Question-Week ending Sunday 02/16/03:
When you have set goals in the past for yourself, did you WRITE A LIST of the people who could help you and the resources you would need, to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of achieving your goal? Please read our Poll Commentary before taking this poll.
Pre-Poll Commentary:
This week's poll is the fifth in our series of discussions on our Goal Planning System. In this poll, we will be discussing the importance of listing all the people who could possibly help you and the resources you would need to overcome the obstacles you will face.
By this step, we should now have in our anxious hands, the list of obstacles we will face. To overcome these obstacles, we may have to enlist some people to help us. Perhaps we need to borrow some money to achieve our goal. We need to think of "who can best help us to secure a loan from a bank or other source?" Perhaps Dad's or Uncle Charlie's banker would give us an audience immediately if they made a phone call? Write these people down on your list of resources you can possibly tap, during your execution stage.
Maybe one of your goals is to own a boat. There are lots of obstacles to overcome in obtaining this goal. You need to learn to drive one; learn about maintenance; costs of operation; etc. Some of this you can learn in books (resources) and some you can learn from an experienced boater. Whose knowledge can you seek? List it...List it.
There are hundreds of examples of how enlisting the services of others can help you get exactly where we want to go much quicker than without doing so. If you need to hire professionals like Lawyers, Accounts or Consultants, don't be cheap. Their fees could save you time, effort and aggravation from doing things the wrong way. Get to where you want to in the most efficient way possible.
If you are engaging someone to help you for free, don't be shy. However, be courteous and tactful when asking for someone's help. Also, be sure to have your needs and objectives in writing and be totally prepared before asking for someone's help. This will give the person you are enlisting help from a feeling that you are committed to your goal. They will feel more confident that they won't be wasting their time on a wild goose chase. Be prepared, be confident, and wear out that pen, writing down your thoughts in your outline. The more prepared you are, the better your chances for success.
The same strategies apply to listing all the resources you will need to overcome your obstacles. Perhaps a course you need to take, a book you need to read or an organization you need to join. List it, list it. Don't leave anything to chance. Make those obstacles look smaller with each new strategy you will engage in to overcome them.
Let us know if in the past when you have set goals for yourself, if you COMPILED A LIST of the people who could help you and the resources you would need, to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of achieving your goal? This poll will end on Sunday 02/16/03. Watch for the results and summary by Monday morning 02/17/03.
Results:
- 81% voted they Never make a list of People & Resources
- 16% voted they Sometimes make a list of People & Resources
- 03% voted they Always make a list of People & Resources
Post-Poll Commentary:
This week's poll really struck a cord as being a step that is not considered very often in Goal Planning. This was the most overwhelming majority at 81% ever experienced in our polls, with an answer at the lowest end of the spectrum.
However I take this as a positive result. Such a simple step inserted into our process can have an enormous effect in the planning stages of achievement. You must seek the help and assistance of others and utilize every resource you can en-route to achieving your goals. It's pretty difficult to do this without identifying and listing these resources ahead of time.
As you can see thus far in our Goal Planning System, outlining and making lists is critical in planning. Can you imagine the planning that goes into the goals of our military trying to engage in a war involving hundreds of thousands of people; millions of tons of food, equipment and supplies; and billions of dollars in expenditures? How many outlines and lists are involved in that plan in an effort to achieve success?
The plans we make in life are no different. Just on a smaller scale. The fundamentals are the same. The BEST PLANS ACHIEVE THE MOST PREDICTABLE RESULTS and the highest degree of success!
I hope this poll was an eye opener that can help you achieve great success in the future.