As you look forward to starting a new financial year, it’s the perfect time to take a look at goals for the next year.
For most people, they’d typically start making KPIs for themselves or their teams and projecting where sales and/or growth of the company should be by the end of the financial year in 2019.
However…this time, consider taking a step back. Rather than focusing on what KPIs are for you and for everyone else, turn the mirror on you first.
In order to make sure your goals match your purpose and things that make you happy, it all starts with defining success for yourself. What is really important to YOU.
What does success mean to you personally? Begin there.
Basically, you’re trying to answer your WHY. Why do you do what you do? Why are you working so hard every day? What are you working towards? What is the end goal, or at least the current goal for this coming year?
Simon Sinek is one of the leaders in this space and renowned for his “Start with the Why” TED Talk. He said, “Imagine a world where people wake up every day inspired to go to work, feel safe while they are there and return home at the end of the day feeling fulfilled by the work they do, feeling that they have contributed to something greater than themselves.”
Perhaps you start by asking yourself a few questions that might prompt some good directions on what defines success to you:
Your why can be big or small. It can be a simple desire for you, your family or larger community. Consider the following:
You need to ask yourself what is the most important thing in your life—or better yet, what will make you happy and satisfied. For example, if it’s travel and experiencing other cultures, then this becomes your vision of success. This drives you in your business decisions and structure to allow you the flexibility and money to achieve this goal.
When you clearly know your WHY, then decisions become easier as you ask yourself, will what I am doing now take me closer to what I am trying to achieve?
Maybe it’s not as easy as saying X will make me feel successful.
You might need to go the opposite route and think about what makes you unhappy and dissatisfied, i.e., what really ticks you off at work, in the world, with your services/competitors or natural justice areas? What would you like to change if you could?
Then make it your goal to do mostly things that moves you towards doing something about it.
Or take that even a step further. Is there something that you believed would make you feel successful and didn’t? Perhaps you thought getting to a certain earning position would you make you feel successful or making enough to buy a car.
However, if you attained this goal and didn’t end up feeling as great as you thought, then you might need to reassess what real success means to you (or at least make sure you really celebrate your achievements and congratulate yourself so you see yourself as successful).
So you’ve figured out what that personal success is, now don’t just think about it. Write it down, and describe exactly what you need to do achieve your success. (Note: Make sure your goals have clear actions and are actually achievable! Don’t set yourself up to fail but do push yourself outside your comfort zone a little.)
Attach to that success the WHY, so you remind yourself what the reasons are for working hard to achieve it. Will it change your life? Or your family? Or your community?
Next, figure out what obstacles or limitations stand in the way of achieving your goal. Again, putting something in writing helps you recognize exactly what will stop you from attaining your success.
On the flip side, list what additional knowledge, skills or other support you might need in order to obtain your goal.
Finally, drill down and figure out what actionable items you need to do. Organise your list in order of importance and sequence. And finally, set deadlines.
Don’t just think about what success is to you and what success you want in the coming financial year, make it happen.
Why do people fail?
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