Goal-Setting: The 90-Day Challenge

It’s that time of year again. New Year’s resolutions, diets, exercise—and goal-setting. I continue to be surprised at how few people take time to write down their goals. Despite the fact that numerous studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between goal-setting and success, few people seem to ever get around to it.

I have been setting goals in one form or another for years. Every now and then, I stumble across an old list of goals. I am always fascinated by how many of the things I write down come to pass. And, I must confess, it often happens despite the fact that I do nothing more than write it down. The magic of this is all explained in a very compelling book by Henriette Klauser called Write It Down, Make It Happen. Even if you don’t create an action plan for each goal and work your plan, there is tremendous power in simply identifying what you want and focusing some thought on the outcome.

For example, at the beginning of 1997, I wrote down this goal: “Write a a New York Times bestselling book.” Now understand: at that time I had never written a book. I had a book idea, but that’s all I had. Though I had worked in the publishing industry my whole career, I was scared to death at the thought of actually trying to write an entire book. Nevertheless, I wrote it down and took a deep breath.

To my surprise, I signed a book contract in September and turned in my manuscript to the publisher by the end of the calendar year. No, I didn’t hit the New York Times list by the end of the year. But I did write a book that would hit the Times list the next year.

The fact is that my manuscript almost didn’t get published. Six weeks before the book was to be printed, the publisher called to tell me he was afraid he was going to have to cancel its publication. He simply couldn’t sell it. (Books are pre-sold to retailers before they are ever published.) The major retailers just weren’t interested. I did my best to convince him it would work. Sure enough, he decided to take a gamble and went ahead with a small print run.

The publicist they assigned to me started booking me on radio talk shows. Two months after it’s publication—and about 150 interviews later—The Millennium Bug, my first book, hit the New York Times Business Bestseller List where it stayed for over seven months. And it all began by writing down a goal to make it happen.

In our company, we have adopted 90–Day Objectives as a way of life. All of our divisional leaders are required to submit their goals. We require a formal progress report each month. It’s not complex or very sophisticated. But I believe it has gone a long way toward creating a focused and disciplined organization that produces consistent results.

In case you never received any instruction on this simple but important skill, I’d like to offer some pointers. First, why prepare 90-Day Objectives? Four reasons: 

1. To identify what you want to accomplish.
2. To help you focus on what matters most.
3. To make sure that you and your supervisor are in agreement regarding your priorities.
4. To provide you with accountability.

As an example, here are my work objectives for the current quarter. (I also maintain a list of personal objectives.)

By March 31, with God’s help, I will ...

1. Achieve quarterly revenues of $XX.X million.
2. Earn XX¢ per share for the quarter.
3. Finalize the Strategic Plan and present it to our Leadership Team.
4. Complete the FY 06 Annual Plan and secure Board approval.
5. Sign XXXX XXXXXXX to a new five-book contract.
6. Sign XXXX XXXXXX to a three-book contract.
7. Make two institutional investor trips.

(Note: Items with XXXs are specific numbers and names on my actual list.)

Let me point out several important things about these objectives that you should emulate in yours.

• They are few in number. Productivity studies show that you really can't focus on more than 5-7 items at any one time. Don’t try to impress your supervisor or yourself with a long list of objectives. Also, please don’t include sections with several objectives under each section. This is a recipe for losing focus and accomplishing very little. Instead, focus on a handful of objectives that you can almost repeat from memory. Mine fit on one 3" x 5" card. I put my work objectives on one side and my personal objectives on the other.
  
  
• They are action-oriented. In order for you to act on your objective, it must be actionable. Notice that each objective begins with a verb (e.g., “Achieve,” “Finalize,” “Complete,” etc.).
  
  
• They are measurable. You should be able to sit down with your supervisor in 90 days and determine whether or not you accomplished the objective. Remember: you can’t manage what you don’t measure.
  
  
• They are attainable. Don’t attempt to do more than you can realistically accomplish in 90 days. This may be debatable, but, hopefully, over time, you will become more and more realistic while still pushing yourself to stretch.
  
  
• They are time-bound. Since these are 90-day objectives, you should began by asking yourself the question, What do I want to accomplish by March 31? or whatever the time horizon is.
  
  
• They are prioritized. Your most important objective should go at the top of the list. Your second most important objective should go next and so on.

I look at this list every morning and try to populate my Daily Task List with actions that will move me closer to attaining my objectives. Every day, I try to identify at least one “next action” and do it. If you have never done this before, you won’t believe the focus that this will bring to your life. I also pray over each objective. I know my limitations and am very much aware that I can’t accomplish what I believe I am supposed to do without God’s help.

If you have never tried this before, I want to challenge you to give it a shot. In fact, I double-dog dare you. Call it “The 90–Day Challenge.” Write your goals down, and make them happen. Please let me know how it goes. If you want a little accountability, post your goals in the comments section below.