17 June 2009
3. Clear Intent; Aware of Action Steps
Posted by Dan DeMuth under: PIM Articles .
Clear Intent; Aware of Action Steps
What separates peak performers by and large from the rest of the population is that they know what they want and how to meet their goals. Oftentimes, simply having a goal in business/life will set one apart from the realm of mediocrity, but one must also be clear about how to progress toward the desired outcome. Thus, the first step should be defining a number of goals, but then to specify these goals. That is, be exact, be reasonable, and be aware of how to meet this goal when creating it. At Performance In Motion, we use scorecards to write down goals, and encourage clients to spend time critically analyzing the action steps/short-term plan needed to meet this goal. If the action steps do not line up with the goal, then it must be refined; it was not clear in the first place. A goal in Business may be to increase communication skills among employees. This goal is ideal in theory, but too vague to automatically lead to results. We would encourage the business owner to write down exactly how team members are to interact differently with one another, for instance by having X amount of meetings or having employees individually keep track of how often they coordinate their efforts with their colleagues. In golf, the goal may be breaking 100, 90, 80, 70 (or 60 J), but there must be an action plan: X amount of practice, implement pre-shot routine to focus on target.
