The End of SMART Goals? Now There’s an EASIER Way! By J. Wolsey Riggs

When I was a kid learning how to set goals, all I ever heard was “make sure your goals are SMART… Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely.” The only problem was, setting SMART goals never seemed to help me achieve them!

In fact, in my case, trying to make sure I set SMART goals usually left me tired, frustrated, and unsure of my ability to even set a goal properly, not to mention achieving it. I needed an easier way to incorporate this powerful personal development tool into my life. Lucky for me, I found one!

Years of research in the fields of human potential (and goal setting in particular) has shown that those who consistently achieve their goals follow a very specific pattern of behavior. In short, once goal-achievers intend to do something, they:

Envision what their life will look like after they have achieved their goal. Second, they assess where they stand in relation to that goal. Then, after creating an honest assessment, they begin strategizing how they are going to get from “where they are” to “where they want to be”.

Next, they implement their strategy, and begin working towards the achievement of their objectives. As they progress (or regress, depending on how things are going), goal-achievers take time to evaluate their progress, and finally, they surround themselves with people they trust that they can report their findings to.

When you line the process up, it looks like this...

Goal-achievers:

Envision
Assess
Strategize
Implement
Evaluate
Report

The really good news is, each of us is already an expert in using the EASIER Method to achieve those ingrained goals that we call “habits”. Think about it: when you want to get home from work at 5:30 so that you can see your beautiful wife (or handsome husband, whatever the case might be), you:

Envision what it will be like when you walk in the door into the arms of your loved one (“Man, I can’t wait to get home and hug my honey! He/She’s always so warm and cuddly!”).

Assess when you’ll need to leave, and how long you have until the moment you can leave the rat race and head for greener pastures (“It’s 4:30 now, and I can’t leave until 5 if I want to have a job in the morning. If I’m going to make it home by 5:30, I’ll need to…).

Strategize as to what the best route will be (“… avoid the highway, because at that time of day, it’s bumper-to-bumper traffic. I’ll take the back roads instead, and stop by the flower shop on my way.”).

Implement your strategy with the hope that it will help you achieve your goal (“5:00! Time to get out of here!”).

Evaluate your progress along the way (“Darn! I wasn’t planning on this construction! I’m going to have to go a bit faster once I get through this traffic if I want to make it home on time!”)

Report your progress (“Hi, honey. Boy, am I glad to see you; it was a tough day at the office! Oh, these? They’re flowers – yes, for you! I know, I know, I shouldn’t have.”)

You see? You’re an EASIER Method expert without even having tried. Just imagine what you’re going to be able to achieve now that you understand the process that leads to consistent goal achievement! Happy goal-getting, and remember: there’s an EASIER Way to do everything!
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J. Wolsey Riggs is a personal and professional development consultant and goal achievement expert. He is the founder and President of Valor Enterprises, Inc., a consulting firm based out of beautiful Littleton, CO. He is the co-creator and #1 fan of the EASIER Method of Goal Achievement. You can read more about his company at EasierMethod.com, or more from him at the EASIER Method of Goal Achievement blog at http://easiermethod.blogspot.com.

*brought to you by GoalsSuccess.com

Powerful Goals By Beverly A. Potter

Powerful Goals Provide A Target
A goal is a target to shoot at. It is a result toward which effort is directed. It is an outcome to be achieved. Usually a goal is a statement of what you want to achieve, but goals can also be unstated and implicit. Goals focus your efforts because there is a target to shoot for. They tell you where to shoot and which way to go.

Suppose, for example, you want to practice archery but have no target. So you shoot into the air, at nothing in particular. Without the target your learning is likely to be slow and your progress poor.

Besides showing you where to shoot, goals provide immediate feedback, which is important in learning. Suppose again, while practicing archery you shoot at the target but cannot see where the arrow hits. Without feedback on your shot, your learning will probably be slow. Suppose six months after you shoot the arrow, you are told that it hit the second ring. This delayed feedback will not be of much assistance in helping you improve your shot.

