The scene: You set a goal to make $X more revenue by a certain date. Or you resolve to have six, new big clients within 90 days or less.
It’ll need planning and a large crew.
But then something happens along the way. A bright light starts shining in one corner, distracting you from the original goal. You tell yourself you’re changing the route slightly.
I’m not sure we can use her yet.
I haven’t eyen caught her name.
-Tess.
Huh?
-Her name is Tess.
Okay.
-Tell me this is not about her or I walk off the job.
Who?
-Tess.
Be careful! These detours can take you far afield.
How to Stay on Track
As an outside marketing and design consultant I occasionally see this problem arise with clients. Not that the client’s done anything wrong! Hopefully this is what they hired me to do in the first place: keep the ship on course to the destination.
What makes a good example of setting a goal; going after it; managing the detours from it; and reaching the final goal?
Good caper movies come to mind. The George Clooney version of Ocean’s 11 makes a good example for its simplicity.
Let’s take a look at their goals: They’re after the money in the Vegas casino. Clooney’s got a rough idea on how to pull it off. He recruits some buddies to help out. They run into a few distractions (one being Julia Roberts). They overcome obstacles and get the cash. Happy ending.
11 Tips to Reach Your Goals
Here are eleven ways to help you achieve your business and personal goals:
~ 1 ~
(Jack Canfield pasted a fake $100,000 bill on his bedroom ceiling as a reminder to help achieve his dream.)
-Eight figures.
What’s the target?
-When was the last time you were in Vegas?
You want to knock over a casino?
-The vault at the Bellagio.
What’s your reason for the goal? Strong motivators make for strong execution of plans to reach those goals. What’s yours?
Because the house always wins.
Play long enough, the house takes you.
Unless, when that perfect hand comes,
you bet big. Then you take the house.
-You practiced that speech?
Did I rush it?
Don’t worry about how outlandish your goals may be. The details will be worked out later.
It’s never been done before.
It’ll need planning and a large crew.
Ten should do it, don’t you think?
You think we need one more?
You think we need one more.
alright, we’ll get one more.
Develop a plan. Draw one line, then another. Keep going. A plan will emerge step by step.
Off the top of my head, I’d say you’re looking at a Boesky,
a Jim Brown…a Miss Daisy and a Leon Spinks.
Not to mention the biggest Ella Fitzgerald ever.
Offer options whenever possible. Choices can lead to new opportunities you wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.
-Basher, it’s your show.
You want broke, blind or bedlam?
-How about all three?
Right, it’s done.
Use any tricks and tools to help you remember your tasks.
Thank you for your time, Mr…?
-Denham. Billy Tim Denham.
“Denham” like a jean!
-That’s it. Just like the jean.
Start working the plan. In marketing, like anything, you can start working the steps and find there are hiccups in the plan. Keep trying. You’ll figure out ways around the hiccups.
Say we get into the cage and through the security doors…
…down the elevator we can’t move…
…past the guards with the guns,
into the vault we can’t open–
-And not seen by cameras.
-Sorry, I forgot to mention that.
Yeah, well, say we do all that…
…we’re just supposed to walk out of there with $150 million —
without getting stopped?
-Yeah.
Oh. Okay.
Find ways past the obstacles. Break them down into do-able pieces instead of getting overwhelmed by a whole array of blocks in your path. (Note to self: Get over the block of writing this one newsletter. It’s just one of many.)
First, we have to get in the casino cages
(which takes more than a smile).
Next, through these doors
(each one requiring a different code changed every 4 hours).
Past those, the elevator. Here’s where it gets tricky:
It won’t move without fingerprint I.D.
(which we can’t fake).
And local confirmation from the system
within the Bellagio and the vault
(which we won’t get).
The elevator shaft is rigged with sensors.
If we override the llft, the exit would Iock and we’d be trapped.
Once we get down the shaft, it’s a piece of cake:
Just two more guards with Uzis…
…and the most elaborate vault door ever conceived.
Identify problem areas, don’t ignore them. If you know a client has issues with a strategy, if you know there’s a hole in your plan that’s seemingly insurmountable, highlight it. Come back to it. Ask for help in solving the problem.
Basher, what happened?
-They did what I would have done but by accident.
-Now they know their weakness, they’re fixing it.
-So unless we intend to do this job in Reno, we’re in Barney.
-Barney Rubble. Trouble!
Remind yourself of the rewards once you reach your goal.
On a fight night, like in two weeks,
the night we’re robbing it $150 million, without breaking a sweat. There are 11 of us, each with an equal share.
You do the math.
~ 11 ~
Reward yourself for a job well done!
Tess, I told you…I knew what I was doing.
Ted Nugent called, he wants his shirt back.
Thirteen million and you drive this piece of shit to pick me up?
-I blew it all on the suit.
What are your goals? Are you staying on target?
All Rights Reserved by Warner Bros. Any and all use of parts of Ocean’s Eleven screenplay and other related materials is strictly protected by U.S. copyright. Passages cited for educational purposes only.
