speaker

www.darylwizelman.com
May 2009

S.M.A.R.T.

Top Achievement founder Gene Donohue writes about "Creating S.M.A.R.T. Goals" in regards to goal setting.  For many of us, goal setting and following through on our goals is an area of weakness.  I hope this tool helps you take your goals to completion.

(S) Specific

(M) Measurable

(A) Attainable

(R) Realistic

(T) Timely

SPECIFIC - A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a generic goal.  To set a specific goal you must answer the six "W" questions;

1. WHO: Who is involved?

2. WHAT: What do I want to accomplish?

3. WHERE: Identify a location.

4. WHEN or BY WHEN: Establish a time frame.

5. WHICH: Identify requirements and constraints.

6. WHY: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.

Example: A general goal would be, "Get in shape." But a specific goal would say, "Join a health club by May 1st and work out 3 days a week for one hour."

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MEASURABLE - Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set.  When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goal.

To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as....How much?  How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?

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ATTAINABLE - When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true.  You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills and financial capacity to reach them.  You begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievements of your goals.

You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps.  Goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable, not because your goals shrink, but because you grow and expand to match them.  When you list your goals, you build your self-image.  You see yourself as worthy of these goals and develop the traits and personality that allow you to possess them.

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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 is 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.

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TIMELY - A goal should be grounded within a time frame.  With no time frame tied to it there's no sense of urgency.  If you want to lose 10 lbs, when do you want to lose it by?  "Someday" won't work.  But if you anchor it within a time frame, "by May 1st", then you've set your unconscious mind into motion to begin working on the goal.

T can also stand for TANGIBLE - A goal is tangible when you can experience it with one of the senses, that is, taste, touch, smell, sight or hearing.  When your goal is tangible you have a better chance of making it specific and measurable and thus attainable.

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Final Note: This tool, like most of the tools I speak and consult on, can be used in your career and in your personal life.  I hope you will try it and see how your results differ using this tool.

"If a man knows not what harbor he seeks,

any wind is the right wind"

-Seneca

Follow the Advice of the Flight Attendant

I have been witnessing many of us working harder during these difficult times and taking less time for ourselves.  It is often during the most challenging of times when we need to step back from activities that are challenging us and give ourselves permission to spend some time doing what we want and need to do.

I spend a lot of time on airplanes and I always hear the flight attendant give the instructions regarding the oxygen mask.  They say, "put YOUR mask on first, then put on the mask for your loved one."  It got me thinking about giving ourselves permission to do something we enjoy during these tough times.

Action plan for us: Take some time EVERYDAY to do something for ourselves.  We never know how much time and opportunity we have. 

Book and Music Recommendation

Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni

In this book of business fiction, Lencioni provides readers with a powerful and thought-provoking book, this one centered on a cure for the most painful yet underestimated problem of modern business: bad meetings.  What he suggests as a cure is simple and relatively easy to insert and manage.

I recommend this for anyone who is responsible to manage and/or attend meetings.  Whether they are meetings for work or family meetings, simple structure and accountability can and will improve results.

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I have been listening to "The Glass Passenger" which is the newest music from Jack's Mannequin.  It is musically and lyrically moving with a deep series of songs that take us through the progression of going from the dark places in life to the light places in life.  The song writer, piano player and lead singer in the band is a cancer survivor and maybe that is why he has such a deep focus in the theme of moving from the tough times to the good times.

My favorite song on the CD is "The Resolution" and my favorite lyrics from that song are "I need light in the dark as I search for the resolution." 

Quotation

The quote below applies to your life and your career.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arenas, whose face is marred by dust and seat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst; if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly.  So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

-Theodore Roosevelt (26th US President).

A Closing Note

Thank you for reading this months newsletter.  I hope you are able to use some of the content to improve your life and/or your career.  If there is an opportunity for me to speak at an upcoming conference or meeting, please let me know.
 
If you like what you see, please feel free to review my web site at www.darylwizelman.com.  I speak on leadership, work/life balance and life planning among other topics that can be viewed on my web site.  I believe I can inspire your group and provide them with practical tools to improve their career and their life.
 
There is also a "forward email" button below the coupon.  Please forward this newsletter to anyone that you believe would derive benefit from its content.
 
Again, thank you for your interest.
 
Daryl

Daryl Wizelman
www.darylwizelman.com
daryl@wizelman.com

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