Powerful goals give immediate feedback on your shot, the sooner the feedback, the more powerful because it is from information about your miss that you can correct your next shot.

Powerful Goals Create A Picture
Vaguely defined goals such as "improving communications," "Increasing satisfaction," or "having more fun," for example, are difficult, perhaps impossible to achieve because they don't provide a clear picture of the target -- the result you're shooting at. What does "improved communications" look like? How do you know when you've achieved it? communications with whom? If you talk about politics with your teenaged son after dinner, is that improved communications?

Vaguely stated goals are frustrating because without a clear picture of the target you can miss hitting it. Do this a few times and you can feel that you are constantly falling short in life. To be powerful, the target must be clear enough that you can see yourself achieving the goal.

Use Intuition
Using your imagination turns intuition on. Imagining your goal creates a mental picture of it. The clearer the picture, and the more magnetic its draw, the better the goal will serve as a target so that you can see what you are shooting for. At the same time your intuition actively works at directing your attention in beneficial ways so that things, information, and people appear as you need them, almost magically, when they were probably their all along and you just didn't notice.

The most that you are able to see yourself achieving the goal, the greater its power. "Having more fun" can be translated into a specific picture, such as you laughing with friends while playing volleyball at the beach. You see yourself being in such a scene and try it on to notice how it feels being there.

Be Specific
A specific goal describes what you will be doing when you achieve your goal -- when you're in the "goal-state," which is the time in the future when you have achieved the goal. It is the solution to the problem you are solving, or a milestone you're striving to reach or an end-point in your project, or the achievement of something specific.

Try It On
Ask the question, "What will I be going when I . . .?" Asking a question activates intuition. Patiently wait for an image to come to mind. Your intuition will give information about how the goal fits you.

To be powerful, the goal must be a good fit like a comfortable shoe; otherwise you could be hobble and unable to get anywhere. Notice sensations you experience when you imagine being in the goal-state. If it doesn't feel good, then change the picture until it does feel good. Experiment to discover what fits you. Work on the image of the goal-state until you find pictures where you feel energized and "one" with what you're doing.

Powerful Goals Are Magnetic
How your subconscious responds to a goal greatly influences its power. You need a compelling image to pull you towards the goal; otherwise you must push yourself towards it. As soon as you push on yourself, resistance emerges. It's a natural response like putting out your hand when you fear you are about to fall or like your dog resisting when you pull on his collar.

Compelling goals are easier to achieve because they are positive. For one thing the brain processes positive information faster than negative information, which probably explains why double negatives are so confusing.

Attractive Vs Repulsive Goals
The purpose of a goal is to motivate -- to get you moving. It is easier to get moving when the picture of you in the goal-state is compelling. Then the goal draws you toward it, like a magnet does.

Thinking of your goal brings its attractive or repulsive properties to mind. The trick in creating a magnetic goal -- a goal that draws you toward it -- is in specifying the goal in such a way that the images it brings to mind attract you. Attractive images attract. They are compelling and draw you to them. Compelling goals kick in seeking motivation.

A goal like "losing weight by not eating sweets," for example, is negative and contains a hidden suggestion that continually reminds you of what you want to not do -- eat sweets. This kicks in avoidance motivation. Imaging what you will be doing when you have lost weight can discover a positive statement. For example, it might be "looking good in a size 12 bathing suit." Seeing yourself looking good in a bathing suit is more compelling, hence more motivating, than imaging not eating sweets. Your journey towards a smaller waistline is more joyful when you are seeking to wear a size 12, than when you are avoiding eating delicious sweets.

Negative Goals Repel
Goals that contain negative targets are surprisingly common. Sometimes an authority like a parent or teacher imposed the goal on you. Other times the goal appears positive but contains hidden negatives. Negative goals put you in a conflict situation, because success is defined in terms of activities or changes you dislike. You will probably fail to achieve the goal because the picture it elicits repels you.

