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#Digiblogchat January 16 2024: Hitting Your Goals

January 12, 2024 By Leave a Comment
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#Digiblogchat January 16 2024 Hitting Your Goals| Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay

The topic for #DigiBlogChat on Tuesday, January 16, 2024 at 1:00 pm Pacific Time is Hitting Your Goals with questions by @RandyLyleClark!  We look forward to a rousing chat about your goals for the coming year!

Join us on Twitter each Tuesday from 1:00 through 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time for #DigiBlogChat. My partner for these chats is @LazBlazter.  If you need to know how to participate, click here: How to Join #DigiBlogChat. P.S. Don’t forget to add the #digiblogchat hashtag!

Whether or not you’re a goal-setting maniac, like some of us, you’re welcome to join the fun!

Here are the questions:

1. What do you think is the most essential key to hitting goals? #digiblogchat

2. When you’ve missed a goal (we all do) why didn’t you hit it? What stopped you? What did you learn? #digiblogchat
3. How do you track your goals? #digiblogchat
4. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” Do you make goal action plans? #digiblogchat
5. There are personal, professional, short term, long term, financial goals, and more. What goals do you typically set? How do you prioritize them? #digiblogchat
6. Have you ever used SMART goals? Did they work for you? #digiblogchat
7. How do you hold yourself accountable to reaching your goals? #digiblogchat
8. Do you write down your goals? If so, how does that help? #digiblogchat
9. Do you reward yourself when you reach a goal? How so? #digiblogchat

10. Going public with a goal helps one stay focused on it. Would you like to go public and share a goal? #digiblogchat

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How to Succeed in the Last Quarter

September 22, 2022 By Leave a Comment

Your last quarter’s success is possible!

Did you, like me, suddenly look up and realize there are only three months left in the year, and wonder about your last quarter’s success? Time seems to be accelerating, and the Pandemic hasn’t helped us keep track of time. If that sounds like you, here are some ideas for you, as you navigate through the fall and into the winter and holidays. If time management is an issue for you, here’s an article that could help: Best Social Media Time Management Apps and Tools. Hint: Dashlane and NokoTime apps save loads of time.

Be realistic

By that, I mean you might write down some lofty goals, but there may be things that get in your way. And it’s important to give yourself a little slack. Could you write down your most ambitious goals, but back off them just a little? For instance, instead of building an entire team between now and New Year’s Day, how about hiring the main executives instead?

Create obtainable goals to reach a successful last quarter

You might be able to stretch a little on those goals, right? By the way, I’ve written about stretch goals before. You might like How to Make Stretch Goals That Will Make You Stretch. For instance, reframing goals can help you reach your goals. And making goals both fun and productive is also a good idea. Well, at least it’s an idea that has helped me.

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How to Succeed in the Last Quarter | Image by 0fjd125gk87 from Pixabay

 

How to become productive again?

If your productivity has fallen off this year, it’s time to examine why. Was it because of laziness? Was there an illness in the family? Were there other tasks you had to do before work? Will these same reasons block your productivity during the last quarter? If your productivity is down and you don’t know why, maybe consider hiring a coach for a session or two to help you figure out why.

Holidays can be good times for networking

Holidays can sometimes look like obstacles to someone who’s ambitious and loves to work. But holidays are also great times to get out and meet people! So don’t believe that your productivity will necessarily fall because of the holidays coming up. Your last quarter’s success might depend upon that holiday party! Here’s a good article about reaching out during the holidays: Holidays Are the Perfect Time to Reach out to Your Network.

Don’t give up!

Just because it’s the end of the year, don’t give up! There’s still a lot you can do, and the holidays could even help you reach your own personal successes. Forbes has a good article that could motivate you: 11 Smart Ways for Leader to Assess Accomplishments Each Quarter. I like this: “Our team works backward by setting quarterly goals and then assessing all monthly and weekly goals to be whatever will help us hit the quarterly metrics.” which is part of their fourth smart way.

 

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Strong Goals During the New Normal That Will Calm You Down

April 2, 2020 By 6 Comments

campfire photo

The events we’re going through right now have the power to shape us forever. None of us will be the same after this. Even if we don’t get sick ourselves, we all know someone who knows someone. Or we know someone who narrowly escaped being sick. So why have new goals at all, you might ask? For one thing, you’ll feel more in control if you have goals.

campfire photo

First Look at Your Old Goals

Did you have resolutions for New Years that are now out the window? Why not rewrite them, since you’re at home anyway? For instance, one of my New Years goals was to make my own clothes. Hahaha! As if that’ll ever happen now. But instead, I’m making masks for healthcare providers to use. You might need to pivot in a similar way. You might like: How to Make Stretch Goals That Make You Stretch.

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Lowering the Bar Might Help

Some days, getting out of bed, making coffee, and making breakfast might be all that you can handle. Or calling up an elderly neithbor or two. Making that big goal a bit smaller could be just the ticket. Everyone’s expectations need to be lowered right now, since for many even going to the grocery store isn’t happening the same way it used to be.

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Photo by Frank-Martens

Be Kind to Everyone, Including Yourself

One of my friends said it best: be sure to vote for Team You. That is, hang out with people who nurture and support you. If people don’t support you, leave their orbit. Maybe try being around them later. So maybe take some of your goals off your list entirely. Try learning to bungee jump next year instead of this year.

