P B - MY BIG IDEA

With nearly 50% of marriages ending in divorce, couples are constantly looking for the secret recipe to having a happy, successful partnership. Not surprisingly, there isn’t a secret formula that guarantees a lifetime of bliss, but lasting marriages seem to have several common characteristics. One of the best ways to build a healthy marriage? Set goals together.

Goal setting as an individual is easier. You develop your own list of accomplishments you want to attain, set benchmarks and then strategize a plan. Reaching your goals depends solely on your strengths, effort and abilities. Goal setting as a couple, however, requires a different approach.

COUPLE vs. INDIVIDUAL GOALS

To effectively use goal setting, couples must determine which goals are a priority for their relationship. As a couple is made up of two individuals, it is important to know that each individual needs to have their own goals clear before coming together to form goals as a couple.

Goals set as a couple can be achieved in individual ways. For example, as a couple, they may desire to get healthier. Separately, this could mean that one person needs to lose 15 pounds, while the other doesn’t need to lose weight, but needs to lower their stress level. Their common goal is to be healthier, but it will be met by working on their individual goals. The steps they take to achieve their goals may overlap, and will support each other’s goal, but ultimately the individual is responsible for keeping up their side of the goal.

UNITED GOALS

Another form of goal setting for couples is to create a set of unified goals that affect both individuals equally. A united goal may be lofty (i.e., saving enough to vacation for the entire summer in an exotic location) or simple (cooking dinner together once a week). Either way, achieving the goal is a victory for both individuals. Each participant may have different strategies for their contribution towards the goal, but the end result is a win for both people.

EFFECTIVE GOAL PLANNING

Ready to start setting goals as a couple? Here’s a quick-start guide.

Individually come up with a list of 3-6 items that you’d like to work towards. Share your list with your partner and narrow down the list until you have 1 or 2 goals in common to start with. Find ways to compromise. Do you both have “travel more” on your list, but don’t agree on the location? Look for a solution that you can both approve of, or take turns selecting the next vacation spot.

Develop a plan. How will each of you work towards the goal? What steps will each of you take to help support the goal? Discuss this together. You may have an excellent brain storming partner brimming with ideas you haven’t thought of yourself.

Put your goals in writing. The goal, and the steps required, should be written down and posted in a prominent place. Not only will it keep the goal in the forefront of your mind, it will help build excitement as you see the progress you are making.

Meet regularly. Set aside time as a couple to touch base about your progress towards the goal. Are you on track? Do you need to adjust the timeline? A regular update will help motivate both individuals to keep pushing towards the goal and allow for changes as needed.

Be flexible. Sometimes, it becomes clear that a goal is no longer realistic or that you achieve it faster than you thought possible. Don’t be afraid to adjust or revise the goal if needed.

Celebrate your accomplishments. Each step towards your goal is a victory. Celebrate the milestones on your way to the goal, and then revel in the wonderful sense of accomplishment when you reach the target. Together!

GOAL PLANNING BENEFITS

Not only will planning goals as a couple help you to live your dreams, it will have surprising relationship benefits. Couples that regularly discuss their goals and their progress towards achieving them, generally report that they are happier and more fulfilled in their partnership. In addition, they find that they are more energized and have a stronger bond as a result of sharing a common goal.

Couples that set goals for their health together are more likely to achieve their goals, according to one study. If you are trying to quit smoking, exercise more, eat healthier or make other positive lifestyle changes, ‘changing together’ is the most effective means of doing so. You will find greater, longer lasting success when you reinforce the new lifestyle choice by working towards the goal together.

Worried that one of you may be more goal-orientated than the other? That’s OK. Building a set of goals and developing a plan to reach them together can be an important tool in forging a better relationship. Even if one individual is less goal-driven, working together towards a common goal will bring a sense of unity and connectedness.

Want to accomplish more as a couple? Feel like your relationship could be better? Set aside some time to develop some goals for you and your partner. You’ll be surprised at the positive difference it can make.

The My Big Idea professional workshops tackle your personal life as part of goal setting. This area is vital, yet can often get ignored on our drive to the top in our professional life.

Imagine for a moment, that you are in Munich, Germany. Your plan is to travel to Venice, Italy by car. It is a trip you’ve never done before. You’ll attempt to make this journey without a phone, map or GPS. Your only hope of arriving in Italy is to ‘wing it’ and chance that your memory of grade 8 geography hasn’t faded.

As you get out of familiar territory, earnestly searching the road signs is little assistance and you don’t speak the local language. Your chance of success? Minimo! (Italian for minimal).

Write your goals down

When you set goals, but fail to write them down, it is much like having a general idea of where you’re going without a clear set of directions.

