Keeping Score
Imagine a baseball, football, or golf game where no one kept score. What's the point? What would motivate the players and the fans? How would everyone know who won?
The same is true in consulting. Keeping score helps you measure your progress toward your goals. How you keep score depends on the specifics of the goals: prospects, clients, projects, fees, etc. For example, if your goal is to increase the number of new prospects you see each month, then your score card will measure prospects. If the goal is a specific level of income, the goal will be counted in dollars.
Measurable Goals
As you establish goals, make sure that they are measurable. “A fantastic consulting career” isn't a measurable goal. “Earning $100,000 a year advising parents of slow learners” or “Becoming the most respected transportation consultant in Sacramento within three years” are measurable goals. You will know when you arrive — just as a football player knows he's in the end zone.
How can I make my goals measurable?
Make your goals measurable by stating them in terms of your objectives. That is, if the objective is financial, state the goal in financial terms. If it is in a measurable amount of prospects, clients, or problems solved, state the goal in that quantity. This makes it easier to keep score and to identify when you've won — or how close you are to your goal.
As you set goals, remember that various games have different ways of keeping score as well as different definitions for winning. For example, football, baseball, and many other sports use open-ended scores; the team with the highest score at the end of the playing period wins. Other games, such as volleyball, are played until one player or team reaches a specified score. Set your goals and keep your own score based on either the greatest number within a period (as many new clients as possible in the next year) or as a set amount (dollars in fees). Just make sure that your consulting goals are measurable.
In Writing
New Year's resolutions often melt before the snow does. As life moves on, it can be difficult to remember resolutions you made just a few days or weeks ago. It's important that you write them down.
As you make your income, career, and life goals, record them somewhere. Write them as specific and measurable as possible. List them by priority. Include specific plans with them on how you expect to achieve these goals.
Also, be sure that you frequently refer to them as reminders. For example, post them as your computer screen saver or on the front page in your daily planning book. Remind yourself to read them daily or as often as you need to.
Commitment
Having a to-do list doesn't mean things will get done. That requires action. And action requires commitment. Commitment is a pledge or promise. When you commit to a relationship, you make a promise. When you commit to a goal, you make a pledge to take needed action.
Professional consultants advise that as your daily life begins to seem like an out-of-control roller coaster, make a fresh commitment to your life and career goals. They can be anchors that help you see the bigger plan in your life and how it relates to your daily activities. Your goals can keep you on track toward your values.
One motivator for helping you develop commitment to a goal is to visualize the results of that goal. For example, if your goal is to increase your consulting income this year by 25 percent over last year, imagine the benefits of doing so. Picture yourself being able to take more or better vacations, of giving your family more security or better things, or of purchasing something you've always wanted. Use your desire to see results as motivation to make an appropriate commitment to your goals.
