Goal Setting: How to Create an Action Plan and Achieve Your Goals (Worksmart) (Worksmart Series) - Softcover

Dobson, Michael S.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0814401694 ISBN 13: 9780814401699

Verlag: Amacom, 2008

Inhaltsangabe

Why is it that some people consistently seem to get more done than others? The answer is that they know how to set specific, achievable goals for themselves...and then follow through on them.

This revised and updated edition of Goal Setting features worksheets, quizzes, and other practical tools, giving you powerful techniques you can use to set a goal, make a plan, and acquire the resources and power necessary to achieve your objective.

The book shows you how to:

• act upon their objectives in a precise, targeted way
• recognize obstacles and overcome them
• become more assertive
• change counterproductive behavior
• establish priorities
• make the most of their time

Achieving goals takes hard work and discipline. This expanded edition of Goal Setting gives you the tools and techniques to accomplish anything.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Susan B. Wilson (Stevensville, MI) is a coach, facilitator, and writer, as well as the President of Executive Strategies, a firm that aids organizations in goal setting, leadership, and team building.

Michael S. Dobson (Bethesda, MD) has over twenty years of experience in project management, and is a business writer. He was part of the team that built the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

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GOAL SETTING

How to Create an Action Plan and Achieve Your GoalsBy Susan B. Wilson Michael S. Dobson

AMACOM

Copyright © 2008 American Management Association
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8144-0169-9

Contents

Preface to the Second Edition...................................................vChapter 1 Getting Started.......................................................3Chapter 2 Potential Obstacles to Reaching Your Goals............................12Chapter 3 Eleven Strategies to Optimize Reaching Your Goals.....................21Chapter 4 Assertive Behavior....................................................33Chapter 5 Changing People's Behavior............................................44Chapter 6 Setting Priorities....................................................57Chapter 7 Planning..............................................................63Chapter 8 Delegating............................................................68Chapter 9 Time Management.......................................................75Chapter 10 Getting Help in Reaching Your Goals..................................85Chapter 11 Getting the Power to Get Things Done.................................91Chapter 12 Project Management for Goal Achievers................................102Appendix Goal Achievement Worksheet.............................................113Index...........................................................................115

Chapter One

GETTING STARTED

* * *

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to have the ability to accomplish a lot? They know where they are headed and exude an enviable confidence. Effective goal setting is one of their keys to success. You may be working very hard at what you do, but without setting goals you'll find that your hard work doesn't yield meaningful results.

Remember Alice in Wonderland? At one point in the story, Alice stops at the crossroads to ask the Cheshire Cat which road to take. He responds by asking where she wants to go. When she tells him that she "doesn't much care where," he replies, "then it doesn't matter which way you go." As a result, she wanders aimlessly in her travels.

Like Alice, we often travel the road of life without a specific direction or goal. Few of us make goal setting a priority. In fact, studies have shown that most people either do not know what they want from life or, if they do, have no plans for realizing their dreams. Only a small percentage of people have specific, well-defined goals. And people who most frequently reach their goals are those who write them down and develop the plans to reach them.

Take a moment to consider why writing down your goals makes such a significant difference in ultimate performance. Why do you think that writing down one's goals is so important? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________

If your response included the idea that goal achievers record their goals so that they can read them, absorb them, and plan for them, then you are on the right track. People who achieve their goals take an active role in achieving them. They write them down, and then plan for their achievement. This chapter considers ten guidelines for evaluating and writing down your goals. If you follow these guidelines, you will establish your goals in a way that nearly guarantees your effort will be rewarded. Time and again, your reward is successful goal achievement.

Before learning the ten guidelines for effective goal setting, take a few minutes to identify two of your goals—they can be anything as long as they are meaningful to you—and write them down. Then, complete the self-audit, which identifies ten elements for effective goal setting. Evaluate the extent to which you use these ideas when developing your goals.

Your Goals

1. __________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________

Now complete the self-audit on page 5 by checking either "Nearly Always," "Sometimes," or "Rarely" for each statement.

TEN GUIDELINES THAT REALLY WORK

The questions you just answered identify ten guidelines for effective goal setting. Using these ideas ensures that you establish goals that can be accomplished. The ten guidelines are:

1. Effective goals are written. Many of us daydream about what we would like to accomplish. But how many of us pick up a pen and write down those things we most want to achieve? Once a dream is committed to paper, it becomes concrete. Your dream is given a sense of reality. Writing down your goals is a first step toward achieving them.

SELF-AUDIT FOR GOAL SETTING

Nearly Always Sometimes Rarely

1. When I set a goal, I write it down. _________ _________ _________

2. I describe my goal in specific, measurable terms. _________ _________ _________

3. I often visualize my goals. _________ _________ _________

4. My goals are achievable. _________ _________ _________

5. I set realistic deadlines for completing my goals. _________ _________ _________

6. I break a large goal into manageable units. _________ _________ _________

7. I look for the potential problems that may keep me from reaching my goals. _________ _________ _________

8. I take action to remove or minimize those potential problems. _________ _________ _________

9. I review progress toward my goals on a regular basis. _________ _________ _________

10. I know the personal rewards of reaching my goals. _________ _________ _________

Assess your responses by counting the number of times you responded "Nearly Always" and multiply that number by 3. Multiply the number of times you responded "Sometimes" by 2, and the number of times you responded "Rarely" by 1. Then add the resulting three numbers for a total score.

Nearly Always _____________ (number of responses) 3 = _____________ Sometimes _____________ (number of responses) 2 = _____________ Rarely _____________ (number of responses) 1 = _____________ GRAND TOTAL = _____________

Analyzing Your Score Score of:

24–30 Excellent job of setting effective goals. If you find that you do an excellent job of setting goals, but you feel you could be more successful in reaching them, then Chapter 2 may be especially meaningful for you.

18–23 You are on your way to achieving effective goal setting. Take another look at the statements where your responses were less than "Nearly Always." These are the areas for additional concentration.

Below 18 There are several areas in which you can improve your goal setting. In setting the goal of reading and using this book, you are becoming a more effective goal setter.

2. Effective goals are written in specific, measurable terms. If you write your goal in specific terms, then you probably have expressed it in a measurable way. A goal needs to be measurable so...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Amacom
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2008
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0814401694
• ISBN 13: 9780814401699
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Auflage: 2
• Anzahl der Seiten: 128
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: gpsr@libri.de; gpsr@libri.de; ; Europaallee 1; Bad Hersfeld; 36244; Deutschland