Thank you Amber Hurdle for our guest post this week!
New Year’s Resolutions
It’s that tim
e of year again! Time to make arbitrary goals that we are already going to laugh about not reaching. Or perhaps we set goals for our businesses to feel like we are putting a check in the box, but it’s really just a checklist of things we should probably accomplish, anyway.
Okay, okay..I’m being harsh, but I’m sure that hit home for some of you, right? So, what separates those who make huge strides year over year, whether personally or professionally, and those who do not? Is it a lack of discipline? No. Is it a lack of resources? No. Is it because your goal wasn’t “SMART” enough? Probably not. The secret sauce to achieving your goals is simple. When committing to a goal, you just have to ask yourself this:
The “So What” Game for Goal Setting
Let’s play the “so what” game together so you get the idea and understand I’m not just a sarcastic executive coach with an attitude! Rather, I want to set my clients up for success on the front end by asking the hard questions to maximize their results. Here is an example of a conversation I often have with my clients:
- Amber: What is your professional goal for the next three months?
- Client: To take on ten new clients. (Beams with pride because he is clear on his goal.
- Amber: So you can what?
- Client: So I can make more money.
- Amber: So you can what?
- Client: So I don’t have to worry about cash flow for my business so much.
- Amber: So you can what?
- Client: Ummm..not be so stressed out?
- Amber: Great! So you can what?
- Client: Ummmmmmmmmmmmm…so I can have more time to focus on improving my service. (Thinks he has Amber off his back by now.)
- Amber: That’s sure honorable. If you improve your service, so what?
- Client (Perhaps a little aggravated at this point): So I can grow my business to the level that I can hire a manager and get out of the day-to-day details of my business.
- Amber (Realizing she’s REALLY pushing it now): One more time..So. You. Can. What?
- Client: So I can actually take a vacation and pay attention to my wife on the weekends; and heaven forbid actually get to the gym on occasion! That’s WHAT!
- Amber (Smiling really big): YES! That’s it. You need to get ten new clients in the next three months so you can put yourself on the path to time freedom, a better quality of life, a better marriage and a healthy body. Now THAT is a goal worth striving for!
Why This Works For Goal Setting
Do you see how by asking “so what” repeatedly we get to a MUCH more powerful mission? When things get hard, when this pretend client is sick of cold calling and would rather hop on Facebook (none of you EVER do that!), his “so what” will help him delay gratification and stick to his plan because he knows what is truly at risk if he doesn’t.
Without playing the “so what” game, goals are just another thing we have to get done; and quite frankly, we all have enough of those things to check off of a list.
Your Challenge
Your New Year’s Resolutions, 2014 goals or even your Q1 goals should absolutely be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound), yet they should also have a significant “so what” factor. If your goals aren’t changing the game for you, they aren’t worth the time it takes to type them into your goal form.
So the challenge I regularly issue Team Moxie, and that I am issuing you today, is to approach (or revise) your 2014 goals to reflect what REALLY matters at the end of the day. Play the “so what” game. In doing so, you will not only be motivated to stick with your goals, 2014 WILL be your game changing year!
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Bio
Amber Hurdle, CVACC, is the owner and lead coach of Moxie Internal Relations, home of Amber Hurdle’s Work-Life Success Strategies and the Mega Moxie Success Academy.
Amber helps individuals redefine success on their terms and create lives free of guilt, stress and overwhelm. She also works with companies from Fortune 500 powerhouses to mom and pops to help define, refine and exude their company cultures through coaching, training, consulting and speaking. Amber focuses on internal communication, employee engagement, internal networking and personal branding; recognition and FUN to ensure employees are fully engaged and acting as the company’s best ambassadors.
For more information, visit www.amberhurdle.com