Goal setting - The habit of successful people.

In this series of blogs you have been looking at how to create goals that you can achieve.

We are now in the last week of January and for most people, they have forgotten what their new year’s resolution was.

Have you too given up on your resolutions?

If you have been unsuccessful in achieving your goals either personally or professionally, it is probably because the outcome that you are after has not been sufficiently well formed

So far we have been looking at how you can cement the chance of success by turning the spotlight on your goals by

• Stating them in the positive
• Making them sensory specific
• Identifying what you need to start and maintain
• Appropriate context
• Maintaining positive by products of your current behaviour

Today I would like to explore with you the final step to blisteringly colourful goals, the ecology check.

When you ecology check your goals, you are asking your self is it worth it? The previous steps you have gathered a lot of detail, about the steps that you need to take to start and maintain your journey towards your goals. For some of your goals they will require a significant amount of time, money and effort. And now is the time to ask is it worth it.

Many clients come to me initially for a variety of reasons including, the finances in the practice are in a very bad way, the overdraft is growing, they can’t pay bills, their appointment book has gaps in it, there are fewer new patients and those that do come in are putting off treatment, I am sure that you are familiar with a similar set of problems in your practice.

Working with me I know I can help them turn around their practices, so they are profitable, well run surgeries providing great quality work to patients who appreciate what the dentists and their happy team do for them.

And the journey of transformation is a journey, the initial phase may take 12-24 months, they are going to have to look at areas of their practice and live that until now they have been ignoring, and there will be a monthly financial investment.

And the client has to answer the following questions to decide if they want to proceed.

• Is this goal worth achieving?
• Is achieving this goal worth the financial investment?
• Is achieving this goal worth the time?
• Is achieving this goal worth the effort?
• Will achieving this goal honour your values?
• Who will you be when you succeed?
• Who will you be if you fail?
• Is achieving this goal in line with your sense of self?
• What are the consequences of not achieving your goal?

And for most practice owners I have met, the consequences of not setting a goal of transforming the practice is one they realise they can’t afford not to take, the alternative could be insolvency.

And I am sure that we all know of great dentists who have sold up or gone under because the principal did not think that that the time, money, or effort would be worth it.

So as you think about the state of your practice, and the goals you have set (or should set) for 2011, what will the consequence be of not achieving them?

Are your goals worth, the time, effort and money?

To summarize to form well formed goals that result in you making the changes you really want to make the 6 vital steps are;

• Stating them in the positive
• Making them sensory specific
• Identifying what you need to start and maintain
• Appropriate context
• Maintaining positive by products of your current behaviour
• Ecology check

If you have recognised that now is the time to face the problems in your practice and that you would like some knowledge, confidence and support in how to do it call me on 01296 770462 or e mail jane@healthyandwealthy.co.uk

Goal setting - The habit of successful people.

In this series of blogs you have been looking at how to create goals that you can achieve.

Most other people by this stage in January have already given up on their resolutions, even though they had every good intention. Have you given up on your resolutions?

If so the chances are this is because there was insufficient clarity or lack of cementation to your desired outcome.

So far you have been defining your goal in terms of

• Stating them in the positive
• Making them sensory specific
• Identifying what you need to start and maintain
• Appropriate context

Today you will be considering your goal in terms of maintaining positive by products of your current behaviour

Consider for a moment, what are the biggest challenges you are having in your practice....

Some of the common issues are

• Poor cash flow
• Worries that bills, taxes or staff wages won’t be paid on time
• Gaps in the appointment book
• Staff conflict
• Staff leaving
• Staff not fulfilling their duties correctly
• Insufficient time to do all that you want to do personally
• Failure in health and relationships

Think of just one aspect of the practice our your personal life that you would like to change, personally or professionally

Having described your goal taking the 4 steps we have covered so far it is time to recognise the benefits of your current behaviour. “There aren’t any benefits to smoking” I hear you exclaim, and let’s just consider for a moment if there were positive aspects of smoking what could they be?

Some of the positive by products could include

• Stopping for a cigarette break enable me to step away from my desk at regular intervals giving me time to move and think.
• I find out a lot about what is going on at work when I stop and smoke with my colleagues
• When I am out socially asking for a light gives me an opportunity to start conversations easily.
• I feel part of the ‘in crowd’

And I am sure that you may think of other positives from smoking.

Once you have recognised what the positive by products are of the habit you want to change, the next step is to consider how you can replicate them without smoking. If it is important that you get up and step away from your desk move and think, it may be useful to just get up and walk around your office for five minutes every hour or so.

For many people this is the most significant reason why they fail to achieve their goals and change behaviours, they fail to recognise the positive aspects of what they are doing and don’t develop a plan to replicate them.

As you now think about your goal and the habit you would like to change, consider the following questions

• What are you doing currently that you wish to keep?
• How do your current habits serve you well?
• How can you build these benefits into achieving your new goal?

