Why is it that goal-setting and planning rarely seem to work in the long term? How many times have you lost the same 5 or 6 kilos? Why is it that, despite committing to regular ‘date-nights’ with your spouse, it’s been months since your last one? From the people I’ve spoken to, whether their goals were casual new year’s resolutions or formed in an extensive plan, very few achieved all of what they set out to achieve.
Despite the glaring ineffectiveness, year after year, we reset our goals and promise ourselves that this time, it’s going to be different.
As Kaibizzen’s clarity mentor, I’m passionate that business owners are rewarded for their effort by living the lifestyle they chose and experiencing the marriage they want. As a business coach and mentor, I’m frustrated by the avalanche of misinformation around goal-setting and planning that are affecting business owners.
I have taken a deep dive into the specifics about what stops us from achieving the life we really want and what you need to do to have the business, the life, and the marriage of your dreams.
1. Most people give little thought to how they want their life, their marriage and business to ultimately look. Even fewer still have that picture documented.
Are you making daily deliberate choices about where you’re driving your business and your life? Most business owners are so busy doing “what needs to be done” that they’re reacting to life, making decisions based on what’s in front of them. This is exactly why so many business owners experience Ground Hog Day. You get up, go to the same business, do the same things, come home, go to bed, rinse and repeat, day in day out and feel like you’re not really getting any further ahead.
2. Most people are chasing somebody else’s dream, not their own.
With the relentless rise of social media, it’s easier than ever to decide you’ll ‘have what she’s having’. A big house, a new car, a luxury holiday, more time with the kids, rock-hard abs. So much of what we want are the things in life we think we should want and rarely do people take the time to work out what they truly want.
3. Their business plan is set by increasing last year’s figures by 10%.
Why do most plans I see during business coaching aim for 10%? Why not 12.8% or 57%? The answer is because when you don’t know what your vehicle needs to look like to achieve the life you want to live any number will do.
4. Their business plan in not used as a living breathing document that guides their daily, weekly and monthly decisions.
Why do so many people go to the extent of writing a business plan, only to have it sit in a drawer for the next 12 months? The answer is because either they don’t really want what’s in the plan, or they don’t believe they’re good enough to get it.
5. Most business plans focus on the results that need to be achieved (revenue/profit etc), rather than the activity that drives these results.
Just like an NRL footy team, your plan is to win the game. How you win the game is not by focusing on winning, but by focusing on doing the right activity at the right time. If you do the right activity at the right time, most of the time, generally you’ll get the right result.
If these are the challenges that we as business owners face, what is a different way that we can plan for our life, business and marriage?
If you’d like to know more about how to develop a plan that is different to how you’ve always done it, contact us for business coaching across Brisbane. I also offer business coaching in the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast. We’d love to help and mentor you to finally get the business and the life you deserve.
What does it take to actually remove yourself from the day-to-day grind of business? Learn from our panel of Business Owners who've Been There, Done That.
