Clever Thinking

Sure, we all know we’re supposed to do it, but the idea of goal setting gets taken for granted too much I think.  No matter who you are what you do, it’s never enough to just have a clear idea of what you need to do in your mind. You’ve got to commit it to writing, and you’ve got to think through the differences between goals, objectives, strategies, and techniques.

This post is just about goals.  I’ll talk more about other things in later entries.

What characterizes a goal is that it is specific and it is measurable. It is fine to have a dream of building a small business, but that isn’t a goal….at least not until you add some definition.  For example, for this dream, your goal might be to build a small bookkeeping business that will allow you to work with clients in the health care industry, maintain a flexible schedule, and limit travel.

Where dreams can be fuzzy, beautiful….perfect even, goals are clear, concise, and while not imperfect, certainly based in the real world.

To get to the goal stage, try sitting in a chair.  Close your eyes.  Then picture yourself as you will be when you achieve your goal.  Imagine where you will be sitting.  Who will be with you.  Coworkers?  Employees?  Clients?  Do you have an office?  Equipment?  A nice desk?  A certain type of software?  Imagine looking at your bank account, or at least the kind of lifestyle you might be enjoying.  What kind of income will you have?  How will your business benefit you?

Keep asking yourself questions and adding to the picture of you having reached your goal.  Then, before you do anything else, write down what you see.

There is something very powerful about writing down your goals.  Be patient.  Try to include as much detail as you can.  It isn’t that things won’t change.  They could…and probably will.  Still, writing forces you to consider details that might have been lost or missed when you were keeping everything in your head.

Write in a list format, outline, or paragraph or outline…whatever makes you comfortable.  If you’re so inclined, you might even consider drawing a detail picture where you lay out the details of your goal.

Post your goal on your desk in a frame or on a bulletin board or on your office wall.  Use colored paper, big fonts, or pictures you clip from a magazine…whatever helps make your goal real, important and present in your life.

If might sound hokey, but it really does work.

One last point…avoid making your goal something like “going to school,” or “learning to use Facebook.”  These are valid strategies, but for most people they really are not goals….not ends, but rather means to an end….and something we’ll be dealing with as this blog continues…

Lately I’ve been mired in the technical aspects of what a blog should do and how to balance the mix of media available.  There is so much out there right now and so many ways to spend your time that my focus has come increasingly to the problem of time management.  How do you juggle all of the competing demands and opportunities that exist with more coming into view everyday?  It’s too easy to get sucked from one thing into another and not really get anything done.

The first step is the same as with any good time management scheme:  consider your goals.  Be specific.  What do you care about and what do you want to do?

For example, if you are a small business and your goal is to bring in 5-10 new clients over the following four quarters, write that down.  Set strategy to get there, for example, improve your online presence and network more effectively.  Your goals will come from there, i.e. improve your website, start a blog, join an industry group, etc.

Give weight to your goals.  If you work 40 hours a week, what percent of your time should you devote to each goal, and in what order.  It’s just like budgeting–it’s easy to overspend time, especially with so many goodies enticing you.  Putting everything in writing helps remind you of what time you have available, and keep track of where it’s going.

After that, it’s a question of discipline–sticking to the budget so to speak.

If this sounds simplistic, well it is…I could write a book about it…and maybe I will.  For now, stay tuned.  I’ve been spending lots of time finding out about time management solutions for people who want to use social sites but feel there is no way to fit it into their busy lives.  I’ll be sharing what I learn and putting together lists of tips and techniques that will help you make the most of the tools at your disposal.

Call me crazy…you won’t be the first. Admittedly, I have been known to rush in where those so-called angels fear to tread.  But virtue and vice aside, there’s nothing like a little risk taking when you’ve got nothing to lose.  Times are tough, but blogs are cheap or even free.  Even before you spend a dime on starting a new business, you can always blog.  Start by reading.  Use services like Technorati, which rates blogs, to find those that are interesting.  Network, or just search using Google or some other search engine.  Find out what people in your field are saying.  Pretend you are a potential customer searching for a product or service like yours.  What types of blogs might you encounter?  What do those bloggers have to say.  Once you’re comfortable with what’s being said and who is saying it, start writing comments.  Get a book like Blogging for Dummies or Word Press for Dummies to find out more about starting your own blog.  Then start to write. Use your own voice.  Tell the story of the passion that drove you to start your business.  Explain technical points that might help customers in their buying decisions.  Talk about the key things to consider when evaluating a product or service like yours.  The idea is not to pitch a product or service, but to demonstrate your knowledge, share your ideas, and overall just get into the conversation–with your colleagues, competitors, and customers.  People will recognize your value without you having to tell them. Eventually, the economy will pick up.  Pent up demands will need to be met, which in turn will create more demand, and you’ll be ready.  Even more important, you’ll be present in your customers’ minds because you gave them things to think about, and gave them an opportunity to get to know you as a provider of a product or service they need.

It is tough waiting for business to come in, but blogging has made it easier than ever to establish your presence in the marketplace and especially to target your market.  Sure, there are lots of blogs out there, but by choosing topics that pinpoint customer concerns you can cut out a whole lot of that competition, and be there when your customers search the Internet.