As you imagine yourself having been successful at achieving your goal and developed a new pattern of behaviour, what have you done to honour the positive by product of your old habits?

In the next posting we will be asking “Is it worth it?”

Meanwhile if you would like any help or support in defining your goals and ensuring you achieve them do call me 07989 757 884 or e mail me Jane@healthyandwealthy.co.uk

Goal setting - The habit of successful people.

In this series of blogs you have been looking at how to create goals that you can achieve.

Most other people by this stage in January have already given up on their resolutions, even though they had every good intention. Have you given up on your resolutions?

If so the chances are this is because there was insufficient clarity or lack of cementation to your desired outcome.

So far you have been defining your goal in terms of

• Stating them in the positive
• Making them sensory specific
• Identifying what you need to start and maintain

Today you will be considering your goal in terms of appropriate context.

Consider for a moment, what are the biggest challenges you are having in your practice....

Some of the common issues are

• Poor cash flow
• Worries that bills, taxes or staff wages won’t be paid on time
• Gaps in the appointment book
• Staff leaving
• Staff not fulfilling their duties correctly

Whatever your problems

now is the time to do something about overcoming it.

Set yourself a goal.

If cash flow is your biggest nightmare make it about that taking the steps we have already covered.

· Stating the goal in the positive

· Making the sensory specific

· Identifying what you need to start and maintain reaching your goal

Now consider the following questions in relation to your stated goal,

• When do you want to achieve this?
• Where do you want to achieve this?
• With whom do you want to achieve this?
• When do you not want this?
• Where do you not want this?
• With whom do you not want this?
• How long do you want achieve you goal for?

If cash flow is one of your challenges in the practice some of your answers relating to context may include

· I want to generate an extra 5K in fees this month and increase this by £500 a month on month.

· I want to have 50% of my adult patients signed on to my membership plan by December 2011 and have stable retention figures over the next 5 years.

· I want this to happen in all my practices

· I want the all my treatment providers to achieve a 5% increase in fees

By now your goals for 2011 will be really beginning to take shape from being under your spotlight of scrutiny.

In my next posting we will investigating the importance of maintaining positive by products

AS your coach one of my roles is to help you refine your goals that enable you to live and work with passion and purpose. Call me on 07989 757884 or e mail me to find out more.

Goal setting- The habit of successful people.

In this series of blog articles, I am helping you look at setting goals and resolutions for this year that you feel are achievable?

Before we start it is useful to consider what are your biggest challenges are at the moment.

These some of the things that dentists I am meeting are saying to me at the moment,

· “I have so much to do and not enough time to do it”

• “I have completed my CQC registration and now I have to action all the things I said I would do and I don’t know where to start”
• “January is looking really tight and I am worried about how I am going to pay my bills”
• “My key receptionist has just handed her notice in and I don’t know how I’m going to manage without her”
• “Why is it I have to keep telling my staff the same thing over and over again and still they don’t do what I ask them to?”

Which of these sound familiar?

To recap on the previous blogs the steps to creating a well formed goal that is manageable

· State your goal in the positive.

· Make your goal sensory specific.

The next step is to identify what are the factors that will enable you to start and maintain your progress towards successful completion of your goal?

Having identified a goal that you would like to achieve it is useful to consider the following questions;

• What skills and capabilities do you already have that will mean that you will achieve this goal?
• What skills and capabilities do you need to learn to ensure that you will achieve this goal?What resources do you need to start and maintain this journey
• Who do you know that can help?
• What training, skills or resources does another person need to support you?
• What books, technology, or other information sources will help you achieve it?
• Who are your role models for achieving this goal?
• What time do you need to allocate to achieving this goal?
• When can you allocate the necessary time to achieving this goal?
• How will achieving this goal affect your relationships, personal and professional?
• How will achieving this goal affect you socially?
• How will achieving this goal affect your health and fitness?
• How will achieving this goal affect you intellectually, spiritually or emotionally?
• How will achieving this goal affect others around me?
• How often are you going to measure your progress?
• How are you going to measure your progress?

For example if like many dentists who are asking me to work with them January is looking very tight financially, you may now be recognising that there are things that you can do to take control of the situation, you may know how to use an excel spreadsheet to construct a 12 month budget projection for your income and expenses, and that you could organise your diary to give you an hour’s protected time to review your accounts. If finances allow you could recruit a book keeper who will have a greater degree of skill than you and work more quickly saving you time and money in the long run. You are already beginning to imagine many ways that you will choose to measure your financial position day by day, week by week and month by month, to give you a feeling of control and security.

Take some time to consider the things that you want to achieve in 2011 and define them in terms of

• Stating them in the positive
• Describing the in sensory language
• Defining what you need to start and maintain your progress

In the next blog I will be discussing how the context of goals is important for success.

If you would like some specific help in creating a compelling vision for your practice and life, call me to discuss how you can achieve it. 07989 757 884 or e mail jane@healthyandwealthy.co.uk