I recently had a discussion with the folks in my business group, BizBuilderCT, about goal setting and using vision boards. It occurs to me, though, that while setting goals is a good thing, both personally and professionally, without a clear plan on how to get there, goals can become nothing more than a distraction.
Let me clarify. Setting and having goals is great, and is absolutely key to both personal and professional growth. But if you don’t then outline the steps you need to take to get there, those goals just become another picture on the wall, and another stressor on the “someday-I-will” to-do list. You want to make $1.000,000 next year? Great! What will it take for you to get there? Working more hours, raising prices, diversifying your products or services? How about all of the above? Any one person can only work so many hours in a day, though. Especially if you still have marketing, accounting, family and cleaning duties to be responsible for. So maybe you need to hire employees or sub-contractors. Great! What’s the next step?
After you set your goals, set your plan. Your plan may tell you that you need to adjust your goal some, or maybe you just need to tweak the plan. Focus on the big picture, but be sure to take time to focus on the little pictures that make up the big picture.