Score Big

By The Princeton Review

It’s very easy for people to focus on the details of their everyday lives and lose sight of their larger, long-term goals. The process of setting goals, however, allows you to take charge of your life, recognize your accomplishments, and appreciate your achievements. Setting goals at the start of the season, related to either your on-field or off-field life, can help keep you motivated as you reach week 17 and give you something to reflect on during the offseason.

Studies have shown that people who set goals for themselves are more likely to:

• experience less stress and anxiety
• concentrate and remember more effectively
• demonstrate greater self-confidence
• perform better and achieve more
• be happier and more satisfied

These all sound like great reasons to set goals.  If you are new at this, then start small and only set one or two initially and take them in bite-sized pieces.

But before we do that, let’s take a look at SMART goals.  SMART stands for the five components or criteria of a goal (we use these at The Princeton Review when setting our company and individual goals for the year):  Specific, Measurable, Action-Oriented, Realistic, and Time-Bound.   Other groups such as the Corporate Leadership Council will interchange the A with Achievable or the R with Relevant.  Regardless, the act of thinking carefully about what you want to achieve and determining a clear course of action will give you a better understanding of what your goals are and how you can achieve them.  In addition, understand that goals can be modified throughout the year as necessary as your personal, business, or spiritual needs may change.  Here is a breakdown of SMART goals:

• SPECIFIC: Do you need to finish a particular task? Can you break a larger job down into smaller items?  Specific goals are goals that state exactly what you want to achieve. A clear and discernable need and desired outcome.
• MEASURABLE:  Establish clear definitions to help you know if you’re reaching (or have reached) your goal.  If you’re confused about how to measure your goal, you’ll be less likely to achieve it.  As my management team states, metrics, metrics, metrics.
• ACTION-ORIENTED: What verbs are associated with your goal?  Write, schedule, visit, organize, study, read – what can you act upon.  This is the how part of goal setting. Describe your goals using action verbs, and outline the exact steps you will take to accomplish your goal.
• REALISTIC: Can you do this in the time given?  Give yourself the opportunity to succeed by setting goals you’ll be able to accomplish. Strive to reach a good middle-ground: goals set too high could discourage you, but goals set too low will fail to challenge and motivate you.  In a nutshell, attainable with appropriate effort and performance
• TIME-BOUND: When will you know that you’re finished? What’s the deadline?  Decide exactly when you’ll start and finish your goal. Knowing exactly how long you have to reach your goal is an excellent way to stay motivated and focused.  Your time frame could be one month, six months, or another amount of time that seems reasonable to you.

Now let’s take a look at some examples.

• WORK/BUSINESS
  • Ineffective/vague: Increase revenue in 2014.
  • Effective/specific:Achieve revenue commitment of $15M by end of year 2014.
  • Ineffective/vague: Get more students to join courses.
  • Effective/specific:Increase enrollment in courses by 25% in second half of 2014 compared to comparable period in 2013.
  • PERSONAL
    • Ineffective/vague: Lose weight.
    • Effective/specific:Drop 20 lbs. in first three months, then 10 more next three months.
    • Ineffective/vague: Finish school.
    • Effective/specific:Complete college degree by taking three courses in Fall 2014 semester and four courses in Spring 2015 semester.  Walk in graduation June 2015.

Finally here are some key questions to consider when setting goals:

• Are the goals relevant to your business?
• Is the scope of the goals appropriate?
• Are there too few or too many goals?
• Are the goals coordinated with others’ goals?
• Are the goals results-based and measurable?
• Are measures of success set at the right level?
• Are goals practical or achievable?
• Is achievement of goals under your control?
• Do you have the skills necessary to achieve goals?
• Is the goal truly a goal, or is it a competency?

Now go and fulfill your dreams.