According to a study done by Dominican University professor, Dr. Gail Matthews, you are over 40% more likely to reach your goals if you write them down. Put succinctly, unwritten goals are merely dreams. Most dreams are unfulfilled because they only happen in your mind and have little chance of success.

Written down, however, the dream becomes a plan, a blueprint that leads you from where you are to where you want to be. This is why filling in goal setting worksheets help you achieve your goals.

Write your goals by hand

Research has shown that there is a powerful link between goals that are written down by hand and goals that are attained. Why? The brain is hardwired to make connections by building neuropathways. When you are physically engaged in a process such as handwriting, your brain builds a pathway.

As you repeat that action, the pathway is reinforced. In addition, the brain forms markers that serve as reminders to help motivate you in pursuit of your goal. Writing down your goals creates over 10,000 new neural pathways. Typing them on a computer? Only 600.

Even more compelling, writing down your goals helps your brain form what researchers call the growth mindset. It is not enough to simply have a goal of being successful. The more specific the goal, the more motivated you are to work towards it.

By putting your goals in writing, your brain will begin to think in terms of your goal, causing what many refer to as a self-fulfilling result. Yes, you can transfer them to an app or online journal later, however, do your brain and your future self a favour – write them out first by hand on a goal setting worksheet.

The best wrote their goals

Some of history’s most successful people are known for keeping a handwritten journal. Anecdotal stories of famed inventor, Thomas Edison, noted film director George Lucas and others abound that demonstrate the importance of keeping a written list of goals, dreams and ideas.
These successful achievers were relentless about jotting down their ideas and dreams, and unsurprisingly, they accomplished many of the items found within the pages of their journals.
Want to join the ranks of successful people who achieve exactly what they want out of life? Pick up a pencil.

The My Big Idea™ professional workshops tackle this part of goal setting that can seem so simple, yet often gets ignored.

Recently I attended the Leading High Growth Businesses at Harvard University. The workshop was part of a pilot program designed by Harvard for women leaders of fast-growth companies who wanted to strategically super-charge their corporate plan. 58 companies were represented from all over the world.

After the week-long workshop, 19+ pages of notes, and three sleepless nights (as I was so inspired from the day’s learning), I’ve distilled six important take-aways that can be applied to any corporate team.

Link Strategy to Sales

Ever wonder why your strategic planning session sounds and feels the same from one year to the next and those strategic goals are never achieved? The missing link is sales. You need to link every corporate strategic goal to sales. What’s the goal and what’s the role your sales team will have in achieving that goal?

When strategy and sales are linked, and executed on, this action is 20 times more effective than any advertising or social media efforts. This means that from the very beginning, you need to be setting goals for the company that sales is compensated on correctly to achieve. Sales targets can no longer be set in a silo, they need to directly support the goals of the business.

Corporate Goals

Goals and goalsetting, both company-wide and personally are standard practice for many motivated people and high growth companies. If one goal is good, many are better, right?

Wrong. Our professor, Frank Cespedes, showed research that proved any more than five goals were counterproductive and went so far as to state that “any more than five goals is a list, not a set of goals. A list that would never get done.”

The lesson here for us high achievers is to understand and accept that focus trumps breadth and have the discipline to know when to stop when we’re planning for our next achievements.

Multiple Lines of Businesses

Money managers would attest to the importance of having multiple income streams for maximum wealth building. Harvard is recommending businesses apply the same principle. Multiple business models are an effective means of adding value to the overall worth of the company.

This is not a recommendation to lose focus, this is a recommendation to apply more than one business model to your company.

For example, if your revenue comes from large annual projects, where could you add a monthly subscription-based offering as an additional line of business – and additional source of recurring revenue?

Develop Market Value Not Book Value

Buyers are looking for future potential. While book value still matters, set your sights on the potential for your company. We were introduced to Blue Mercury who sold to Macy’s for $210M+. Guess what? They sold on the market value of their creation, not on the book value.

The creators of Blue Mercury only achieved the success and the growth in their company when they looked to develop the possibly of what could be.

What could the company become? This is the question they asked, instead of looking at where they were (book value) and simply adding on a percentage increase they wanted to achieve the next year.

By starting to work on developing market value this led to the sale of their company and a lucrative deal with Macy’s. A transaction that never would have been possible by only looking at where they were.

Critical Failure Factors

Another concept to turn on its head. You are well familiar with key success factors. After reading this article, I’d suggest you banish those from your mind. You already know what you need to do to be successful, listing them only makes you feel good. Let’s talk about the scary things that cannot happen to your business and then do everything we can to ensure they do not come to light.

