When you ask a child want they want to be when they grow up, they will often say: astronaut, teacher, firefighter, or ballet dancer. They have a vision of themselves in the future. Yet, very few children have a plan to get to that vision. The goals are missing.
If you are looking at 2021 in the same way for your business – say you want to be profitable or sell more or be more efficient – it’s the same as saying you want to be an astronaut. It’s a vision, without a plan to achieve it. You have no goals.
Recently, IMEC sent several members of our team through Leadership Management International – Chicago/Central Illinois’ Effective Personal Productivity class. In the process, we defined our personal and professional vision/mission/goals with our mentors. Detailed goals which are SMART:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Realistic
- Tangible
These goals included dates, actions, and measures which we would achieve in our professional and personal lives. In addition, aligned with our organizational metrics / objectives to ensure that we saw success in both realms of our lives.
Next, we assessed what our value is to the organization down to the minute value of our time and discovered where we have habits or activities that may keep us from achieving our goals. Again, our mentors helped guide us to discover the High Payoff Activities (HPAs) which will ensure that we act daily in line with our goals.
For many of us, we uncovered some faulty beliefs about time, activity, and personal “stories” we tell ourselves which limit our goal achievement. We have accountability discussions with our mentors, LMI coaches and fellow team members to report out on our goals regularly.
The work and habit changes have not been easy. Measurement and accountability to yourself and each other is hard to face every day. Staying task-driven can falter. Yet, through each lesson our team has become more results-driven, seen personal and professional break-throughs, and is well on our way to achieving goals that felt unattainable a few months ago.
The language we use is changing, which changes our mental states to be goal-driven and to check our energy and time utilization for HPA alignment. New tools help us eliminate barriers to achievement as we plan and act for a stronger, more resilient, adaptable and successful 2021.
Back to my original question. Do you have goals? If 2021 planning to define and achieve those goals is something you need, IMEC will help you Plan. Implement. Excel.
