Where are you headed?

This simple and straightforward question gathers significant meaning when directed at one's career or one's life. In plain terms, if you don't know where you are going, you certainly don't know how to get there. The old line "we don't know where we're headed, but we're making great time" applies to to many professionals these days. But how do we get out of this rut?

The answer is simple, but it's not easy. The key to know where you are going is taking the time to lay out a plan. This plan begins with fundamental goal setting. We've all been to the seminar when the speaker asks the group how many of us have our goals written down and on our person. Typically about 5% to 10% of the group will raise their hands; and half of them are lying.

Effective goal setting takes patience and focus. I recommend the following process. Begin by identifying the roles you play in your life. They could be spouse, parent, business owner, sales manager, sibling, son or daughter, friend, church volunteer, coach, and so on. Next, think about the components that describe all the important areas to having a balanced life such as family, career, finance, health, spiritual, adventure, relationships and so on. List these categories on a sheet of paper. Next look at each of these categories and consider each of your roles as listed above. Write down what you want to accomplish in each category and under each role. List goals for the current year, and for 5 years. Making this list should be fun. It reminds me of being a child during the holidays when we would take an old style catalogue and circle what we wanted for Christmas. Rather than toys we now list things like being debt free, improving our physical condition so we feel great, having a great relationship with our spouses and children, getting that promotion at work and so on.

The next step is the one that was a pleasant surprise for me. After you list the things you want while considering your roles, being to list the action steps required to attain each of those objectives. The surprise for me is that I already knew what I needed to do. The key was committing the steps to writing and then adding target dates and getting them onto my calendar.

For example, under finance, you may have a vehicle loan that you would like to pay off in the coming year. After writing this down, you think about the additional funds you'll need. Now you start to look at your budget at home and see where you can save the amount of money you need each month or even better you look at your bonus plan or business to see where you can find additional income there.

The key component to this is how we spend our time. The old adage, if you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten" holds true. Even worse, with the way the world is changing around us, if we do what we've always done, we'll get even less. Ensure that you block time on your calendar for the things that bring results. In this day and age, effective prioritization may be the most important skill for an entrepreneur or executive to have. When planning your schedule, do it in this order. 1 Personal things. If you don't put your life and your family life first, it will come last. 2 Required or Mandatory meetings. If the boss says you have to be there, be there. (Sometimes the boss is your customer rather than an employer.) 3 Time to execute the actions on your plan from your goal list. Don't let other people's priorities become your priorities. Schedule major blocks of time for major initiatives and don't allow other things to interfere. Minimize distractions like e-mail and voice mail. Check those twice daily, on a schedule and use the major blocks of each day for accomplishing your objectives.

The clear key to all of this is identifying the objectives, laying out the plan, committing the time (your most precious commodity) and executing. The results from this simply but disciplined course of action will change your life forever. Guaranteed.


Jim Pascale is a 20+ year veteran of consulting with small business owners and has comprehensive knowledge of small business management and franchising.

Contact Jim at jimpascaleminnesota@yahoo.com.