It comes as no surprise that my morning visit to the gym today was greeted with an overcrowded locker room and a few new faces. After all, it’s the second day of the New Year. This means it’s still time to hold good on those New Year’s resolutions set yesterday, or better yet, set around 11:37 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. I have a suggestion to keep you all occupied, (not that one, 12/22/12 has come and passed), ditch your resolutions and get down with some real goal setting.
I know there are more blogs, Tweets, Facebook and Google+ posts about this timely topic that came pouring in yesterday, but rest assured this one isn’t accompanied by a link to a course or ebook to purchase on self development. Not that there is anything wrong with all that luscious brain goodness for sale, you just won’t find it here. My goal for this piece is to have you think about the concept a bit differently. Goal setting is by no means a foreign topic for marketers, especially those of us who live in the digital ecosystem. When your clients base their partnership with you on your ability to deliver results on a predetermined set of achievable daily, weekly and monthly performance goals, you get familiar with how this works real quick. So there in lie is the question; why is goal setting in both our personal and professional lives so difficult?
Lots of answers come to mind, but for purposes of my point I will stick with the simplest and likely most obvious: those goals aren’t SMART + one. I know you have likely heard the SMART goal concept a thousand times previous, and while I am a big advocate of big boys and girls goal setting, there is one glaring thing missing from the SMART goal theory: outcome-based goals.
Let me explain. If I set a Specific/Significant, Measurable/Meaningful, Achievable/Actionable, Relevant/Rewarding and Timely/Tangible set of goals, but I don’t attach the outcome of crossing them off my list, it’s a bit like saying I want to hit the lottery for the sake of hitting the lottery. This is complete hog wash. The only reason any of us desire to hit the lottery is for what the outcome will be if we do, (besides swimming half naked in dead presidents on our oversized king bed) If I have a personal (SMART) goal of winning my dream client for the sake of making it happen, pleasing my boss or bragging rights, it won’t drive me nearly as fast as if I have my outcome-based goal written out as a result of winning that dream client. Logical? I think so.
I think the hype of New Year’s resolutions falls in nicely here. Now I know what you’re thinking; “Come on Tim, if my resolution is to loose 15 pounds my outcome-based goal is obviously to look and feel better, no need to write that down.” Decent point, but plenty of studies exist that support how a goal in your brain minus an outcome and a goal written out with an outcome can produce drastically different results. I encourage you to ask yourself before your master plans for 2013 vaporize by the 15th if you really have a set of goals you desire to achieve. If the answer is yes, write those babies down with a defined outcome for why you will make it your mission to get there. Then look back on those writings early and often throughout the year to hold yourself accountable. The results should benefit you greatly.
As for me I’m ready to embrace the random and hit some serious milestones; 2013, you’re on.