Establishing Goals: the 7 Best Qualities of Your Goals

Definitions
Goals — the general statements that describe the desired solution to a problem or issue.


Ask some truly successful people what accounts for their achievements and you’ll often hear this answer: goals. Indeed, clear goals are the fulcrum on which all prioritizing turns. To set goals is worth a good block of your time. Without goals your time will be aimless.

However, what kinds of goals? What must goals be?

1. Specific - A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six “W” questions:

*Who: Who is involved?

*What: What do I want to accomplish?

*Where: Identify a location.

*When: Establish a time frame.

*Which: Identify requirements and constraints.

*Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.

2. Attainable. Successful people set goals that are ambitious yet realistic. Cycles of success mark achievers’ lives.
When such people fail, it isn’t from a lack of planning or effort. Dreamers, on the other hand, set unreachable goals. They ride a rollercoaster of ups and downs, sometimes never making it to the top of the first hill.

3. Measurable. Imagine a football game with no yard lines, end zones, goal posts, scoreboard, clock, or even clear-cut teams—just a bunch of players whose goal is to pass a
football, run around, and collide. It might be fun to watch for a while, but not for long. The chaos would soon drive the fans out of the stadium. Shortly thereafter, the players,unmotivated and confused, would wander off the field.
To work without clear-cut, measurable goals is, in reality, not much more productive or engaging than our imaginary football game. To motivate yourself and others— to know if you have won—you absolutely need goals that can be measured.

4. Written. “I read it, so it must be true!” Something written has a peculiar power to convince. Writing down your objectives and having others read them (if you supervise
them, they may need to read your goals) brings authority, accountability, and permanence to your priorities. The Sheraton Anchorage has printed goal statements all over its service corridors; it’s one of the best-run hotels in the country.

5. Realistic - To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. But be sure that every goal represents substantial progress. A high goal is frequently easier to reach than a low one because a low goal exerts low motivational force. Some of the hardest jobs you ever accomplished actually seem easy simply because they were a labor of love.
Your goal is probably realistic if you truly believe that it can be accomplished. Additional ways to know if your goal is realistic is to determine if you have accomplished anything similar in the past or ask yourself what conditions would have to exist to accomplish this goal.

6. Accountable. Without accountability, goals melt away, forgotten. Remain flexible; feedback may prompt you to revise targets you set for yourself or for others. But hold
to your goals.

7. Deadlined. If you set a deadline for your tasks, you’ll have a much better chance of achieving your goal. Better yet, tell someone else that you set that deadline. It will make
you more accountable.

Goals, of course, can be long- or short-term. But for some reason, we often fail to set aside blocks of time for serious longterm goal setting. Each year—perhaps as a New Year’s resolu tion—you should make a list of at least three personal and three professional long-term goals, indicating how each will be measured and a deadline for achievement. Prioritize these goals, deciding which is your A goal, your B goal, and your C goal.
Then put this list in a prominent place—someplace where its presence will motivate you to continued action.