Posted by For the first time ever, I set myself goals for 2019. It is all very nice to set up goals, but the real thing is to work on them and be realistic about the progress done. At the end of Q1 and Q2, I added mark to markets to my journal practice, but I must admit the Q3 one never happened, at least on paper. Before I get going with any goals for 2020, I know I have to stop and take this ride down 362 days of memory lane and be honest with myself. Join me for the ride if it helps you look back on your own goals and achievements.
The Principles of Goal Setting
If you have have missed last year’s series on goal setting, here are a few things that you may want to check
- How do you make your goals: SMART, stretched but not impossible. I have laid out the framework I used for goal setting in 2019, mostly based on migoals. I have now refined it through the year, so if it helps, go here to download a template and get ready for 2020;
- Values, Long Term Goals and What You Can do Next. I have also set up long term goals at the beginning of the year. That was also a first. To do those, one thing can’t be missing. A clear view on your values and priorities for the years ahead. That is how you can get alignment and truly meaningful goals
- I want to be the CEO and Another Type of CEO: these were 2 examples of 2 goals I have set up for myself (more below) and how I framed them. They are good examples to look at when getting started.
Mark to Market: The Goal of Health
Goal: Achieve Better Physical Fitness
Actions Complete: Daily Yoga, Health Checks,
Resolve Pending health and dental issues
Actions Incomplete: Drink water (but
improved), Weekly pilates (perhaps monthly would be more accurate), introduce
cardio activity (none really)
KPIs: Be cold/ flu free for 90 days, average 6.5 hours per night; stay at the current weight
Overall Assessment: I fell ill less often, but I never made it to 90 days illness free. I feel the first half of my year I was on track. I improved my sleep, took care of my health, did more sports, regular yoga and kept my weight. It all went off track post summer. That is both physical and mental. The last 4 months of the year have been truly challenging and I think that is reflected in my physical well being.
For 2020: I will have this goal on top of my list again. However, I want to find ever more actions that can help me. Tracking some key goals such as physical activity, sleep and nutrition has definitely helped. This one will definitely need another year.
Mark to Market: The Goal of Peaceful Parenting
Goal: Become a more peaceful and kind parent and partner
Actions Complete: Happyself Journal with Little Girl C; 5 weeks of peaceful parenting course (it counts in the completed actions even though I did not finish it); Daily bedtime stories and rituals. Friday night dinners were more often than not spouse meetings
Actions Incomplete: Family Meetings (we did 1 to decide on family fun for the summer which went well). Formal spouse meetings never happened
KPIs: 15 days fight free with Little Girl C. Regular scheduled 1on1 time with each child.
Overall Assessment: I came a long way with my parenting this year, and somehow, I still feel so far away. No doubt that I have become more peaceful in my approach, I am ever more able to empathize. More importantly, I chose not to join every fight that I am invited to. I have dedicated myself fully to the Peaceful Parenting course parts that I have done, though I have certainly not done it at the instructor’s pace. I get a B overall, but an A if I think of my own set goal last year. The reason I give myself a B is because I now understand, thanks to the course, that I have more actions that I can do (or chose not to do) and I also have different milestones that I can track to.
For 2020: There is a lot of work to be done to help Little Girl C regulate her emotions and start dealing with Baby S increasingly difficult moments. Most work is on me and how I self-regulate. Which starts with self-care. So that I can respond in an emotionally regulated manner. I am guessing this goal will be much more practical in 2020, and one where finding time will be an absolute priority.
Mark to Market: The Goal of a Personal Brand
Goal: Establigh my brand with a focus on strategy
Actions Complete: Wrote weekly articles on my 3 focus pillars of strategy, working motherhood and charity/ side projects. I learnt from podcasts and audio books. On social media, I tested articles on LinkedIn and got started on Instagram. On real life, I helped 2 different CEOs with their businesses and lined up the 3rd one for 2020.
