The Questions to Ask Yourself for Extraordinary Goal-Setting
I can personally attest to its importance in my own professional life. I cannot overstate that it always has been and remains one of the first steps you take in your journey toward finding unparalleled success. My goal is to share the easy steps to write your goals down on paper.
To quote another expert on the subject, philanthropist and author Tony Robbins, “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”
I like that, don’t you? I think it explains the importance extremely well, but to delve deeper into the topic and further explain why I believe goal setting is of paramount importance when attempting to achieve success.
Contributor: Cliff Locks, Investment Capital Growth, Managing Director and Executive Coach. Available to join your Board as a Certified Master Professional Board of Director and Advisor.
GREAT Goals are:
- Outcome focused: Once you understand your WHY (and it’s an enthusiastic WHY) you’re 90% there!
- In line with your values: The more a goal aligns with your inner or core values – the EASIER it will be to NOTE: We can achieve goals that don’t align with our values but it’s harder to do and less satisfying.
- Stated in the positive: “I want healthy fingernails” rather than “I want to stop biting my nails”
and SMART:
Specific (so you know exactly what you’re trying to achieve)
Measurable (so you know when you’ve achieved it!)
Action-oriented (so you can DO something about it!)
Realistic (so it IS achievable) and
Time-Bound (has a deadline)
Focusing on the Outcome:
- What is it that you really, REALLY want? Dig deep…
- What is the SPECIFIC outcome you’re looking for?
- What is the PAIN for you of NOT achieving your goal?
Aligning with your Values:
- Is this goal in line with your life vision/overall life-plan? (Don’t know – what does your gut tell you?)
- Is this goal in line with your values? (Unsure? Ask yourself what’s REALLY important to you in life – will this goal help you achieve more of that?)
- Are the goals something YOU truly want, or are they something you think you SHOULD have or SHOULD be doing? (Tip: If it is a SHOULD, it may be someone else’s dream…)
- When you think about your goal does it give you a sense of deep contentment or ‘rightness’, happiness and/or excitement? (If so, these are good signs that it’s a healthy goal.)
- If you could have the goal RIGHT NOW – would you take it? (If not, why not? What issues are there?)
- How does this goal fit into your life/lifestyle? (Time/effort/commitments/who else might be impacted?)
Identifying Obstacles:
- Can YOU start & maintain this goal/outcome? (ie. Do you have complete control over achieving it?)
- How will making this change affect other aspects of your life? (ie. What else might you need to deal with?)
- What’s good about your CURRENT SITUATION? (ie. What’s the benefit of staying right where you are?) Then ask, how can I keep those good aspects while STILL making this change?
- WHAT might you have to give up/stop doing to achieve this goal? (Essentially, what’s the price of making this change – and are you willing to pay it?)
- If there was something important around achieving this goal (to help you succeed, or that could get in the way) that you haven’t mentioned yet, what would it be?
- WHO will you have to BE to achieve this goal?
Goal Sizing:
- Is your goal the right size to be working on?
Too big? Break down into smaller goals. Too small? Fit into a larger goal. - What would be the MINIMUM/Super-Easy level of goal to achieve?
- What would be your TARGET level of goal to achieve?
- What would be your EXTRAORDINARY level of goal to achieve?
Resources – get moving:
- What RESOURCES do you already have to help you achieve your goal? Make a list! (eg. things, support from people, contacts, personal qualities, knowledge, skills, money, time etc).
- What RESOURCES do you NEED to help you achieve your goals? Make a list!
Yes, I’m available to walk you through this important process; you are not alone. Just reach out by phone or email.
IMPORTANT: REMEMBER – GOALS are there to INSPIRE YOU not to beat yourself up with!
Cliff Locks is a trusted mentor, confidant, and advisor to CEOs, C-Level Exec, and high-potential employees to help them clarify goals, unlock their potential, and create actionable strategic plans.
Available to join your Board as a Certified Master Professional Board of Director and Advisor.
I am a trusted mentor, confidant, and advisor available by Zoom and by phone to be your right-hand man, who will make a significant contribution and impact on your way to success.
As a Trusted Mentor, Confidant, and Advisor, I support you, along with your company’s strategic and annual operating plan. This plan may include marketing, sales, product development, supply chain, hiring policies, compensation, benefits, performance management, and succession planning.
Most successful leaders enjoy talking to someone about their experiences, which is why most develop a close relationship with a Trusted Confidant—a person with whom they feel free to share their thoughts, concerns, and ideas without fear of sharing too much or being judged by the people they lead, or their colleagues and superiors. I am a sounding board who will help you to better develop and see your ideas through to fruition.
