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Set Realistic Goals
By | July 15, 2010
Having goals is a wonderful thing. Clear goals keep you motivated and help you to measure your success. Goals help get you through the tough times as you remember what you’re working for.
It is important to set goals high enough that you feel a sense of accomplishment when we attain them. But it is equally important to set goals that we actually have a reasonable chance of achieving.
What Happens When You Set Goals Too High?
Goals that are too high or unrealistic usually represent milestones that are important to you. For instance, you might set a goal of selling 1,000 copies of your new product in a month, for example. If you achieve that, it will certainly be something to celebrate. But if you don’t, it could leave you disappointed and lower your morale.
When deciding on goals, it is crucial to consider whether or not they have a reasonable chance of being met. It’s necessary to push yourself and have incentives to work harder and achieve more. Yet if a goal has an extremely slim chance of being attained, it can do more harm than good.
How Do You Determine Whether or Not Your Goals Are Too High?
Before you set a goal, it is important to examine its feasibility. If you have been in business for a while, you may be able to look back on similar projects and see how well they turned out. If you’re just starting out, it can be a little more difficult.
The Internet provides a way to check the feasibility of some goals. Many small business owners blog about their experiences, and with a little searching you might find the details of how goals that relate to yours turned out. It is important to remember, however, that circumstances differ. What worked for others may not work for you, and vice versa.
If your goals are sales-related, some analysis of contributing factors might help in setting them. Going back to the product example, finding information about sells rates from people in a similar industry as you can be helpful.
With these numbers, you can use your site traffic to estimate how many sales you can expect. If the figure you come up with is substantially less than the goal you are considering, you may want to go back to the drawing board or find ways to boost your traffic.
If you do find that you have set a goal too high, don’t let it discourage you. Consider it a learning experience. Next time it might be wise to give yourself more time or lower your standards a bit. There may also be something that could have been done differently for better results.
Challenging yet realistic goals can make a huge difference in your business. Each time we achieve a new goal, we build momentum. By considering the likelihood of attaining our goals when setting them, we set ourselves up for success.
Topics: Entrepreneurs, How-To's | 1 Comment »
July 18th, 2010 at 10:49 pm
[...] Do You As A Christian CEO, Set Realistic Goals? The National Association of Christian Women in Business blog discusses the idea of setting realistic goals in this article. [...]