HALFWAY DONE

Hard to believe, but yes, we have reached that point where it is not only the end of the second quarter but half of the year is gone. That may be the bad news for some. The good news is that we still have half a year to go. How are we going to make the next half even better than the first?

Remember those goals you established in January using not the SMART concept, but rather the SMARTER concept? Well, it’s time to bring them out and see where we are with those and become SMARTER and in this case, we will be paying closer attention to the ER part. However, as a quick review, or maybe a first time for some, the following is how it works:

• S is for specific. Your goal has to be very specific. “I want to make more this year than last year” is not a specific goal. How much more? What percentage? Break your total into quarters. Better still, break your quarters into monthly mini goals.

• M is for measurable. What matrix are you going to use to measure your goals? Is a scale for those pesky 15 pounds you want to lose? The total on all the invoices for the month could be another way to measure. Regardless, there must exist a matrix to measure how you are doing at any time.

• A is for attainable. Is your goal realistic? Going from one million to 25 million in a year may be a little pie-in-the-sky thinking. Make sure it is attainable or you may be setting yourself up for failure. Who wants to deliberately fail?

• R is for realistic. Those 15 pounds you want to get rid of is attainable, but doing it in four days is not realistic. You could get to 25 million in sales, but in one year and from one million may be unrealistic. However, going to 1.5 million may be realistic and attainable.

• T is for time. In this case, we are talking a year, as the majority of us, if not all, base our business on a yearly cycle.

We now reach the ER and why this is the perfect time to take those goals out and check our progress. This is first done by looking at the:

• E is for evaluate. Are you on track? If yes, great, keep doing what you are doing and your review is over. However, if you’re not, why not? Is it because there was something that changed the marketplace and therefore, your business? Was there something that you are doing, or not doing, that is affecting your business? You may need to come to the realization that some coaching may be necessary. Whether it be The Action Suite or another program, you owe it to yourself to get some coaching. After forty plus year in this business, I still get coaching; it’s the only way to stay current.

• R is for revise. If it was a market change you may require to change the end goal. If it was you, you may still need to revise the goal, but it should be very difficult to do, as you need to put you into the equation and that is never easy. What about for those that are way ahead of the schedule to reach their goal? Maybe it’s time to also revise the goal in order to stretch yourself to even a greater success. The R allows for factors beyond your control; both bad and good, and to readjust the goal so that at the half-way point, you don’t get complaisant nor defeated. This would allow you to finish the second half with even more satisfaction in attaining your SMARTER goal for the year.

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Make your second half SMARTER.

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