Alright then.....

So we know about goals and we know what the POWER system means and the categories. Now we need to understand one important concept before moving on to the goal setting. This is important as our goals need to be SMART tested in order for them to be allowed in our plan. There is no point having goals that cannot be completed and you will understand what I mean after looking below.

The term SMART in relation to goal setting was first used in the November 1981 issue of management review by George T.Doran. It referred to objectives in management techniques and that they should be; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Some have added E and R as Evaluate and Re-evaluate but I will not be using them here as we will evaluate the plan anyway.(*)

S - SpecificA goal should be Specific or Simple, It should answer some of the 5 W's. Many goal guru's like all 5 to be answered but I feel this then negates the 'simple' nature of the S. Try to be specific but keep it rather simple at this point, you will see why later.

• What: What do I want to accomplish?
• Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.
• Who: Who is involved?
• Where: Identify a location.
• Which: Identify requirements and constraints

M - Measurable A goal must be measurable. How will you demonstrate or evaluate the ends to which a goal is being or has been met. Again we will look at this in the Power Action Plan but just keep in mind that you need to track and know that a goal is being met.

A - AchievableAs I spoke of in the last lesson, I am unlikely to be the Denver Quarterback at 50 plus I live in the UK. Your goals need strength and character but they have to have an outcome. The goals cannot be set to low or they then become meaningless and we have no time for meaningless goals.

When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. The theory states that "an achievable goal may cause goal-setters to identify previously overlooked opportunities to bring themselves closer to the achievement of their goals". Again the servo-mechanism in action.

R - RelevantYour goals need to be in line with you and your core and your vision. Flaky words maybe but if your surgeon is working on his technique and he wants to be able to drink 36 vodka jelly shots in 2 minutes; specific, measurable, achievable and time bound, yes absolutely but relevant to his objective, i don't think so.

Keep your goal(s) in line with your objective or the general trend. I think you know what I mean. If it is not relevant then it will not be important.

T - Time bound Your goal has to have a date attached. If your goal is big then we will break it down to smaller goals that pass the SMART test.

What can I do 5 yrs, 1yr, 6months, 1 week and today to achieve my goal.

'How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time'

OK you are now SMART and full of POWER, lets set some goals.

So what do you need -

• A quiet space to sit and think, this is always the hardest part.
• About one hour, maybe more to get some thoughts down, maybe the lake or the river.
• A good sized A4 notebook, lined
• A coppers jotter (A7 notebook)
• A diary that can hold a bit of information for every day, yep every day.
• A blue or black pen and a red pen.

An imagination that is busting to go wild!

Lets look at 10 year planning.....

* SMART - Management Review by G.T. Doran