January 7, 2016 by

Time To Set 2016 Goals

Setting Goals in 2016If you have not set goals yet for 2016 in December – what exactly are you waiting for?

“Insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results.”  – Attributed to Albert Einstein

We all know we must set goals for ourselves, our family and in our careers or business. This should never be a once a year activity. In reality we have our why – our big dream or wish. Our goals should be set to help take us toward our why.

My good friend, Paul Martinelli, the President of The John Maxwell Team, recent said to me that – “people who set goals which are for things they know they can do and can achieve – well they have already lost – they have given up!” The point of setting goals is to challenge us to take ourselves on a journey. If we want to tread water everyday for ten hours a day, then we should go do that.

For each goal there must be a timeline and a purpose. Each goal must be consistent with moving us toward our why. Some of the goals may seem almost out of reach and may have you questioning yourself a bit – ‘how am I going to do that one?’.

This is a thought that needs to be erased!

“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” – Zig Ziglar

Where many of us fall off the wagon on our goal achievement is either not creating an accountability process, or sticking with a plan which isn’t serving us and refusing to change the plan, or both of these!

Another key aspect of goal setting is to revisit our goals regularly throughout the year. For some people or businesses this is done once each quarter. For numerous entrepreneurs, a reality check should be conducted at the end of each month.

“When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps. – Confucius

There are so many great books on goal setting and probably a number of not so good ones as well! Let’s recap in this short article the main points.

  • First is always start out the year with goals
  • Know your why – your big dream or idea – and if not – write it out
  • Our goals should challenge us
  • Goals must have a timeline, a purpose
  • We must create a process of accountability
  • Revisit our goals throughout the year and adjust our action steps first

Be Intentional each day – get started with the 7 Day Experiment with John C. Maxwell.

Mitch Tublin is an advanced, certified coach, speaker and business consultant who resides in Stamford, CT.

Filed Under: Accountability, Achieve Goals, Business Planning, Self Improvement Tagged With: , , , , , ,
September 5, 2014 by

Do You Focus? Or Are You Distracted?

focus-or-distractedNever before in the history of modern thinking has the lure away from focus on a specific item been more challenging. More importantly never before has the ability to focus on a specific item been more important.

It is more than technology. Let’s address technology first to get that big single item off the table…cell phone, smart phone, tablet, laptop, voicemail, texting, email, social media of all flavors from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Linkedin, YouTube and more.

The majority of the population is tied to their electronics. It is as if everyone must be available to everyone else all of the time or their world would come crashing down.

Take The Challenge. Buy an old school little memo pad and grab a bic pen. Write the day of the week at the top of the page each new day. Use tally marks each day for a week to record every time you either read an email or a text and send an email or a text. At the end of the week add up the tally marks for each day and then the week. What is the weekly number for all of the emails and texts you sent and opened?

Do this again for the next week and add one new element. Circle the tally mark if the email or the text resulted in achieving any one of your personal or business goals. When you finish the week and total your tally marks, total the circled tally marks in their own category.

How many circled tally marks are there. None? A few? What percentage of the whole?

This is the issue. We have become distracted in our behavior. We each need to have personal and business goals. These goals need to be tied to action steps which are defined with specific actions to be taken by a specific date. Without a process such as this basic process described we end up distracted. We think we are busy. We think the small things such as answering every text or email immediately really matter. Yes the small things matter. The small things that matter are the small action steps toward achieving your designed personal and business goals.

The resulting behavior from this described daily ritual the majority of people go through has created a short attention span to any focus for a length of time necessary to establish real thinking and engagement in any one single item of focus. This is rapidly becoming a lost ability in a human being. The media is aware of this and contributes to reinforcement of the behavior.

Take a look around the next time you are in a restaurant. Notice how many couples are sitting across the table from each other and are not speaking with each other or having a conversation. They are each using their smart phones checking newsfeeds or social media or email or texting. What happened to focusing on their relationship and each other?

Mitch Tublin is an advanced certified personal and business coach who resides in Stamford, CT.

