Summit Group International
877.723.7206
www.summitgroupint.com
Management & Sales Training Newsletter
“Goal Setting – Targeting Your Success”
How many of us have heard that goal setting is important? That it’s something we should be doing on a regular basis? We’ve all heard it, yet most of us aren’t doing it.
A study was performed at Yale University in 1953. They polled the entire graduating class of students in Yale of 1953 and they found that only 3% of those students had written down what they wanted to accomplish after college. Years later, in 1973, they revisited that same class of students and found that 97% of the total wealth accumulated by that entire class within those twenty years had come from that 3% that had written down their goals. Isn’t that an extremely powerful testament that goal setting is critical to your success?
Almost four decades later a similar study was performed at Harvard in 1989 and what did they find? T hey found that almost forty years of time did not affect the results. The study showed the following:
3% of students had clearly written goals 13% of students had unwritten goals 84% of the students had no goals at all…no idea of what they would do after graduation.
Ten years later, the 3% that had clearly written goals were earning ten times that of the other 97% combined and the 13% that had unwritten goals were earning twice as much as the 84% combined with no goals.
Well, if goal setting is so important then why does less than 2% of the general population have written goals? Well when you write something down you’re making a commitment, right? And when you don’t carry through with your commitment what do you feel like? A failure.
The fear of failure stops most people from ever setting a goal, nonetheless, no matter how good of a marksman you are, if you’re trying to hit a target through the fog, you’re unlikely to hit that target, true? That’s why it’s so important that you’re clear, specific and defined about your goals so that you can pool your resources to accomplish them. You’ll eventually hit a target you’re aiming at, but you’ll never hit a target you can’t see.
These are the seven steps to goal setting…
1. Decide exactly what you want. Make sure it’s specific, measurable and has a time limit.
2. Write your goals on paper. Write them in the positive and present tense.
3. Determine the price you will have to pay to achieve your goal. Thoroughly think through the resources you’ll need to commit.
4. Write down your plan of action. Prioritize the list of activities.
5. Take action towards the goal. Resist the temptation to procrastinate. Get started immediately.
6. Do something every day that moves you towards the goal. Create and sustain the momentum, instead of stopping and starting.
7. Never give up. Refuse to give into temporary defeat. Remember the darkest hour is just before the dawn.