This is not about thinking negatively, this is about getting crystal clear on what could derail the efforts of your company and then working to be sure those do not happen. While key success factors for companies tend to be similar (make a profit, retain key staff etc.) it is too easy for you to fall into taking on someone else’s key success factor which sets up a blind spot for yourself in your own company.

Critical failure factors, on the other had will be particular to your group’s situation, market, industry and success. This helps you zero on your corporate goals and truly aligning them to what you need to do (or not do) to succeed.

No More Work/Life Balance

Many are tired of the work/life balance talk. It feels defeating as sometimes work requires us to pour on the effort for an extended period of time.

And when it is time to refuel, often people feel guilty about doing so and end up vocally justifying that they are finally getting their work life balance right. That is no way to start any kind of relaxing holiday.

Linda Applegate at Harvard emphasized work/life integration.

Is it a fancy new term? No.

The thinking is that we can’t totally shut off from work particularly if we lead the company or team. As well, we can’t totally shut off from our life of family, friends, travel, hobbies when were deep into a work session. We need to see ourselves and our people as whole.

We bring our whole self to work. We bring our whole self to our personal life. When companies start to acknowledge, respect and make room for the whole person including their personal goals, achievements and challenges, we see a different type of engagement.

Employees feel like the company “gets” and respects them as a whole. This makes them feel cherished, respected and understood. In return we see these employees’ performance and contribution back to the company actually increase. It is as if this understanding has fulfilled a need in the employee and they are returning the favour ten-fold.

Beyond what Leading High Growth Businesses at Harvard taught us on this topic, we’re seeing it happen with past My Big Idea clients.

Your Turn

I’d encourage you to pick one or two of these points and make a plan to bring them into your company. Your company’s future success depends on the different thinking you start doing today.

Next Steps

Ready to take your company or department to the next level of growth with all employees in the same boat rowing the same way? Contact My Big Idea™ for more information about our effective goal-setting workshops specifically designed for corporate clients.

Michele Bailey is president and CEO of Blazing THE Agency and My Big Idea™. These two lines of business work congruently to support her clients’ success.

The internet has both enlarged the world, and made it smaller. It is possible to work from virtually anywhere you can find an internet connection. This puts companies in the unique position of having employees spread all over the globe.

As a corporate leader, it can be challenging enough to create a team atmosphere when everyone is in the same building. How can you build a team atmosphere when individuals may not even be in the same time zone?

Like any worthy goal, successful team building requires strategic planning. While the specifics of the virtual team may be slightly different, the process of team building remains essentially the same.

Develop a connection platform

One of the most difficult hurdles to overcome in fostering a team atmosphere among virtual employees is a way to connect. Built into the traditional office experience is the opportunity to socialize among employees during casual interactions at the office.

These interactions provide employees with the basis for forming team bonds, and is out of reach for virtual employees who never really have much of a chance for ‘non-work’ communication.

Create a platform designed for inter-employee communication. This can be a private group on Facebook, a group email chat or other collaborative software. Give employees the means of communicating with each other easily.

Generate opportunities for connections

Use your platform to engage employees in conversation by starting discussions that are non-work related. Ask questions such as, “If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?” Suggest that everyone use reply-all, so that everyone can read and enjoy the answers. Use this method as a point of engagement and to encourage regular interaction.

Host virtual lunch-n-learns

Many companies host lunch conferences for trainings or other work related tasks. Hold regular virtual lunch meetings using video conferencing software. Send employees gift cards to pay for their lunch, or ‘cater in’ by arranging for lunch to be delivered to your employees.

Take virtual coffee breaks

Schedule virtual coffee breaks and encourage employees to sign-on at their favorite coffee shop. Use video or chat software to have conversations about topics that are work related, the struggle of remote workers or other topics that may affect virtual workers.

Offer in-person conferences

Annual events that allow employees to meet each other in person can be highly beneficial for team building. Schedule trainings, corporate meetings and other ‘company-wide’ activities that will encourage a team atmosphere. Giving employees the opportunity to see the others they work with, and connect with co-workers in ‘real life’ will make it easier to stay connected virtually.

Use virtual games and challenges

Simple games, such as trivia challenges, more complex virtual games, or even something as simple as a corporate fitness challenge can help to mitigate the distances between employees. Use technology as a tool to unite co-workers, rather than focusing on the virtual aspect of working. Take advantage of photo-sharing, social media and other easy-to-use programs to stay in touch and keep everyone motivated.

Maintaining a team atmosphere can be challenging, but isn’t impossible. Strategic planning and effort can ease the miles and create a team bond that not only thrives but succeeds.

Professional development companies promote the use of team building to improve inter-company dynamics, develop customer relations and strategize methods of problem solving. While on the surface, it makes sense that these efforts would be beneficial, what evidence exists that supports the use of these activities?