Do you live in Fairfield County, CT. or Westchester County, NY? Check out L2:Learn-Lead Stamford – http://www.mitchtublin.com/L2Stamford

Filed Under: Achieve Goals, Self Improvement, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,
March 18, 2011 by

Business Strategy and Fear?

My business strategy is to network in places you would never think I would appear and it is highly likely no one there ever met me before.

Not long ago I attended an intimate event in West Palm Beach, Florida, where Les Brown was speaking to our group.

Les said, “The most feared activity, even feared more than death, is public speaking.”

I wonder how high on the list networking would be?

Even more specifically, I wonder how high on the list networking would be when you know you are going into an environment where you know absolutely no one and you think you have absolutely nothing in common with anyone there?

Well my friends, I challenge you to do just that!

Try out this strategy. Don’t over think it. Just try it out and let us all know how you make out.

Okay, so you are not totally left out in the cold here are a few networking tips for you:

Business Networking - Shaking HandsTIP #1 –   Warm up your smile and be ready to smile all the time.

What does this mean? Many of us are so busy tapping on our laptop, blackberry or iPhone we have that face on. You know the face, the  I’m tapping on my laptop, blackberry or iPhone, so don’t mess with me face.

You are not smiling. Make it a point to smile a lot everyday before your networking event. You should not have to think about smiling, you should just be smiling.

TIP # 2 –   Be really interested in the other person and their story.

You have three to five minutes to engage.  Yes, a time limit. If there are ten people you are going to meet this will allow you to meet these ten people in one hour. This allows time for you to move between people. So you do the math. You have only a few minutes to both engage with each other. It is the time you have to network around the room so you will need to keep moving.

Ask questions and repeat key points back to the person you just met. Use their name back to them in the conversation.

TIP # 3 –   Have your story ready, clear and succinct.

Your name, your company, what do you do?  Who are your customers/clients? What are the results? All of this in less than 1 minute. It must not be rushed, it must be clear and you need to make eye contact and smile.

TIP # 4 –   Exchange cards or contact information.

If you are connecting well, ask if you may contact them about meeting soon one on one or speaking on the phone to connect further. Leave your introductory meeting with an agreed upon action step. A definite do not do is do not take the contact information email off of the card and add it to your newsletter list and auto-generated email list. No one wants this done to them. It is so 2005.  So don’t do it.

TIP # 5 – Follow up.

A short direct email or phone call about how great it was to meet you.  Reaffirm your call to action item.  Agree upon your date and time to meet up.  Ask about connecting on LinkedIn or Facebook or Twitter as appropriate for the situation.

It is my hope you are now more open to going to a networking event where you may not know a single person.

If you are interested in really getting your networking skills to the level they need to be for your business to grow and be more successful, contact Mitch Tublin, premier business strategist, consultant and coach, and set up your strategic business breakthrough session today.

Filed Under: Business Networking Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
January 27, 2011 by

State Of The Union Should Remind Us To Check The State Of Our Business

President ObamaThis week in the world of government, politics and the media – the State of The Union delivered by President Obama is a big deal. The current environment dictates the strategy for the State of the Union to be filled with words of hope, promises and lots of selling. Selling the dreams, wants and needs of the audience-the big huge audience. Typically the State of the Union lacks substance, lacks details, and lacks the ‘how’ we do all these things type of facts.

It is a great reminder how critical it is for any business owner or entrepreneur to check the state of their business. This would be an in depth look at how you are doing? Are you heading toward your big goals and strategies? Are you getting off track on your projects or are you staying right on your timeline?

How are the funds? Are you being paid by your clients/customers in a timely manner? Do you have the amount of financing in place to carry out the plans you have for the year? All of these questions require you to take a reality check. There is no hiding. It is all substance. It is all about the details.

This process must take place at least one time a month. Do not skip around an area. Look deep and look hard.  Then adjust your course as necessary. This is why you conduct this activity. There are often slight adjustments which need to be taken. Remember the route to the goal is often not an exact straight line. Part of the way toward business success is creating these course corrections as you go along.

Do you find you require the assistance of an expert business strategy consultant to bring you through this process and create accountability to keep you on track?  Contact Mitch Tublin at www.thementorguy.com and book your initial session today.

Filed Under: Business Strategy Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,