the goal. So if it鈥檚 鈥淚 want to run a marathon鈥�, the first step might be 鈥淚鈥檓 going to walk for 20 minutes each day.鈥�

- Is it adjustable?

Great goals are adjustable. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to go to the gym three times a week鈥� can be adjusted so if you miss out on one session then the entire goal doesn鈥檛 fall apart

- How could I sabotage it?

Being aware of how you might sabotage your goal is useful in helping you select the best course of action 鈥� knowing that you might choose to slump on the sofa and watch TV rather than go for that walk can help you prepare for how you might deal with it.

Step 3: What sort of goal

is it?

Goals can be divided into two types 鈥� process and outcome. An outcome goal focuses on the end result, eg 鈥渃atch a big trout鈥� (see page 12). A process goal focuses on what you need to do in order to achieve the outcome. An outcome goal is the 鈥榳hat鈥�, a process goal is the 鈥榟ow鈥�.

Process goals are the key to successful performance. Most people focus only on outcome goals where an overemphasis can have a disastrous effect on performance. Learn to think less about what you want to accomplish and more about how you鈥檒l accomplish it.