Inside Small Business | Small Business & Home Business Marketing

10 Commandments of Goal Setting

Gary Ryan Blair, President of GoalsGuy

1. Thou Shall Be Decisive
Success is a choice. You must decide what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it. No one else can, will, or should do that for you.

2. Thou Shall Stay Focused
A close relative to being decisive, but your ability to sustain your focus from beginning to end determines the timing and condition of your outcomes.

3. Thou Shall Welcome Failure
The fundamental question is not whether you should accept failure. You have no choice but to expect it as a temporary condition on the pathway of progress. Rather, the question is how to anticipate failure and redirect resources to grow from the experience.

4. Thou Shall Write Down Thy Goals
Your mind while blessed with permanent memory is cursed with lousy recall. People forget things. Avoid the temptation of being cute; Write down your goals.

5. Thou Shall Plan Thoroughly
Planning saves 10 to 1 in execution. Proper planning prevents poor performance.

6. Thou Shall Involve Others
Nobody goes through life alone. Establish your own “Personal Board of Directors”, people whose wisdom, knowledge and character you respect to help you achieve your goals.

7. Thou Shall Take Purposeful Action
Success is not a spectator sport – achievement demands action. You cannot expect to arrive at success without having made the trip.

8. Thou Shall Reward Thyself
Rewards work! Think of what you will give yourself as a result of your hard work, focus and persistence – you deserve it!

9. Thou Shall Inspect What You Expect
The shelf life of all plans is limited. No plan holds up against opposition. Everything changes. Therefore inspect frequently and closely, it’s an insurance policy on your success.

10. Thou Shall Maintain Personal Integrity
Maintain your commitment to your commitment. Set your goals and promise yourself that you will achieve them. Eliminate wiggle room and excuses. That’s personal integrity!Gary Ryan Blair is President of The GoalsGuy. A visionary and gifted conceptual thinker, Gary is highly regarded as a speaker, consultant, strategic planner, and coach to leading companies throughout the globe. Visit The GoalsGuy at www.GoalsGuy.com

Posted on Wednesday, January 3rd, 2007 at 1:15 pm and is filed under Leadership, Small Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.