Goal setting to get ahead

Nearly all high achievers and successful leaders have one thing in common, they all use goal-setting to help them get ahead.

Azure Group’s Michael Derin talks to mentor and business coach Robert Knapp about the power of goal-setting.

Robert why it is impotent to set goals?

Most people wouldn’t think of going on vacation without firstly deciding where they were going to go and secondly determining the best way to get there. At its most basic, that’s all goal-setting, really is. In the absence of goals, we’re likely to end up at a destination in life that falls far short of what we’d like.

Many people have hopes and dreams, but no specific goals or no road map for achieving them. For people who would like to become more goal-oriented, how do you recommend they change their mindsets?

Set a goal to become a goal-setter. That’s not a play on words. Becoming a consistent goal-setter is a learned habit and, as is true with all good habits, having some kind of plan in place significantly increases the odds of success.

What specific steps do you recommend for getting started in setting goals?

It all begins with the “dream”, or what Napoleon Hill, author of the classic Think and Grow Rich, called “desire”. He taught that desire was the beginning of all achievement, and he encouraged us to make it B-I-G. Small dreams or desires aren’t likely to motivate us.

Then create the belief that you can achieve the goal. James Allen wrote in ‘As A Man Thinketh’ that, “Belief precedes all action”. Until you have the belief, you’re not likely to commit enough of yourself to the goal to overcome the obstacles that almost always appear on your way to success.

Find someone who has achieved the same goal or something similar. Researching online has made this so easy. Study them and their methods. If possible, figure out a way to meet them and spend time with them. Look for the things they do that you can replicate. How can you apply your skill or you particular perspective to what they did? How can you make it new, improved or different?

Many people battle procrastination, or think they don’t have enough information to get started, or give up if they’ve slipped off track. What strategies do you recommend?

High achievers don’t wait until they have all the information before they decide to do something. They know it’s only important to have enough information to make a decision and act. Since they fully embrace failure, they don’t let fear stop them from taking action on their decision.

What advice do you have for people who don’t set goals because they’re afraid they’ll come up short?

You’ll come up a lot shorter by not setting goals. Even if you set 10 goals and came up short on nine of them, you would still be further ahead than if you had not set any.

Change your view of failure. Instead of seeing it as a final event, see it as a ‘feedback’ event. Use the feedback to make changes in your action plan and go after it again. The refusal to see failure as final is the hallmark of champions in every field.

Finally, tell me a little about your company Mentum and how you can help business owners.

My aim is to assist high achievers and those aspiring to be high achievers, to attain their financial, career and personal ideals. I work with senior executives, high profile individuals and some best-known companies across Australian commerce and industry.

I provide one-to-one mentoring, development and support; helping my clients to rapidly leverage their skills and capabilities, overcome areas of comparative weakness and stride forward with clear direction and confidence.

I help people to break down any technical or personal barriers that prevent them—or slow them—from achieving their goals. I inspire them to originate and uncover opportunities of significant and lasting value to them and their companies.

Mentum.com.au clients are a special breed; individuals who have accomplished much, are capable of a great deal more, and are hungry to achieve it. Typically, my clients reach a certain level of achievement and are obstructed by technical, business or personal barriers. My programs are structured to break down those barriers, inspire and focus on my client’s skills and energies and help them rapidly attain their goals that may otherwise elude them or take far longer to achieve.