Last week we initiated our 5-part series on Making 2017 Your Best CRE Year Yet. I shared with you how, in our now 9th year of working with over 1,000 commercial real estate professionals in our coaching programs, we have honed a process for preparing for the New Year. The process can be defined as having 5 specific steps. These steps include:
- Review
- Reflection
- Restriction
- Reposition
- Reaffirmation
In the first 3 steps of this 5-part series, we outlined Step 1- Review. There are 3 reviews you need to complete before you can set a path for growth in 2017. Step 2- Reflection and the 4 key questions to assist you in identifying key levers for moving forward. Step 3 – Restriction – addressed one of those key questions was “What did not meet your expectations?”
Welcome to Step 4 of Making 2017 Your Best CRE Year Yet. Think about it. You’ve done a lot of work to get to this point. It is now time to reposition yourself. Reposition you for your best year yet in 2017. In this Reposition step, I want to explore you, talk about goals and even set some goals for next year. Think of this more as a white board exercise; no commitments yet.
By now you’ve probably read about S-M-A-R-T goals. These goals are Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time bound. Michael Hyatt, the bestselling author of the book Platform, talked about “SMARTER” goals adding the “ER”. Smarter goals are Exciting and Relevant. These goals are relevant to you and you moving forward. I like Hyatt’s approach to “smarter” goals.
[Tweet “Set “SMARTER” goals for 2017.”]
I like to talk about next year, your aspirations for next year, and where you want to go. Let’s look at five key personal goals first and then we’ll look at a financial goal.
Personal Goals
Identify a personal goal, but think about it in terms of making it a smarter goal. Probably one of the biggest ones, is the self-development goal. You’ve got yourself here, but can “you”, in your present form, move to the next level? Perhaps you have to change, enhance and/or develop new skills.
Mental Goals
You must have a mental goal. How are you going to stay sharp? How are you going to make sure you’re always growing mentally? Perhaps you have a goal of to read more books. I don’t know what more means. In fact, if the word ‘more’ is in any of your goals, they’re not smart goals, nor are they smarter goals. No one knows what ‘more’ means. From a coaching standpoint, we never use the word “more.” No one knows what that means, and you can’t be held accountable to “more”, so be specific. For example, setting a goal to read one book every month may be solid target if if you’ve only read one or two books this year. If you haven’t read any books, I would say start reading. If you’re reading a book a month, then move to a book every two weeks. Then to a book every week. The key is with goals, to build small and grow from there.
Social Goals
We all need to be social. Now naturally, some of us are more social than others. We are. Social goals could mean time with your spouse or loved ones or friends. We all say at the end of the year, I should have spent more time with someone. Make it a goal. Put it out there. Make it a smarter goal. Make it realistic. Make it relevant to you.
Physical Goals
I believe in physical goals. Physical goals give you more energy, keep you sharp. That’s why we have physical goals. Again, be realistic. Like me, don’t say, “Okay I’m going to run a triathlon.” The next thing you know you’re saying, “Okay the next day, I can’t do that.” Again start small. I’m going to walk a mile. Maybe that’s all you start with. Then the next thing you know, by the end of the week, the month, I’m going to be running a mile. I’m going to run a 30-minute mile, a 12-minute, a 10-minute, a 6 minute.
Financial Goals
Most of you want to talk about your financial goals and you we do ask our clients to set a financial goal for the year. Be realistic. Make it relevant. Some of you might say, “Hey I’m going to earn a million dollars next year.” Go back to step 1 and review your transaction history. If you have never earned more than $200,000, $300,000, $400,000, or $500,000, a $1 million goal may not be realistic. The first place to look before setting your financial goal is what’s in your pipeline today for closing next year.
Here we are. It’s time to reposition. Time for you to say, “Hey here are some key goals for me going into next year.” Let’s make 2016 your best year yet.
This concludes the fourth step of the 5-step process towards Making 2017 Your Best CRE Year Yet. You now have reviewed what you did in 2016 and have reflected on what it meant, identified the restrictions to obtaining your goals and drafted some goals for repositioning yourself for greater success.
You are now ready for the final, 5th step, and that is one of Reaffirmation. Here you will take all the lessons that you have acquired in steps 1, 2, 3 and 4 and identify realistic, yet growth oriented goals for 2017.
Get the step-by-step proven methodology, workbook, and success plan template to make 2017 your best CRE year yet now!
