How To Be Goal Oriented! It's Not Just A Phrase For Your Resume!

Goal-oriented. It's one of these descriptors that makes its way onto everyone's resume at some point. It's also one of those phrases that people use to describe themselves in interviews. It sounds like a pretty good thing to say and people generally mean it. Other times they say it for lack of something more specific to say, or because they feel the need to just keep talking. (Perfectly understandable, btw, people get nervous in interviews. It happens.) But what does it mean to say that you're goal oriented? Is anyone ever going to actually say that they're not? Way to make yourself sound pretty lame, right?! I think we'd all agree that a goal-oriented person is one who sets goals and then works toward them. Sound reasonable? So how does one go about achieving goals?

Let's Talk About Setting & Achieving Goals!

None of what I'm going to say is super mysterious, though it is super practical. The first step in all of this is to decide what your goals are. This will require some work on your part: analyzing your business, deciding what your financial and growth goals are, personal goals, etc., etc. This may take a while. The "etcetera" part of this exercise is very important, so don't be lazy or lose focus! You really need to map out where you want to go in order to get this right.

Be sure that you put your goals in writing. By that, I mean "in writing" (note the quotation marks) and in writing (no quotes). I find it's really helpful to have my goals staring me in the face regularly. For you, it could be a printed list on your desk, or on your phone. Or maybe you're super visual and prefer an old-school whiteboard, handwritten with notes and diagrams and connecting lines — like detectives do on TV. Just make sure that your goals are visible to remind you what you're working toward... not shoved in a drawer or buried in a file on your laptop somewhere! We all need visuals to help us, well, visualize!

Goooaaaal!

Next, assign time frames and deadlines to these goals. Some may be short term, as in next month (or yesterday!); some will be longer term. If you don't do this, it's too easy to keep putting things off. It'd be like a teacher saying that a paper is due whenever the students feel like turning it in — if ever. Hah! Can you imagine how that would go? And next, it's time to get to work! I mean, get to work on the goals you've set, in addition to all the work you're already doing! Every week you should review the progress of your short-term goals, as well as check in on the progress of the longer term stuff. This goes for you and your staff. Achieving goals is a group effort and you want to make sure you're all on the same page with things.

Be Oh So Quotable This Week!

I always say running a business means the work never ends! Ain't that the truth? I bet your to-do list is a mile long! Make sure that the items at the top of your list are the things that relate to being more profitable. Everyone is so proud of being so "busy"...But Are You Making Any Money? Don't be too busy to focus!

Check out the summary of last week's business tips and motivational quotes from my Instagram page which you hopefully got to see in real time! If not, let's make sure we're following each other on Instagram!! So...here is this week's roundup of Instagram images of My Top Business Tips and Motivational Quotes.

Achieving Goals – Tip #1:

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"Always carry a notebook. Write everything down... That is a million dollar lesson they don't teach you in business school!" – Aristotle Onassis

Achieving Goals – Tip #2:

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"Always deliver more than expected." – Larry Page

Achieving Goals – Tip #3:

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"Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement." – W. Clement Stone

Achieving Goals – Tip #4:

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"Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most." – Abraham Lincoln

Achieving Goals – Tip #5:

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"Do something instead of killing time because time is killing you." – Paulo Coelho

Let's talk! I'd love to hear your thoughts on setting and achieving goals!

Is achieving goals something you've mastered? Tell us! What advice would you share with your fellow business owners? Which tips above did you find helpful? I would LOVE to hear from you!

Anyhoo...I publish these business tips and motivational quotes to get you fired up for your work week! And, if you want more business tips, get my book, But Are You Making Any Money? or contact me to really take your business to the next level!

xoxo M

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