Goals and the Holidays

The holidays are almost here and with the end of the year comes goal setting for the next year.  A great book written by Mark McCormack called "What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School" discovered that in his graduating class in 1979 MBA class 3% wrote goals, 13% thought about their goals and the rest were ready to be done with school.

He then went back 10 years later and checked on the results of goal setting.  Here are the results:

• The group that had non-written goals( the 13% group) was making twice as much salary as the 84% that didn't set any goals.
• The group of students that wrote their goals down ( 3% group) are making 10X the salary of the the other 97% that thought about their goals or didn't do goals at all!!!

I think we all would like to make ten times the salary we already do.  This then sets up the question.....Why am I or why are you not setting goals each year??  Resolutions are made each year.  Most of them start off with either eating better, losing weight, working out more each week, being a better person or parent or significant other.  Why wait till the end of the year to set your goals?  The time is now to set them and answer the tough questions.

The best way to make goals is not to do them and store them some where and review them in a year!  Have a goal setting person or people that you meet with each month.  This way you can motivate each other and listen to each other in times of good or bad.  It is a support system and this is important during setting goals!

Set little rewards during the year to help you push through times that don't seem to have much going for them.  They don't have to be large rewards but they should mean something to you.  

Also, planning daily activities to these goals will help you keep on track and keep you going during times of slow business or activity.


I meet with a business partner I have known for years.  We just started about 6 months ago doing this with each other and it has really been inspiring and rewarding to see each other succeed.  A good support system is important in anything you do but even more important in business.  Having the right partners in your business is the key to success!


Have a great Holiday and 2012!