Get our email newsletterI have been spending a lot of time in airports lately and even as I speak, I am writing this from an airport. I have also been spending a lot of time watching what I eat as I decided to join Weight Watchers and have been doing really well. The real challenge to any of these programs are being able to be good while travelling and being committed to your goals.
I often find that setting goals for one self or an organization/company can be a real challenge in a world that is changing by the minute. When developing strategic plans, any goals should be SMART:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Realistic
- Time bound
The annual “lets make resolutions to get better” often don’t follow these principles and last at the best 30 days or until something better or worse comes along. When one sets goals for an organization or company, the real trick is to keep the goals down to a reasonable level. If you have too many goals, you will often find that you cannot meet those goals and then it becomes frustrating or people just give up. A City Manager I know once stated “if one has more than 3 goals, one does not have any”. Think about that.
Goals need to drive your organization or company forward and should be reviewed annually to determine if they are still SMART. Personal goals are no different. When I decided to lose some weight, I set a goal and a timeline for doing so. Believe me, there are many times that I am tempted to just say forget it and reach for that cookie or sugar loaded item. When I did that and looked into it further, I found out that coffee, tea, diet soft drinks and some other goodies we enjoy on a regular basis have “zero” points when it comes to the daily quota. So when we set those goals, keep in mind that there a lot of ways to reach those goals. It just takes good old-fashioned commitment.
