In the book What They Don’t Teach You in the Harvard Business School, Mark McCormack tells a study conducted on students in the 1979 Harvard MBA program. In that year, the students were asked, “Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?” Only three percent of the graduates had written goals and plans; 13 percent had goals, but they were not in writing; and a whopping 84 percent had no specific goals at all.
Ten years later, the members of the class were interviewed again, and the findings, while somewhat predictable, were nonetheless astonishing. The 13 percent of the class who had goals were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84 percent who had no goals at all. And what about the three percent who had clear, written goals? They were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other 97 percent put together.
In spite of such proof of success, most people don’t have clear, measurable, time-bounded goals that they work toward. So, as you start out 2008, take the time to help achieve your dreams by putting your aspirations to paper. First, be specific with your goals and include a timeframe. Next write out three things you can do to reach each one. And finally, evaluate your progress every year. Start with family goals and work from there.
I agree with you wholeheartedly about writing goals down. But for me, I need to review them more often than yearly. I am at my best when I review them weekly.