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Be Introspective

One thing that’s really good to do right now is to meditate on what you want from your life, your career, and your family. Why not consider writing in a diary, or restarting the diary that you haven’t written in for awhile? You might even want to start a gratitude journal. We’re all getting more alone time, so why not take advantage?

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Startups: Ten Ways to Demotivate Employees

June 27, 2014 By 4 Comments

 

Startups: Ten Ways to Demotivate Employees

Startups: Ten Ways to Demotivate Employees

If you work at a startup, you might have heard of a few ways to motivate your employees. But I’ll bet you don’t know that many ways to demotivate them! Here are my top ten. And of course these are tongue-in-cheek ideas.

Micromanagement

Looking over an employee’s shoulder, watching their every move, and poking your nose into their business is a sure way to demotivate anyone. And it’s also a great way to say “we don’t trust you to do your job.” Forbes has a good article on Managing Micromanagers. One thing to keep in mind is that the micromanager may be suffering from being micromanaged as well.

Constant Criticism

It's Still Baloney

It’s Still Baloney

Finding small errors and focusing on those is a sure way to demotivate an employee. This includes the formula that many use to deliver criticism–in a “sandwich” with two pieces of praise on either end. That’s still a big slab of baloney in the middle of that sandwich, right? Even if you do believe that you’ll make more money by making your employees happy, why do that?

Never Express Gratitude

Count to Ten

Count to Ten

If you do feel the need to say anything positive, count to ten and then wait until the moment passes. Some people seem able to follow this rule. Never saying thank you, or spending a moment to say “good job!” can work wonders in the demotivation arena.

Leave ‘Em Hanging

Promising something over and over is a fantastic way to cause people to become disenchanted. The promise can be anything from a promotion to a software release to a change in the direction of the company as a whole. And don’t explain why what they were promised never materialized.

Constant Threats of Layoffs

Don't Ever Look for the Best

Don’t Ever Look for the Best

When everyone is frightened of losing their jobs, morale is usually at a low. Even if there is no planned layoff, having a rumor that there will be one can cause a great deal of demotivation. And demotivation often brings along its friends, Fear and Lack of Confidence. Woo Hoo!

Stupidity at the Top

Put people in charge who lack experience and common sense, as well as humility, and your people will definitely feel demotivated. You might consider hiring only friends or family members for an added demotivational bonus.

Bad Communication

If you can avoid any communication telling employees what is going on, they’ll probably be unhappy. This includes email, informal get togethers, or all-hands meetings. Another good trick is to cancel meetings at the last minute.

Asking Too Much

Avoid Communication

Avoid Communication

Having lofty goals, and especially if they’re set by someone else, is a surefire recipe for disaster, especially if the goal-setter is unfamiliar with the victim’s work flow. If the goal-setter is in another part of the country, or better still, another country, that’s even better.

Being Intentionally Mean-Spirited

Few companies are intentionally mean-spirited, in my opinion. So being mean-spirited will take extra effort. It’s worth going the extra mile.

Lack of Down Time

The expectation of asking employees to always be “on” can cause burnout and fatigue. Need I say more?

What Are Your Favorite Demotivational Tips?

One of my favorite sites, Despair.com, has posters and calendars for sale if you need a laugh! But I’m interested in what you’ve experienced yourself. Please leave me a comment!

 

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Startups and Motivation: Staying the Course

June 19, 2014 By 2 Comments
Startups and Motivation: Staying the Course

Startups and Motivation: Staying the Course

Recently, a friend of mine, Dr. Beth Halbert, mentioned something that stuck with me. She said that she used to create long lists of to-do items every day. Her lists were three pages long, and she could never finish all the action items. Every night, she felt like a failure. Then, she changed something. She created shorter lists, with only 2-3 things that she can finish. Now she feels successful every single day. I’ve been thinking about this simple concept and how it could be applied to staying motivated while working in startups. By the way, if you’re in a startup, you might also be interested in my article on Ten Things Ways the San Francisco Giants Can Improve Your Game.

Have Reasonable Goals

Granted, some people enjoy the feeling of pressure (including the knot they get in their stomach) every day. Some people love “stretch goals,” even if those goals are completely unattainable. But many of us would rather have a reasonable goal so that we can knock it out of the ballpark every single time. A list with only 2-3 items that are achievable can help your morale more than that list with a million action items on it.

Reward Yourselves

Although I’m a great believer in the Law of Attraction, it’s not always easy to stay the course and be positive. But a reward is something that you and your team will look forward to, and look back upon with great pleasure. The reward might be a party for the team, some wine for everyone, or something more business-related such as phone chargers. One of my own favorite rewards was a pair of expensive shoes. Right now I’ve set a target whose reward will be a grafted apple tree with seven varieties of apples.

Pay People Enough

Do I need to say anything about this? If people don’t have a certain minimum salary, they’ll want to go elsewhere (here are some power tips to beef up your LinkedIn profile if you’re looking for a J.O.B., by the way). Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, that amount is certainly higher than in other parts of the country.

Give Autonomy and Get Outta the Way

People need to be self-directed, to feel that their actions matter, and to feel engaged at work. This sense of autonomy can be overlooked in startups (and larger companies too). One of my favorite videos is this one on motivation, by RSA Animate. You’d be surprised at what actually motivates people (watch the video). The assumption that people want to do cool things is one that forward-thinking startups embrace.

What Makes You Feel Motivated?

What makes you want to jump out of bed and go to work? Or if you don’t want to go to work, why not? Please tell me; I’m very interested in hearing from you.

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