Message of the Day - Goals with Teeth

Good Morning,

 

My current read is ‘The Human Side of Change’ by Timothy J. Galpin (http://www.amazon.com/Human-Side-Change-Organization-Management/dp/0787902160). The book covers the softer side of change management: the people and human side, rather than the strategic and planning side.

 

The section on Goal Setting laid out some great practical steps for setting goals.

 

1. Keep Goals Simple
2. Keep Goals in line with your strategic goals
3. Make Goals achievable
4. Make Goals challenging
5. Involve others
6. Set a time limit
7. Establish what is in it for you
8. Clearly communicate goals.

 

The fourth point, ‘Make Goals Challenging’ really made sense to me. Some goals are very simple, and when achieved, there is not only no fan fare, but you do not even realize you achieved your goal. Compare finishing a college degree with walking from a house to a car. Unless that car is many, many miles away, achieving it will not be the same as finishing a college degree.

 

After finishing my Bachelors program in March 2006, I looked at my next long term learning goals. I saw some one day training programs and thought, these may be good. To help me get some certificates, or knowledge, and also looked at getting an MBA. In comparing the two, I saw getting the MBA had more teeth; it would do more for me, and help me learn and grow a lot more than the one day classes. Sure those classes will help, and I will probably take some of them, but in light of long term growth, they did not have teeth.

 

Making a goal challenging should include forcing us to learn and grow and stretch our abilities in the process of achieving that goal. That is, we should have increased our abilities, knowledge and or skills after attaining these goals. One sign that this is not happening is if we are actually bored when we achieve the goal, or worse, achieved it and we did not notice or care about it.

 

Make Goals with teeth that force us do be more than we are now, that force us to learn more, do more and stretch us further.

 

That is the way to learn and grow!

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg, MBA

Sanford@berenberg.net

http://www.berenberg.net

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/

502-533-9336

 

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