How do you measure your progress?

I personally love SMART goals (although I admit I’ve taken to using SMARTER; Energy and Revisioned being the E and R I was taught) the trick is getting your clients to from “I want more clients” to “I want to gain 12 clients* by 31/07/2024” (have a separate written definition of a client. Especially if you have a team working with you and incentives based on the goal). I’ve found “ER” helps here. Energy comes into it because the teams energy needs to be aligned to this, and revisioned because let’s face it if you’ve achieved the goal by say October, you’re gonna wanna revise it up! I’ve also seen E as evaluated (check in), however energy resonated better with the majority of my clients.

I agree that goals need to be specific, achievable, and time-bound, I do not think that SMART goals are always necessary. Vague goals like “I want to get better at social media outreach” is not helpful because you don’t know how you will evaluate your success. Be clear on what the successful outcome looks like, when your deadline is, and be sure that you’ve allowed yourself enough time to do the work that will need to be done.

To ensure forward momentum, adopt a strategy of "small wins" that allows employees the autonomy to face and embrace small failures as a part of the learning process. Creating an environment that encourages people to encounter small failures as they pursue their goals is a key aspect of this approach. Autonomy empowers them to take ownership of their journey, fostering a culture of continuous learning and growth. The path to personal development lies in the pursuit of small wins, where autonomy is granted to face and learn from small failures. Through SMART goal-setting, individuals can track their progress effectively, leveraging their strengths and addressing weaknesses, ultimately driving them towards achieving their desired objectives.

As is documented in many places, reviewing your progress is essential to hitting your goals. Depending on the client and the plan my annual goals get reviewed quarterly. My quarterly goals weekly, in my 5pm Friday planning sessions. I review my clients in a similar manner (weekly check ins on WhatsApp if their plan doesn’t have weekly meetings) We have owners of the tasks, and proof of success criteria. The person in charge (usually me for my own) has to account for why things have/haven’t happened the way we wanted, and review if the goal needs revising. They can’t revise too early (3 weeks for a quarterly and 2 quarters for an annual) to account for slow seasons etc. This is tracked on spreadsheets, updated each meeting.

What gets measured is what measures so be sure to find a method for tracking your progress. Weekly goal setting and planning on Monday can easily turn into a review day on Friday where you look over what you set out to do and evaluate your progress.

This is the cool part of hitting the milestones (or goals). One of my mentors shared this trick which revolutionised my goal setting. Have 3 “targets”. Not everyone wants super-stretch goals. So have a bare minimum to hit the goal. EG 3?? 12 new customers in a year. 2?? A medium one, say 18 1?? A super stretch, 24. The goal is met with 12, celebrate with say an afternoon off. With 18 everyone gets a bonus and an afternoon off. Finally, 24 there’s a bonus and a day off for a fun only work outing. This works with all levels of people within the company, with those who want the ultra stretch able to push that. Those who can’t fathom 2 sales a month can concentrate on something they feel is stretching them, so they don’t lose heart.

Experiencing joy in the journey by learning how to celebrate your progress along the way makes obtaining your goal easier and more fun.

It’s crucial when looking at your growth, especially when you’re new to the Personal Development world, you look at the whole picture. The Gap to where you’re going, and the GAIN from where you started. That could be photos on a weight loss journey. Photos from places you’ve travelled on your “visit all countries” life goal. Press clippings of your successes. All these proofs show where you were as well as your vision boards showing where you’re heading. I’ve both my “proof of reality” and “vision” boards on display on my monitors. A constant reminder of both Growth and targets. Or Gap and Gain.

I spoke about this above with using SMARTER goals. It’s inevitable, that at the times you will hit your goal far earlier than anticipated. Even with the three step system above. So why not revise them earlier. There is nothing wrong, especially the first time you set goals being cautious. If 12 customers on a ￡5,000 program seems huge, it is! But if you get 1 sale with 10 new clients on it in month 1, that goal is also now too small. This is where the 3 step helps. “Everything moves down” eg 12 becomes 18, 18 -> 24 -> 36. Etc. This shows goals and your team are working. Document the proof and also use it when they doubt themselves or have a slow month/just miss a target. The 3 targets give you a path to progress the goal automatically.

Achieving goals boils down to grit, determination, and keeping focused. The best thing you can do is build momentum like a locomotive. Just keep pushing and little by little it will all come together. It's very helpful to have a coach, peer support, mentors, etc.. There will be some tougher days and you're likely to have setbacks but realize that's normal; expect obstacles. Be smart and navigating around them. Information is power so know everything you can about the goal or field you are working on. Know your territory inside and out. It will help immensely. Many say envisioning your goal is very helpful and I believe that. Follow the advice available and given to you. I also think a good dose of enthusiasm is also going to help.

Take a moment to review your motivations for reading this article to begin with. What were you hoping to gain from reading an article cultivated with AI?