Setting a goal for yourself and maintaining or completing it is probably one of the most difficult of tasks. New Year's Eve resolution; a goal. Losing weight; a goal. Improving your performance at the gym; a goal. Blocking time for work projects; yet another goal. You have to start somewhere. I choose November each year-before my manager asks for my next years' goals. I have conditioned myself as a result of having multiple managers to be prepared to show my numbers. I realized it did not matter who my manager was-male or female/experienced with true leadership skills or not-the bottom line is this: I NEED to know where I am headed.
Goals can be broken down. An outline format or template may prove quite useful. They are less troubling and less scary when you do. Keeping up with the accountability of your progress can be daunting. Since I work in sales, I use my previous years' production as a starter. I consider the marketplace/trends to be realistic. I challenge myself to increase my production over the previous year. Take note of the months of the year which, tend to have less or more business than others such as during the vacation/summer months and at the holidays. Prepare in advance so those months have the least negative/most positive impact on your production. You still have to eat and pay your rent/mortgage each month. Once you learn the trends of what and when you do things it is possible to also learn about yourself-your personality and accountability factors for instance or your weaknesses and strengths. And, what days of the week are most productive as well as the down times of your day or when planning or calling is more effective.
Break it down! If you don't have a clue where to begin and you know Mondays are sluggish after your weekend, start the day 30 to 60 minutes earlier. Use 15 minutes of meditation to work on your focus. Write a list of tasks for the week. Start the week off with a challenge or two. Call that difficult client you put off from Friday and start fresh. Get a hard task or two done. It will make the remainder of the day flow smoother. Set your mind up for success-not failure. Don't forget to consider the interruptions throughout the day. Business has become a Zoom and conference call model as opposed to face-to-face meetings. You may not have control of the people who plan these events BUT, you do have control over your thought processes. Realize your manager has to report to his higher ups for accountability and production. If you are a manager, listen to your team. Scheduling conference calls on Tuesday through Thursday when these days may be the teams highest production time is COUNTER productive. Starting a meeting with a clear agenda with firm start and stop times will maintain focus and clarity of information. 15 to 30 minutes is recommended for virtual meetings. 52 minutes is cited as being the average meeting. Participant age may be a factor.
These are all examples of goals and actual workplace experiences. Of course, you may have different circumstances. Your application to healthy goal practices will vary. Setting goals is fluid and subject to change. Obviously, if your top-selling product is no longer available you will need to change your strategy. OR, if you obtain a new territory or have to add/delete accounts the goals will need adjustment. Keep a copy of your goals handy to reference periodically and in a format you can easily change.
No comments:
Post a Comment