Robert S. Sher: Setting Goals

THE IMPORTANCE OF SETTING GOALS

Decide Bob Sher is a business leader who built a successful career by cultivating people as well as negotiating deals. Now he is offering his skills as a mentor and coach to business owners, managers and executives.

Here Are some suggestions Bob offers to help his coaching clients set goals:

Make a list. List the five most important goals: List the most important goals, projects and activities in your business and personal life. Number them 1 to 5.
Make another list of where you actually spend your time. Do your lists match? Are they in order?
Look at your second list and ask: Is this goal or activity enhancing my life or consuming it? Am I excited and passionate about this or has my life become about “shoulds”?
Make a “yes” list to those things that truly are important to you, and also inspire you. Be committed to it. Read it every day. Do these things.
Reduce the size of your “to do” list to four things a day, and four to five phone calls a day.
Reduce the number of projects you have on your plate. Do no more than three at a time. Complete them before taking on any other projects.
“No” is your best friend. Do not say “yes” to anything that will cause you to suffer.
Be complete. Make a list of the things that drain you, such as making doctor's appointments, planning a move, talking with someone you've been avoiding, or doing an estate plan.
Make copies of the list, and keep one visible at home, in your appointment book and on your desk at work. Assign a time frame for when you will complete the list, usually one month. Schedule time daily and weekly to do them. Check off each item as you go along.
Create a story board: Make yourself a collage of the goals that excite you and hang it on the wall in your office. If you look at them every day, they will soon be yours.
Write your own success story: If your success were profiled in a newspaper article, how would it read? What is the headline? Write the article, projecting yourself into the future as if it already has happened. Describe the activities of your daily routine now that are very successful.