A financial advisor I work with said the following about his 2012 process goals, “I like to set my goals high because it will get me close to where I need to be. If I tell myself I am going to contact 20 clients a day I know I will at least end up with 12, 13 maybe 15 contacts a day”.

At first glance, the financial advisor’s approach makes sense. However, there is one MAJOR flaw. The “set it high and come close” approach teaches individuals that they do not do what they set their minds to. This becomes a real issue when the pressure is on.

Imagine what happens to the “set it high and come close” individual when roadblocks to success appear (you get sick, the market makes a dramatic turn for the worse, the media releases information about a faulty product line). You will have learned about yourself that you do not do what you set your mind to and when roadblocks appear your success will unravel. Translation; the “set it high and come close” mentality only works when everything is going well. Unfortunately everything doesn’t go well very often.

It is incredibly important for you to learn about yourself that you always do what you set out to do. When it comes to process goals, what it takes on a daily basis to achieve the desired results, I strongly encourage my clients to identify and fully commit to the bare minimum of what is necessary for greatness.

The Financial advisor from above knows he needs to make at least 12 current client contacts per day and 3 prospecting contacts per day if he is going to achieve his production goals. If he consistently does so he will know, even in tough times, that he ALWAYS does what he sets his mind to.

Don’t be that person who consistently doesn’t do the daily activities needed to produce results. If you have a day where you literally can’t finish what you know needs to be done then use a two, three or four day working average to accomplish your goals. For example if the financial advisor receives an emergency call from home after completing only 6 of his contact calls then he needs to do more than 15 calls the next few days to get his working average back up to 100% completion. Do not let this working day average go beyond one week as it begins to be overwhelming to increase discipline for longer periods.

The business person who always achieves the process goals is the equivalent of the go-to athlete who wants the ball at the end of the game. When you always do what you set out to do you learn to be the one who always gets it done…especially when the pressure is on and it matters the most.