We know it’s important. So why do many people think the act of setting and successfully achieving goals is so difficult? It is an extremely powerful skill to have. The key to setting an important and long term goal is to break it down into smaller, do-able action plans and work your plan.
Basically we all set goals to achieve what we truly and internally want to accomplish. Often times we set these goals without much thought. For example, this morning I needed to simply get to work. I knew where I wanted to go…to the office. By experience, I knew how I was going to get there. I accomplished my goal by successfully arriving at work, mundane, yet simple enough.
Most of the time setting and achieving goals really isn’t that simple. Long-term, meaningful goals require quite a bit of thought, action, encouragement, assistance and adjustment along the way. In spite of the added complexity and work, even kids can do this. So you should be able to do this with your career!
Let me give you an example of how a kid can set and achieve significant long term goals. I have worked with a lot of boys and young men in the Boy Scouts of America as a Scoutmaster. In our Boy Scout Troop, boys usually cross over from Cub Scouts at about the end of their 5th grade year. As brand new Boy Scouts, our older Scouts and I talk to the new recruits AND their parents about the importance of achieving Eagle Scout rank. We talk about the fun camp outs, summer camps, merit badges, leadership activities and service projects the boy will need to accomplish to become an Eagle Scout. By the time we’re done talking, everyone is excited about becoming an Eagle Scout! “Yeah”, they say, “I’m going to set a goal to be an Eagle Scout.”
Well, if a 5th grade boy was even capable of grasping the concept that achieving this goal was going to require a minimum of 5 to 7 years of continual achievement to earn his Eagle Scout rank, he and his parents might be overwhelmed and may not even attempt to achieve it. Here’s the perfect time to break the bigger goal into smaller, do-able goals for them to accomplish through various “rank” advancements.
In Boy Scouts, there are six ranks for the Scouts to earn on their trail to Eagle Scout which allows the Scouts to build their self-confidence and goal setting skills. They progress through the ranks of Tenderfoot, Second Class Scout and First Class Scout, mostly in their first year of Boy Scouts. This is done in a step by step approach. They’ll learn things like knot tying, cooking and first aid, then complete fire building, camp out planning and flag ceremony activities, and the list goes on. By this time, they are now experienced in setting and achieving goals and are looking forward to conquering more challenging goals.
Many merit badges, meetings, and experiences later, if the boy stays on task and keeps their goal in mind, soon the Eagle Scout rank is getting closer. By now they can demonstrate leadership skills AND plan and execute. They had learned to break down their activities into smaller, do-able action plans and work the plan. By the time these guys have achieved their Eagle Scout rank, they have accomplished a very LONG-TERM and WORTHWHILE goal.
We can all learn from the process. If a Boy Scout can set goals and achieve them, it should be no problem for all of us. We just need to learn to break the big and wildly important goals into attainable portions at a time. It’s not a hard concept to understand at all. It’s executing the plan that takes the effort.
Here are two good examples of how to use goal setting:
1. Let’s say that you’ve been given an opportunity to earn some special commission on selling a new product. You’re given a week as an exclusive. The commission is compelling. Are you going to plan and set a goal for how you’re going to do that? Most people would jump all over that. So, the quick steps;
a. Map out your potential
b. Plan your attack
c. Get out there and execute
d. After the week, look back and evaluate how you did and what you could change to improve. If you were given another week to do it all over again, you’d go through the exact same process.
2. If your career goal is a promotion, then first find out what you have to do to get there. Are there some skills to learn yet? Do you need to get some experience in a different department or division to get there? I don’t know of many supervisors that would be anything but pleased if an employee requested time to help develop a plan so that a valued employee achieve a long term goal of a reachable promotion. Most would probably say that it will takes some time and maybe some hard work, but the simple act of asking shows commitment and loyalty to the company. Setting goals means that a plan for productivity is being put into place.
It’s a small wonder that, armed with the learned life skills and significant amount of practice in setting goals and the action plans to accomplish them, Eagle Scouts end up being test pilots, astronauts, business people, physicians and leaders in almost every conceivable discipline. To achieve big things in life, keep it simple. Break down goals into smaller, do-able action plans and work the plan. After all, even a kid can do this!
