JANUARY 2024
GOALS
“A goal without a plan is only a dream.” — Brian Tracy
GOAL SETTING:
Setting goals is an essential practice for achieving success and maintaining focus in both personal and professional life. Goals provide direction, motivation, and a clear way to measure progress. They transform abstract aspirations into concrete plans, making it easier to envision and reach desired outcomes. By setting goals, individuals and organizations can effectively channel their efforts, resources, and time toward targeted achievements. It starts with recognizing where you are today, where you want to go, and then developing a plan for how you will get there. A map is only helpful when you know your starting point and your destination. The next piece that brings it all together is “by when”. A simple formula to remember this is “From x to y by z”. Take some time to reflect on where you are now as well as where you want to be and set goals that can be achieved within a manageable timeframe that is not too fast or too slow. The secret ingredient to setting and achieving goals is accountability. Having an accountability partner(s) to keep you honest and on track will only help your chances of success and support along the way.
The concept of “SMART” goals is a powerful framework for creating effective and achievable goals. SMART stands for:
Specific: Goals should be clear and specific, rather than vague. This specificity helps in focusing efforts and clearly defining what is to be achieved.
Measurable: Goals need to have criteria for measuring progress. If there are no metrics to assess progress, it’s difficult to determine whether the goal is being met.
Achievable: While goals should be challenging, they also need to be realistically achievable. Setting impossible goals can lead to frustration and demotivation.
Relevant: Goals should align with broader objectives, values, or long-term plans. They need to matter and have a clear purpose.
Time-bound: Providing a target date for deliverables is crucial. Deadlines create urgency and prompt action, making it more likely that the goal will be achieved.
Incorporating these principles into goal-setting leads to more structured and successful outcomes. SMART goals help in breaking down larger objectives into manageable, actionable steps, making the process of achievement more systematic and trackable.
Click this link to see an infographic that helps explain the concept of SMART Goals
EXERCISE: Headline News
Break into groups of 3-6 people
Have each group create a headline that could appear in a newspaper at the end of 2024. You can either direct groups to focus on a specific area (i.e. culinary, events, culture, etc) or leave it open-ended
Then have the group come up with specifics on what will have needed to happen in order for that headline to become a reality
Bring everyone back together and have each group share with the whole team what they came up with
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
What are our main areas of focus in 2024?
How can we create smart goals around those initiatives?
Who is going to champion each initiative?
What does our goal-setting process look like within each department?