How to Pinpoint the Career Destination
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| How to Pinpoint the Career Destination |
The basic is to work towards objectives at all times. It is good to have a reputation for knowing what you are doing. It makes sense to know why you are doing it as well. Going to a meeting - set your objectives. Sending one of your people on a training course - set their objectives. Presenting a proposal to customers - know their objectives.
Setting clear objectives is a powerful technique for achieving success, but you need to do it well. Use the SMART acronym to check that your objectives are top quality.
• Stretching
Whatever you are about to do, set a challenging objective. Everybody can achieve easy results, so stretch yourself and do better than average.
• Measurable
You have not finished a good quality objective unless there is a relevant measure of success.
• Achievable
Don't stretch too far. Promotion comes to people who are successful and seen to be successful. If a salesperson sells units to the value of £950,000, it is far better to do this against a target of £900,000 than the more stretching £1,000,000. The first situation is success, the second failure and both for the same actual performance. The salesperson may have gained kudos at the start of the year by being the first person to accept a million pound target, but at the end of the year no one will remember the target, just the fact that the person failed.
Setting clear objectives is a powerful technique for achieving success, but you need to do it well. Use the SMART acronym to check that your objectives are top quality.
• Stretching
Whatever you are about to do, set a challenging objective. Everybody can achieve easy results, so stretch yourself and do better than average.
• Measurable
You have not finished a good quality objective unless there is a relevant measure of success.
• Achievable
Don't stretch too far. Promotion comes to people who are successful and seen to be successful. If a salesperson sells units to the value of £950,000, it is far better to do this against a target of £900,000 than the more stretching £1,000,000. The first situation is success, the second failure and both for the same actual performance. The salesperson may have gained kudos at the start of the year by being the first person to accept a million pound target, but at the end of the year no one will remember the target, just the fact that the person failed.
Career Case in Point
I spent some time in a selling team with a man who used not only to set objectives for a sales meeting but also think out the exact words he would like the customer to use to show that the objective had been reached. It might be the obvious 'Yes we are going to go ahead', or the softer 'Well, John, when it conies to training courses for marketing people, we will probably ask you first.' This technique gave our sales calls rifle-shot focus. It was also hilarious when the person actually did use the words. It was difficult to keep a straight face rather than jump up and punch the air with your fist.
• Related to the customer
It is the contention of this book that everyone lives by selling something to a customer. Your customer may be external to the organisation for which you work, or an internal department. But they are still your customer; and your objective should always show what is in it for them as well as what is in it for you.
• Time-targeted
An objective has no merit if it does not express when the measure of success should be achieved. You can subject the time target to the test of 'Is it stretching and achievable?' to finish off a thorough job.
There is one set of objectives that you should know and support, and that is your company's objectives. It is difficult to thrive and succeed in an environment that you do not like, working towards objectives you cannot identify with.
It is the contention of this book that everyone lives by selling something to a customer. Your customer may be external to the organisation for which you work, or an internal department. But they are still your customer; and your objective should always show what is in it for them as well as what is in it for you.
• Time-targeted
An objective has no merit if it does not express when the measure of success should be achieved. You can subject the time target to the test of 'Is it stretching and achievable?' to finish off a thorough job.
There is one set of objectives that you should know and support, and that is your company's objectives. It is difficult to thrive and succeed in an environment that you do not like, working towards objectives you cannot identify with.
How to Pinpoint the Career Destination
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