Clarifying Goals- A Few Guidelines for the First Step

You’d think it would go without saying that having clear goals is the foundational step to building both the business and the life that you want to have. However, can you name a quantifiable goal right now? Right this moment? Can you articulate a dream that you have for your life or career without stopping to think for a few minutes?

Most of us, if asked the question, could think for a moment and come up with what we would loosely call ‘goals.’ We say that we want happy, healthy families, financial stability, a nice car, etc. But stop right there. Out of everything just listed, only the nice car is a quantifiable, solid goal. You know when you’ve got what you want. You’ve pictured it, you’ve clarified it in your mind, and you know exactly the steps you need to take to have that (insert year, make and model here) sitting in your driveway, shiny and ready to be driven. You have a clear goal.

For many people, a material goal is one of the few actionable goals that they have dedicated any serious brainpower to getting. They have not visualized how to better their sales approach to close the sale to earn the money (and keep the job) that will enable them to buy the (insert year, make and model here) that they want sitting in their driveway. So they have a reduced chance of getting their dream car or building the career and life they want. All because they think they’ve clarified their goals when they haven’t.

A vague idea is not a goal. An impression of how to succeed is not a tool. A hope that your health will improve is not an appropriate reaction to high cholesterol. None of these things will ultimately help you succeed in achieving anything unless they are paired with concrete action.

We know this, yet we seldom do it. And that, that disconnect from where the rubber meets the road, is the thing that holds so many serious, smart people back. People with have the drive to succeed but don’t reach for the most efficient training or coaching to help guide them as they work to achieve career goals.

Working to clarify your goals goes a long way towards making those goals a reality.

Start today.

Sit down and list five things you want to do- in business- within the next 12 month. They have to be actionable things that you can do. Don’t be vague. In fact, be as specific as possible. You need to create goals that are concrete, that you can tell when you’ve reached them. Make the list, then put it aside for a week. No less. After one week, take the list back out and write down three steps for each goal. These should be three very precise things you have to do in order to reach these goals. Put the list somewhere where you can see it every day.

It sounds incredibly simplistic, like something you might do in high school to get better grades. But there were several structures in high school that do not get enough credit for their efficacy. Having a mentor or guide to bounce ideas off of is one, and clearly defined goals in another. When done correctly, it works. Proven. Don’t spend time trying to reinvent the wheel when you’ve got better things to do.

Get started today and deliberately build the career you want.

Some tips for getting better results faster.

Recently I shared some of my perspective on professional growth in an article on  the website 401(K) Rekon. The website deals with research and information on retirement accounts, among other things.

My article covered several relatively simple tips and techniques to help bring more deliberate and mindful action into business decisions. Anyone with experience will tell you that they see themselves and/or coworkers trip themselves up on the simple things all the time. It’s often the simple things we need to be reminded of the most in our professional (and personal) lives. That is a great deal of what career coaching is for. The complex items in our daily agendas get all of our attention, and we lose a sale or an audience due to one or two basic points that we failed to follow through with. If you’ve worked in business, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

If you’d like to read the entire piece, it can be found here: Want Better Results- Faster?

Here are a few of the highlights:

First, constant and mindful assessment is what makes the best the Best.

Second, your own perspective can be helpful and damaging at different times- you need to know when to seek the guidance of another business mind to get a different perspective.

Third, you can’t escape advice, but good advice must be actively sought.

When you read the article, think about how you choose to improve yourself and your techniques. How proactive are you in seeking out the most effective training and tools to help you build the career that you want? It isn’t going to just happen. Remember that the next time you notice a colleague making leaps forward and ask yourself what you have done lately to improve your skills.

The Starting Point

Welcome to the official blog of Trust Performance Coaching, the fast-growing company dedicated to you and your professional development. In a nutshell, we help you reach your professional potential and goals with expert advice from a successful sales trainer and business mentor. Everyone has to start somewhere, and with quality training and advice, you can polish your skills and deliberately move your career in the direction you want to go. Be proactive and take charge of your career, instead of the other way around.

Here on our blog, we’ll offer tips, insights and opportunities for you to control the growth of your career. Each week will feature new posts with relevant topics to help guide you to a smarter, more purposeful career. Regardless of where you are, you are in the perfect position to start building the skills you need to advance. The market is an ever-moving field of potential- do you know where to look for advice and guidance? Do you know how to connect with other professionals like yourself and sharpen your skills? Do you know what you need to know now in order to be ready for tomorrow?

Now more than ever, it is important to take specific steps to enhance your skills. Learning what it takes to be good at your job is as much a learned skill as anything else. You have to learn how to ask the right questions, seek the right counsel and work smart instead of hard. You have the capacity to become the best in your field. And Trust Performance Coaching is here to help you learn to make the most of your potential.

Follow our blog for more on how you can take your career to the next level.