Are You Setting Goals? Is It Working For You?

Goal Setting is something that every self help book and coach that I have read recommends.  I am no different as a coach and a marketing trainer, and yet I see people fail to reach goals all the time.  If goal setting works so well, how come so few people set goals, or keep up with them?  And among those that do, how come so many report that they aren't achieving any of their goals?

Who are the people that seem to get everything done and accomplish all of their goals?  What is the big secret?  

While talking with several clients over that past month, one stood out.  He had a different attitude and his business, or rather the business he manages accomplished something they had never done before.  They put a car together and built a team to compete in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.  I stopped by because they said I had to see what the car looked like after the event.

In the game of life, we are always looking to win, and in this case, the goal was not to win the 24 hour race, it was to merely finish.  Finishing was the goal and what the team called a win.  They did it.  If you get a chance, go see the car at TruSpeed.  If not click the picture so see the timeline on Facebook. 

Next year, maybe set the goal to place, but for this year finishing was a cause for a big celebration. 

So how did they do something that other teams couldn't do.  Much more experienced teams didn't finish the race, and yet these guys did.  They admit they finished with a little luck since the only thing holding the engine in the car as it crossed the finish line was one transmission bolt.  The engine mounts were gone and what is normally a rock solid motor shook like a scared dog.

Tyler (the team GM) and I talked about the accomplishment.  It took a year of planning broken down into little daily goals that led to the race.  One foot in front of the other each day until race day.  Like all of us, Tyler had some challenges keeping the entire team moving forward.  To begin with racing a 24 hour race is not a cheap endeavor, you have to raise money, find sponsors, build a car, find drivers and get all of that stuff from the west coast where they work to the east coast for the race.

Just like any goal that gets accomplished, Tyler broke it down into bite sized pieces, so at the end of each day, they could say they did something.  At the end of each week they did something bigger.  At the end of the month they did something even bigger.  At the end of the year, they watched their car cross the finish line at Daytona, never mind the condition.

You can achieve any goal big or small by doing the same thing and keeping one foot moving in front of the other.  If you want to set a big goal, set it, but then break it down into realistic daily and weekly goals.  Instead of making a daily goal to "get a major sponsor", break it down.  Expect that it will take 300 calls to get a major sponsor.  Knowing you need that commitment 2 months before the race, your goal is 30 calls a month for 10 months. 

If you make a daily goal to make just 3 calls each day, you will hit 300 well in advance of the 2 month deadline.  Better yet, when you get that sponsor well ahead of the deadline you get the satisfaction of lining through the goal as done.  You also have a reason for a small celebration.  Never forget to celebrate success even if it is just a milkshake or smoothie.

Goals work, the trick is to make them realistic, and to make sure the goals you set are truly important to you.  Setting goals you don't really want to accomplish is just an exercise in frustration, and a mental note to self that you don't reach your goals.  Setting goals that aren't realistic like "learn to fly by flapping my arms" isn't any better.  Either way you tell yourself that you can't do it and you are a failure.  Successful people set goals they can achieve, and the more blood, sweat and tears required, the bigger the satisfaction and celebration.

If you set goals that are very big then you have to break them down into smaller achievable tasks.  Do that for a year, and my bet is you have your best year ever.