Often in an attempt to get company staff to have a shared view of where they're all going a vision and mission statement are prepared.

Unless you're a large company it's a waste of time.

Mainly because your company works to the beat of your drum.

You're the one who sets your own company's agenda. Whether you realise it or not.

Your whole attitude to risk, customer service, planning, budgeting, recruitment and cost control are being followed by your employees.

They want to stay on the right side of the boss don't they? They're not likely to rock the boat. But more than that they don't see why they need to do what you say unless you do what you say too.

The staff may influence you to a certain extent. But when the buck stops it's with you.

Maybe you have excellent staff and you can leave them to get on with lots of stuff in your absence. Maybe they produce brilliant results.

Great.

But if you had some goals I guarantee you'll all achieve more.

Lewis Carroll said "If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there."

Without goals you can either take the short road or the long road and you'll still get nowhere.

One thing you need to understand about your brain is that it will go all out to help you achieve your goals. Your Reticular Activating System (a little group of cells that are probably the most primitive in your brain) is the driving force for you to get your goals. It filters all communication to your brain and stops you going mad from information overload.

The good news is that the Reticular Activating System (RAS) can be programmed to achieve the goals you want. That's done by using visualisation and "faking it till you make it".

By that I mean fooling your RAS into thinking you've already achieved your goal. It works to make sure that you get the benefits accruing from that goal. Which means that you then achieve it! Simple, eh?

It's so great I call the RAS the "Goal Scorer".

So how do you set goals?

Firstly dismiss the thought that they're just for January the 1st. Or you set them once and then forget them. Goals don't work that way. A little later I'll explain how you can use a method I call SARAH to help you check your goals.

Now what are the most important things about setting goals?

The most important thing is that ...

...it must be important to you.

If it's not no amount of goal setting will make you achieve it. Do you have something worthy but boring that you'd rather not do?

You can put it off forever can't you?

When you set goals you must promise yourself that you'll achieve them. If it's a boring goal tie its achievement to something interesting or rewarding.

I can't emphasis enough how important importance is to your achievement of your goals.

Next you need to clearly decide what it is that you want to acheive. An all embracing statement such as "All areas of my life will work well" isn't much use as a goal. It's much too general for your poor "goal scorer".

Instead you need to make each goal specific and so that your goal scorer knows when it needs to be achieved you give it a time limit.

The other secret to using the goal scorer is to phrase your goal as though it's already happened.

For example: "I've got 5 new clients who each paid me a $5,000 retainer by the 30th of September 2008".

Finally make sure that you will know in some measurable way that a goal has been achieved. When that happens celebrate!

Now write the goals down. No I don't mean into your computer. Although you can put them in later. Write them longhand.

Why longhand? Because you have a special hand-brain connection which means you're programming your brain as you write.

Also don't overburden yourself with hundreds of goals. Focus on writing specific goals for what is really important to you. Ideally you should have about 7 to 10 goals to begin.

Later as you get used to achievement you can add more.

Once they're written down put them some place that you can see them every day. Don't just look at the goals imagine yourself at the point where they've been achieved. What can you see, smell, taste, hear and feel at that moment and afterwards? Visualise yourself as already having achieved your goal. Feels great doesn't it?

I promised you that I would introduce SARAH, my method for goal checking.

SARAH stands for the following:

S - Set an achievable, important goal

A - Act. Start something on your way to achieving the goal

R - Review it regularly, either monthly or quarterly.

A - Ambitious, check that you have some ambitious goals

H - Honestly assess whether the goal needs changing and do it

If your goals start being completed long before you expect review them more often!

These methods can be used for you or for your business. They work just the same. Use them and watch how your results improve.

When you kick-off with the power of goals your business is going to move in exactly the direction you want.