We’re coming up on the time of year when people start thinking of resolutions. The new year always seems to be an opportune time to consider how we want to live our lives in the upcoming year. Personally, I don’t like to think of resolutions so much as goals. In fact, today Lisa and I went to a goal-setting workshop put on by my good friends, Joe Marr, Mike Wynn, and Rich Austin over at our local Sandler Sales Institute.
Goals are good on a variety of levels, but are especially important for those of us who own a business. Far too often we get caught up in the day-to-day fire fighting and never get an opportunity to see how that fits into a larger picture. Ironically, it’s that larger picture which can help us get through the short-term crises.
That all being said, though, one of the main reasons for setting goals is, of course, to bring good things into our lives. To that end, after you’ve decided on a goal to pursue, you might want to talk about it whenever you can with the members of your network. Here are some of the possible benefits:
- Cheering section. Yes, it’s likely that whatever the goal is, we are doing it for our own benefit and we often have to be our own cheering section. Despite that, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to hear someone saying that we’re doing a good job.
- Experience. Maybe our connection has had experience doing whatever it is that we are trying to do. If they have a plan that worked for them, it would be kind of silly for us to ignore that information.
- Experience, part two. It’s entirely possible that the person with whom we are talking doesn’t have personal experience with the goal we’ve chosen. It is also possible that they know someone who has had that experience. Ask for an introduction.
- Sounding board. Sometimes we just need someone to listen while we try to describe whatever we’re trying to accomplish. The very act of verbalizing the goal might not only help us work through some of the obstacles we’ve encountered, it might also help to cement our goal in our own minds.
- Accountability. Setting the goal is one thing, but committing to it in front of someone else is something completely different. The latter forces us to take our goals more seriously. After all, if we share our goals with a large enough crowd, we can’t hope but to have someone periodically asking how things are going.
- Celebration. While you don’t need to rent a hall, the opportunity to share your victories with an appreciative audience can make those achievements all the sweeter.
