The tougher part of goal setting

This week I ran into six former employees of mine at a conference. Having coached them during the early years of their careers I have been privy to some of their personal and professional goals. While checking-in with them this past week I was reminded who how difficult the 'by when' aspect of a goal is to set and stick to. There are many website and books that discuss goal setting and the better ones always discuss a time-line for achievement.

While at COMPENDIT the leadership team set a goal of 20by5 i.e. 20 million in valuation by the 5th anniversary of setting the goal. At every extended-board meeting we measured progress against and adjusted action plans accordingly. While we agreed half way through the 'by when' to be acquired we were a head of our prorated goals. Appropriate goals are difficult to set and even more difficult to commit to achieving in a set timeframe.

The by-when always brings me back to Steven Covey and one of his principles 'start with the end in mind'. His 7 habits book is always on my reread list.  Seeing these guys at the conference (yes, all men) helped remind me to clearly set the 'by when' part of my next company's business plan and nail that aspect of the plan down with the other founders.