Forget your resolutions!

When a new year begins, many people make resolutions for things they want to do differently in the future. Eating less meat, for instance, or pulling together the confidence to give talks more often, or participating in the next marathon. Sometimes, these can be very fundamental things, like spending more time with loved ones.

But what is the purpose of making resolutions under the influence one evening and hoping I can remember them on the first or second of January? And then follow up on them to boot?

I have another way of dealing with that. I constantly set goals for myself. Goals, not resolutions. That means: not vague things like getting more exercise or eating better, but very specific things, such as winning my next boxing match. Or increasing the number of people who participate in the next round of my continuing education course at the Institute for Customer Insight at the University of St. Gallen.

Once I reach that goal, I can make the next one. A very specific one with a date and a place. That way, I can concentrate on one goal I know very well.

Actually, that is one of the big advantages we professional athletes have. I always notice that when I speak with managers from the economics sector. At the beginning of the year, they have a long “bucket list,” which is what they call such to-do lists nowadays, in front of them: they want to push product X in Asia during the next twelve months, they want to hold feedback discussions with their employees more often, they want to expand Y services for specialized trade, they want to be more engaged in the innovative area of the company, and let’s not forget about putting in more appearances at the industry association. Whew! I wouldn’t even be able to remember all of those things, let alone work my way towards them day for day and week for week.

My experience shows that managers with lists like that cannot manage it, either. That is because they have way too many goals for an overly long period of time. It is because they are too unspecific and leave too much room for interpretation.

Of course, that does not mean they should not set any long-term goals. On the contrary. They need long-term goals – where do you want to be in five years? – every bit as much as they need short- and middle-term ones.

For me, this means: starting in February, I want to make the second round of my continuing education program successful as well and implement the few suggestions for improvement we received from participants. In the best of worlds, we won’t have any more suggestions for improvement in September; we will be in perfect shape. Then, in April, I am going to win my boxing match against Anthony Joshua in London. In the long term, the brand KLITSCHKO will be the first one that comes to mind when people think about mental strength and physical power.

In an ideal world, short-, middle-, and long-term goals fit together and benefit each other. In my case, that does not happen by chance – it happens because I have been working with my team on this positioning for a long time. Years ago, we asked ourselves the question: what will happen when I am too old to box? Do I want to sink into inactivity like so many former professional athletes and be happy to get the odd job as a commentator on television? No way! I want to actively manage my developments and challenges. And I want to pass on my experiences from over twenty-five years of competitive sports.

My career after my career is designed to make sure I build up an enormous service and product portfolio about power and the brain, that is to say about mental strength and physical power. Challenge management – recognizing, accepting, and mastering challenges – is a central component of that and one I want to teach managers again in St. Gallen starting this February.

It goes without saying that I am happy when I reach my goals and my plans can be realized just as my team and I imagined. When I recently stood on the stage with a high-ranking manager of a large communication company and journalists asked us what the discipline “Challenge Management,” which I developed and which has been researched in the meantime in our competence center for intrapreneurship, is all about, he was so enthusiastic about the topic that he “sold” it in my place.

I will also share my experience with managers who have already registered for the course in St. Gallen and those who will register for it. How can I manage to formulate my goals specifically and then lastingly keep a focused eye on them? How can I manage to not be frightened off by defeats, but rather use them positively? How can I stay on top of everything despite the complexity and speed of business life and remain confident, sovereign and relaxed? To answer all of these questions, we have found excellent professors, managers, and businesspeople who can report from personal experience.

I can promise you one thing: you will be inspired! People who participated in the first round were as well. Do something to get a better grip on your career and your life in the future. Become a moving force.