Get. Stuff. Done!

It’s the time of year for everyone to implement their New Year’s Resolutions.  While we are not anti-New Year’s Resolutions, we do recognize that only 8% of people keep them.

However, we do like the idea of goals.  And yes, we understand they can be virtually the same as New Year’s resolutions.  But we can set goals any time. 

So why do we need goals?  Goals give you focus, energy, persistence, and they make you think. 

For example:

Dominican University conducted a study on how goal achievement in the workplace is influenced by writing goals, committing to goal-directed actions, and accountability for those actions. Participants ranged in age from 23 to 72 and represented a wide spectrum of backgrounds.

Participants in the study were randomly assigned to one of five groups.

• Group 1 was asked to simply think about their goals.  
• Group 2 was asked to write their goals.
• Group 3 was asked to write action commitments for each goal. 
• Group 4 had to both write goals and action commitments and also share these commitments with a friend. 
• Group 5 went the furthest by doing all of the above plus sending a weekly progress report to a friend.

So how did each group do?

• Group 1 – 43% accomplished their goals.
• Group 2 – 51% accomplished their goals.
• Group 3 – 61% accomplished their goals.
• Group 4 – 64% accomplished their goals.
• Group 5 – 76% accomplished their goals.

So skip the New Year’s Resolution and focus on a goal or two for 2015.  Common and effective goals for businesses are for revenue, profit margin, and/or number of new customers. 

Oh, and if you need any help with your goals, you can always contact your favorite accounting firm!