Your Annual Goal-Setting Guide

Only 9% of people achieve New Year’s resolutions. 25% fail within the first week, and the majority of the remaining 91% fail by February.

Not you! You can readily join the 9%.

How? This blog post gives you 4 simple practices to join the 9% (statistically, those who apply just two of the four practices are 95% likely to achieve their goals).

Plus, you’ll learn the difference between outcome versus process goals and you’ll be able to share this valuable knowledge with others for the rest of your life.

Let’s jump into it!

Tip 1 - Set Process Goals (vs Outcome Goals)

Outcome goals focus on a particular “outcome,” while process goals focus on the means – the process – that generate those outcomes.

Want to be in the best shape of your life, be the #1 sales rep in your industry, double your EBITDA, improve retention by 50% in 2023, or have a happy and loving marriage? These are all outcome goals. They more rightly belong in your personal vision or long-term goals than in your annual goals & resolutions.

When you focus on the means – the process – you’ll more effectively realize the outcome.

So, pivot your annual goals into process goals. For example, one might say “Do 10,000 pushups in 2023 by averaging 30+ pushups for 300 or more days” to achieve the outcome of maintaining great health. Or, a salesperson can set a process goal of “Average 20+ sales calls per week” to strive towards the outcome of being the “#1 sales rep in the industry.”

To find better success with your goals in 2023, pivot to “process goals” that are completely within your control and that you can easily take to a weekly and daily level.

Tip 2 - Keep It Simple with Roles & Goals

Have you ever sat down and developed a long list of goals you’d like to accomplish, only to see none of them come to fruition.

Would you rather set one goal and achieve it, or a long list of goals only to achieve none of them?

Start simple to increase your likelihood of success. Few and simple goals are easy to track, easy to remember, easy to focus on, and easier to achieve.

So, how can you keep your goals simple yet wildly impactful?

Look at life through the lens of roles and then set only 1-3 process goals for each role.

Start by identifying your key life roles (personal, professional, significant other, financial, et al), and choose just 1 to 3 goals for each role. Make sure the goals align with your vision for each role. If you’ve found goals challenging in the past, perhaps set just one process goal that you’d like to accomplish for 4 or 5 key roles.

If you were to set only 1 goal for 5 key life roles, then you’d have 5 goals that are easy to focus on and that would have a profound impact on your life!

That’s becoming your best!

Tip 3 - Share Your Goals

Take a look at these statistics on goal-setting:

Having a goal: 10% likely to complete the goal
Committing to someone that you will do it (sharing it): 65% likely
Committing the goal with a specific accountability appointment: 95% likely

You’re 10% likely to achieve a goal by setting it (in the ballpark of people who achieve their New Year’s resolutions, 9%).

However, when you share your goal, you’re then 55% more likely to achieve it!

So, create an accountability group of 3-10 people and share your goals with them. If you’re serious about your goals, welcome accountability beyond yourself.

Tip 4 - Set the Date!

You get another 30% bump in your likelihood of completing your goals by simply setting a date when you’ll report on your goals! So, how do you do this?

When you send out your goals, let your accountability group know when you’re going to report on them. Include in your goals a “report date.” You can cement in that date by creating the calendar event, even sharing the calendar event with your accountability group. This can be intimidating to many because it creates inescapable accountability – and that’s the point, and that’s why it’s so effective.