Some goals sound positive but contain hidden negative images. The artist whose goal is to increase his income but who hates billing clients has a goal with a hidden negative-making higher billings. The doctor with a goal of creating and implementing eight marketing strategies to increase clientele in her clinic, who finds self-promotion distasteful has a goal with hidden negatives. Goals such as these are easier to achieve when you find compelling images and restate the goal to elicit that image when you think of the goal.

Powerful Goals Say When
Timelines help you bring the pieces together. Goals with no specific completion date make it difficult to set a timeline for completing action steps. Such open-ended goals undermine motivation and encourage procrastination.

Timelines must be realistic if the goal is to be powerful. Unrealistically short deadlines can trigger panic, provoking the opposite "Why bother?" attitude, and generally generate an oppressive climate. A deadline that is too short is usually better than no deadline at all. Unrealistic deadlines usually become apparent quickly, providing you an opportunity to readjust them to a more realistic time frame.
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Copyright 2000 by Beverly A. Potter. From High Performance Goal Setting: Using Intuition to Conceive and Achieve Your Dreams, Dr. Beverly Potter, POB 3008, Oakland CA 94609. This article may be downloaded for personal use; any other use requires written permission. All rights reserved. Visit Docpotter's site.

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Motivating Your Team! By Bobb Biehl

Have you played on two kinds of teams? One was a highly motivated team and one was a team whose morale was at an all time low? Let me explain the difference between the ways those teams develop - and how you, as a leader, can motivate your team to have high morale.

If your team has high morale, you stand a far better chance of going to finals, reaching the goal, winning the championship, or building the company than you ever do with a team that has morale problems.

Team Dream
One phrase that’s the key to understanding team morale is team dream – their dream of what could happen someday together as a team. Once your team decides, “This is our dream, this is what we will be capable of as a team” - the second profound question is, “What are the ten critical steps needed to turn that dream into reality?” Just think about it for a minute... What is your team’s dream? What are you capable of as a team? What are the ten critical steps necessary to turn that dream into reality?

Primary Results
Secondly, what is your team’s primary measurable result? What is the leading measurable indicator that you are moving toward your dream?

I once saw an ad in a magazine that said something I just passed over as being “hype.” Three days later, however, I realized that it was deep wisdom. That simple statement was, “Nothing motivates like results.” Don’t ever forget this statement.

If the morale on your team today is down there’s a simple reason: you’re not seeing the results you want to see. If your morale is the highest it has ever been there’s a simple reason: you’re seeing results that are above what you expected to see. That is very profound. Identify your primary result and keep that ever visible to your team.

Goals -- Problems -- Opportunities
Thirdly, encourage your goal-oriented members to set goals, your problem-oriented members to solve problems, and your opportunity oriented members to grab opportunities. One of the most insightful things I can tell you about life is that everyone is not like you. What motivates you may not motivate individual members of your team and vice versa.

The goal-setters are your team’s offense.
The problem-solvers are the defensive part of your team.
The Opportunity oriented members are like the special teams.
You need to have a strong offense, a strong defense, and strong special teams to win the championship.

Wrap Up
In summary, the keys to motivating your team are:
1. Crystallize your team’s dream and identify the ten critical steps needed to get there.
2. Define the primary result, because nothing motivates like results!
3. Encourage the goal-setters to add goals. The problem-solvers to fix problems. And, the opportunity oriented members of your team to grab opportunities.

If you will do these three things, your team is far more likely to stay highly motivated.

(c) Bobb Biehl – www.BobbBiehl.com – 1-800-443-1976

Note: This article adapted from a “fog cutting” C.D., Focusing by Asking!.. available at www.BobbBiehl.com.
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Bobb Biehl is an executive mentor. He is the founder of Masterplanning Group International. As its president, he has consulted personally with more than 400 clients. In that time he has met one-to-one with over 2,500 executives (board members, senior executives, and staff members) and spent an estimated 35,000 hours in private sessions with some of the finest leaders of our generation. You can visit him at www.BobbBiehl.com.

*brought to you by GoalsSuccess.com