Write Your Goals, Share Your Goals, Share Your Results

Written Goals Work: Urban Legend or Reality? I believe in written goals and accordingly I have always liked the stories of the Harvard and Yale research studies that supported the efficacy of written goals. In preparation for supporting the argument that goal setting works to my Texas Legends staff, I recently did a Google search to learn more about the written goal studies from Harvard and Yale. The studies allegedly concluded that 3% of Harvard MBAs make ten times as much as the other 97% combined (similar result with the alleged Yale study). To my surprise, the more that I learned was that these studies may have never been conducted.

At first I was concerned. Was all that I had read from the likes of Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins, and Brian Tracy wrong? Fortunately, there is a study that concludes that it was not. Dr. Gail Matthews, a Ph.D. from Dominican University, conducted a study with 149 participants that supported the thesis that if you write down your goals, you will get better results. In particular (but in inverse order of importance), Dr. Matthews concluded that 1) those who wrote goals accomplished significantly more than those who did not write their goals, 2) those who sent a copy of action commitments and goals to a friend accomplished more than those who did not, and 3) those who sent weekly progress reports to a friend accomplished more than those who did not.

Dr. Matthews’ conclusions corroborated what I already believed based on my personal observation and study of people I view as successful. The top producing ticket sales representatives at the Texas Legends - Travis Blakeley and Earlina Green - write down their goals each year, share them with me, and share their results. And, they reach a high percentage of their lofty goals each year. One of Travis’ goals was to earn on position on the Legends’ coaching staff, a goal he reached this season. My older brother Rick has written down his goals from a very young age. Among other accomplishments, he was named to the first ever Advertising Age “Interactive Hall of Fame” in 2000.

“Decide Upon Your True Dreams and Goals: Write down your specific goals and develop a plan to reach them,” is the second of “IBD’s (Investor’s Business Daily) 10 Secrets to Success.” I have always admired the vision of IBD’s founder - Bill O’Neil - and his many personal accomplishments, including founding and publishing IBD. I find the connection between people who set goals and those who accomplish great things to be strong.

Why Written Goals Work. Written goals work for many reasons. First, the process of writing goals stimulates creative thinking and visualization about what you really want to accomplish. If you don’t know what you want to accomplish, what will you accomplish, if anything? You are likely to wander aimlessly accepting what is available instead of going after what you want. Second, written goals help you create the plan to accomplish your goals. You cannot reach a destination if you don’t know the directions.Third, written goals improve focus and prioritization. By writing and reviewing goals, you are forced to prioritize, avoid distractions, and stay focused on reaching the next benchmark in your plan. Finally, written goals create urgency and reduce procrastination. If you know you need to be at a destination at a specific time, you are more likely to get to the destination on time. Written goals tell you where you need to be and when. As I like to say, if you want to arrive early, leave early.

How to Make Written Goals Work for You. Simply, create a business plan, share it with a fellow sales team member, and reports the results to a fellow sales team member each week. I also recommend that you review the business plan every morning and every night for the first month and then once a day thereafter. This exercise only takes a few minutes a day but greatly increases the odds of realizing your goals. I am confident that if you do these things, you will achieve great things individually and with your team.