Many people make a crucial mistake in setting goals: they fire without aiming accurately. When it comes time to set a goal, they immediately start thinking of action steps and plans to achieve their goal before they have taken time to think through their goal and establish it clearly and firmly in their minds.

Action steps are extremely important to achieve goals. However, you can waste a lot of time and effort pursuing action steps toward the wrong goal. It is best to stop, think and make sure you define the exact goal you want to achieve before you start thinking about the action steps to achieve it.

A Goal-Setting Situation

A working mother pursuing a professional career, Laura and her husband have young twin boys. During our goal-setting workshop, Laura said her life was out of balance. She related that she was staying late at work many nights because she had become the "go-to" person for every crisis, big and small, that erupted in the office.

Laura was most frustrated that soccer season was starting, and she had promised her boys that she would attend their games. Her extra workload had created a stressful situation, and she was afraid that attending the games would prove impossible.

Laura decided that she had to take control of her schedule. She therefore established a goal of learning to say no to people in her office when they came to her to solve problems they should solve for themselves.

Laura's Goal Statement: Before
"I want to learn how to say no more often than I do currently."

"Before Goal" Analysis

At first glance, Laura's "Before Goal" statement seems to address her major obstacle. That is, more often than not, Laura agrees to requests to stay late -- when she wants to start saying no. To evaluate Laura's goal we asked her what she really wanted.

"I want to be able to say no to people so that I can get to my sons' soccer games on time," she said.

Laura's Before Goal does not squarely address her true goal (a major shortcoming), to attend her sons' soccer games on time. Learning to say no may be a good supporting goal or action step; however, it is not the primary end-result goal that Laura wants to achieve.

Laura conceivably could achieve her goal of learning to say no and still not attend her sons' soccer games. After discussing this with Laura, she came up with this revised goal statement:

Laura's Goal Statement: After
"I want to attend every one of my sons' soccer games this season. These are at 6 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays."

"After Goal" Analysis

While Laura's "After Goal" statement is not a major revelation, it is a very different goal than learning to say no. This may seem like a small change, but it is not.

By taking time to clarify the exact outcome she wants to achieve, Laura will be more likely to see her sons play in their soccer games than she would by just saying no at the office.

Lesson Learned

When setting goals, take time to aim accurately before you fire. What do you really want to achieve? What is the precise outcome you desire?

Make your end-result goal clear and complete before you start selecting supporting goals and action steps to help you achieve it.

JAMES R. BALL, CPA, is president and CEO of The Goals Institute. He is an author, keynote speaker, seminar presenter and business consultant. The Goals Institute publishes books and provides seminars on leadership, performance improvement and goal achievement. He can be reached at jimball@goalsinstitute.com.