The Human Dynamics Lab at MIT recently completed a study that sheds new, compelling evidence on why team building is so effective, and makes a strong case for its use in the workplace. In their study, they utilized cutting edge wearable technology that captures real time information about individuals in the workplace. The results were astonishing.

The Problem

Initially, the study was designed to evaluate why some teams within an organization seem to thrive, while others seem to stagnate. The original study was the result of a company experiencing lack-luster performance and had low employee retention in one department, while other similar departments were exceeding expectations.

The Study

The wearable technology analyzed facial expressions, vocal inflections, length of conversations and more over the course of six weeks. Taking into account the initial awkwardness of being monitored, after a few hours the employees returned to their normal levels of interaction. By studying over 2,500 employees within an organization, MIT was able to garner a ‘bird’s eye view’ of how communication within a company can help or hinder success.

In many ways, the study offered results that were counter to conventional wisdom. Hosting ‘beer night’, for example, had minimal effect on improving communication in the team. Installing longer lunch tables in the cafeteria, however, provided opportunity for strangers to sit together and had an immediate impact on team communication.

The Results

The conclusions of the study have far-reaching implications for the development of team building within organizations. The company that initiated the study made the recommended adjustments to promote team bonding and saw an immediate 8% drop in average handling time for customer calls. Implementing the changes company-wide has resulted in an estimated $15 million per year productivity increase.

Interestingly, one of the most compelling results from this study showed that teams with the most qualified individuals were not the most successful. Teams with higher levels of communication among team members outperformed other teams in almost every metric measured.

The Application

Companies that are looking for ways to improve team member relationships, or who want to promote a corporate mindset can benefit from the results of this study. By making a simple adjustment, the company in question was able to see overall corporate growth, enhanced team communication and improved employee retention.

Within other corporations, using strategic team building activities can help to identify where communication breakdowns are occurring, and provide opportunities for team bonding that can be more effective than almost any other type of training. The results of this study show that team building doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive.

Targeted activities that promote communication are still the most effective means of growing a corporate culture where growth and development are valued. Using team building activities to further develop the corporate community can improve relationships (and as a result, communication) and can have a tremendous impact on the climate of a company.

Entrepreneurs pride themselves on their independence. In many cases, it is hard to distinguish between their personal and professional lives, particularly when ‘office hours’ may vary based on the activity of the day. They don’t need to worry about climbing a corporate ladder – they’re building their own ladder. How can an entrepreneur effectively use goal setting when their career is so loosely defined?

Is it possible to use goals when you are just starting the path to entrepreneurship? How can goal setting help you in later stages of your career?

Avoid career specific goals

Individuals who work in a career often set goals such as, “Become vice-president of sales’ or “Be the head of XYZ department’. These career specific goals don’t work for the entrepreneur, mainly because they create their own department and don’t need to worry about how quickly they progress through leadership – they’re in charge of everything day one. How’s that for a promotion!

Instead of focusing on career specific goals, the entrepreneur should set goals that are relevant to their business.

Set lifestyle goals

Due to the nature of entrepreneurship, the professional and personal aspects of life get blurred. Instead of fighting this tendency, embrace it by setting goals that correspond to the lifestyle that is desired. Include goals about potential travelling opportunities, a flexible work schedule or other milestones that are important for you to reach.

Use SMART goal setting

Regardless of what specific goal you set, one of the most effective ways of ensuring your success is to use SMART goals. By crafting goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely, you help build a blueprint towards your success. The SMART system of goals can give you incremental milestones to help build your business, one small step at a time.

Use growth related goals

Setting goals that help your business develop in multiple areas gives your company both size and scope. Entrepreneurs who set goals for growth, ‘Selling X number of items per month’, as well as depth, ‘Cultivate relationships with 3 potential customers per week’ are giving themselves multiple areas to develop. More importantly, these types of goals are easily transferred to multiple businesses. Once the entrepreneur has developed the habit of effective goal setting, the principles can be applied to whatever business they are establishing, and any new ones they create down the road.

Tie goals to skills

Many professionals set goals for achievement. Reaching a specific career level, attaining a specific corporate position or reaching a specific sales quota are all relevant and useful. However, for the entrepreneur, setting strategic goals tied to skills is more effective. Skills are translatable, and can be useful regardless of the company or idea the entrepreneur may be working on currently. ‘Mastering two new elements of pitching” is specific and relevant, and can be used in a variety of fields.

Goal setting is an effective tool for individuals wishing to improve their professional or personal lives. To maximize the use of goal setting, entrepreneurs should prioritize their goals differently than the individuals who work in a traditional career. By setting growth-driven goals and by focusing on skills and strategies that will help position the entrepreneur for future success, the same principles of goal setting can be used.