Actions Incomplete: Engaging with another 2 businesses I had been in touch with in the beginning of the year, work on a few frameworks that can be helpful for people to think of their business, test Medium as a communication platform
KPIs: 1 post per week, 250 mailing list subscribers, read 15 books, listen to 150 podcasts
Overall Assessment: This has been an extraordinary year for my writing and establishing myself in the space. I am no influencer but I often come across people who cherish what I write about and thank me for my authenticity. Depth is what I am looking for, so I appreciate every bit of those comments. I could have not possibly worked with more businesses due to lack of time and professional limitations. I have read almost 10 books I think and definitely exceeded the goals on podcasts. I also know that i set myself too many actions to do on something that is another side project.
For 2020: I will continue to work on this space, though I will think of framing my goal differently. I don’t need a personal brand. I want to be able to influence people’s lifes and make them better, making space for growth. That is where I will focus my actions.
Mark to Market: The Goal of Being the CEO
Goal: Be the UPG CEO
Actions Complete: High participation in team meetings (>50%), close to 100% completion of 1on1 team calls, review of governance, visit the ground
Actions Incomplete: 360s reviews in 2019, review of policies, read more industry reports, conduct a strategic review, work on dashboard and impact metrics
KPIs: Local protocols, review of legal docs, reviews with Staff, # team meetings, # 1on1 meetings
Overall Assessment: I have massively improved my organization and productivity in all I was doing with the charity, but again, this all seems to have gone down in H2’19. I felt things were getting on track for me to let go of everything else that I do and is not on the complete list and really move on to a proper CEO role. As we had 2 casualties in the team + a large gala in Lisbon, I was sent off track. As I get to the end of the year, I really reflect on whether this was the right goal. I know it had to be ambitious for me to aim high. But maybe it was too ambitious. And no matter how long the list of complete is, I was always going to fail.
For 2020: This is a goal that I really need to think through properly. I need to do the work on comparing values and long term goals and really find out what I should aim for in 2020. Being the CEO is not the most important thing. It is to contribute in a meaningful way allowing the charity to continue to grow in effectiveness. That is what the goal needs to become.
Mark to Market: The Goal of Being Another CEO
Goal: Raise ALG’s profile and sustainability
Actions Complete: Outsource ALG accounts, engage new Board member, work on donor segmentation and plan for HNWI; Re-launch of blog, Launch Instagram
Actions Incomplete: Social Media Plan, Strengthen Ambassadors, Monetize HNWI
KPIs: Close accounts by Q2, Get 2019 Accounts on a T+1 basis, Get 20 regular donours, Get 10 HNWI engaged
Overall Assessment: The story repeats itself. I started the year in a much better place than I finished. Outsourcing the booking of the accounts was a major win but it still did not allow me to finish the accounts well in advance of time or get 2019 on a timely manner. More work to do on why this is the case. Priorities probably. That means I did not spend as much time targeting individuals as I should, though I am proud that I ventured into it for the first time. It is a tough area for me, way out of my comfort zone, so I take some credit on it.
For 2020: This goal needs to stay very similar, and I definitely need to push more on outsourcing a lot of the accounting and analytics related tasks that I am doing at the moment. I now have set up our donor analysis in a way that I can work on it, but i need the time to do it. I also think I did not aim at the right actions from the get go, so I will add that to my goal tracker to ensure I don’t lose sight of it.
Are you still there? Why does this matter? Goals and targets.
You may have gotten bored by now. Too detailed. Too much about me. But in all honesty, sometimes we need to make these things very detailed. That is often the only way we don’t feel like failures in the face of so many incomplete actions. The other reason mark to markets matter is because they allow us not to go fully blind into next year’s cycle. 2019 was the first time I set myself 1 year goals and milestones. After this review, I know I will set my goals for 2020 in a much better way, with clearer actions. And I will certainly use my monthly journal practice to track these accordingly and efficiently.
Are you convinced about doing your goals now? Maybe this can help. Go, make space for growth.
Photo by Isaac Smith on Unsplash