Oh, Look! There Goes My Goal


I don't need to tell you how hard it is to stay focused. And that's why it's so important to have goals that we can refer to that will keep us on track.

Goals are sometimes quite removed from our daily activities. Once they're determined, a strategy is built around them. And then plans are made to execute the strategy. Next plans are broken down into action items and finally, we do or delegate specific tasks.

When we're in "task mode" our goals may be completely out of mind. That's not a bad thing... as long as we're doing the things we planned to implement the strategy that will achieve our goals.

Deviating from our plans is where we can get into trouble, and one way that happens is called "scope creep". That's a project management term - what is running a small business if not an ever-evolving project?

Scope creep can happen accidentally but also "on purpose" and we need to be cautious of either. It's easy to get distracted from our goals because they're removed from our daily activities but that's why we bridge that gap with strategies and plans. That's also why it's important to have these things documented so we can review them often and get refocused.

More trouble comes when we make decisions we know will put our goals at risk. Yes, sometimes we need to do that in business - after much careful consideration - but often we chase "shiny things" without thought for the consequences. (Guilty here.)

The solution? Keep your goals handy for quick reference. Post them on your bulletin board or tuck them under your keyboard.

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