The most effective Executive find confidants who complement their strengths and sharpen their effectiveness. Bill Gates uses Steve Ballmer in this way; Warren Buffett turns to vice chairman Charlie Munger. In the end, both the Executive and their organizations benefit from these relationships.
As your trusted confidant, I am always by your side, holding your deepest secrets and never judging. Everything discussed is held in complete confidence.
What many executives feel is missing from their busy life is a trusted business person who understands the holistic complexity of both their business and personal life.
I strive to provide solid financial, business, and family expertise and serve as a dispassionate sounding board, a role I like to call “Executive Confidant.”
By holding a safe place for the Executive to work on life path issues as well as direction, I repeatedly see remarkable benefits as personal values become integrated with wealth and family decisions, enhancing a more meaningful life.
As an Executive Confidant, I welcome a confidential conversation about the most important issues facing the business leader, including:
• Strategic planning toward your visions of success and goal setting • Operations, planning, and execution • Career transition • Retirement • Legacy • Kids and money • Marriage and divorce • Health concerns • Values and life purpose • Vacations • Mentoring & depth of the executive bench • Succession planning
When I do my job well, I facilitate positive action in both your professional and personal life. This consistently has a positive benefit on impacting people within the sphere of your influence.
The job of an Executive can be lonely. For various reasons, confiding in colleagues, company associates, family members, or friends presents complications. Powerful, successful, and wealthy individuals often isolate themselves as a protective reaction because of their inability to find people they can trust and confide in.
Successful people are often surrounded by many people, yet they insulate and isolate themselves to varying levels of degree. This isolation factor is not often discussed in the same context because the assumption is that success and wealth only solve problems. The false belief is that it does not create more problems, when, in fact, sometimes it creates a unique set of new challenges. Success and wealth do not insulate you from the same pitfalls that the everyday person faces. It may give you access to better solutions perhaps, and that is what I can help you achieve. Financial business success can create unique vulnerabilities, often overlooked as most people feel that the “problems” of the wealthy are not real-life problems.
The Executive Confidant can be particularly helpful when:
• Aligning life priorities with the responsibilities of wealth. • Wanting more meaning and purpose in life. • Desiring a candid and experienced perspective. • The answers often come from within, and we cannot arrive at them easily. • Clarity often comes into focus, with skilled questions and guided discovery. The right questions can be the first step in achieving ideal outcomes.
Who can you turn to when you need to find clarity? Who is your “Executive Confidant”?
Referrals to a team members or family members are always welcome.
Investment:
One-to-One – Individual payment: Strategic Coaching: $295 per month (weekly for 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on the depth of our conversation Zoom meeting).
One-to-One – Corporate payment:
i. Coaching & Leadership Development: $600 per month engagement (weekly 1 hour Zoom meeting).
ii. One-to-One Executive Coaching and Mentoring: $600 per month engagement (weekly 1 hour Zoom meeting).
iii. Increasing Top Team Performance and 1:1 Mentoring Sessions: $600 per month engagement (weekly 1 hour Zoom meeting).
iv. Planning New Futures for Senior Executives: $600 per month engagement (weekly 1 hour Zoom meeting).
Team coaching:
i. Enhancing Boardroom Effectiveness & Executive Impact Group: Starting at $15,250 per annual engagement.
ii. Strategic & Operational Planning/KPI Development: Starting at $25,500 per annual engagement.
iii. Productivity Assessment & Profitability Improvement: Starting at $25,250 per annual engagement.
iv. Sales Channel and Product Development: Starting at $25,250 per annual engagement.
v. Energy and Sustainability Efficiency Initiatives: Starting at $18,500 per annual engagement.
Board of Directors or Board of Advisors:
- Private company:
- $25,000 to $45,000 per year, depending on the number of Board and Committee meetings.
- Public company:
-
- Under $50M in revenue: $25,000 to $45,000 per year, per year, depending on number of Board and Committee meetings.
- Micro: $50M – $500M in revenue (click for annual compensation)
- Small: $500M – $1B in revenue (click for annual compensation)
- Medium: $1B – $2.5B in revenue (click for annual compensation)
- Large: $2.5B – $10B in revenue (click for annual compensation)
- Top 200: Largest 200 in the S&P 500 (click for annual compensation)
-
Email me: [email protected] or Schedule a call: Cliff Locks OptimizeLife #CEO #CFO #COO #BoD #CXO #Professionalpedia #TeamBuilder #success #beyourself #goals #lifeisgood #Influencer #Successful #Business #WorkLife #OfficeLife #Work #Office #Inspiration #Marketing #Tips #Leadership #BusinessIntelligence #InvestmentCapitalGrowth
No comment Click here to read/write comments
