7 Ways that Leaders Excel by Setting Goals Achieving Them (June 2020)

7 Ways that Leaders Excel by Setting Goals Achieving Them (June 2020) 7 Ways that Leaders Excel by Setting Goals Achieving Them 2020 Image Source: iStockThere  is an old proverb, whose origin is  lost in the mists of time, which tells us: “If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.”  The proverb is said to be, variously, a Native American saying, or to have originated in Russia, Romania or Thailand, but its still relevant enough to have been used by Gil Grissom on CBS crime drama CSI.  Its no stretch of the imagination to accept the resonance of the proverb in business with its ongoing challenges to, and temptations and distractions from the necessary focus to succeed.  Here are some examples of successful leaders setting goals and achieving them, throughout their careers. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 1. Be  Tough Image Source: AmazonThe  US businessman Maurice “Hank” Greenberg  the  former CEO of the American International Group, the largest insurance and financial services corporation in history, knew a thing or two about setting goals and achieving them. Greenberg once  wrote abo ut how toughness is a prerequisite in business:“You have to live through the unfair things, and you have to develop the hide to not let it bother you and keep your eyes focused on what you have to do.” Check Price 2. Be  Pragmatic IMAGE SOURCE: AMAZONSuccessful  leaders tend to act quickly on pressing matters. Swift action is another of the key means of setting goals and achieving them. Business theorist Jeffrey Pfeffer, author of Power: Why Some People Have Itâ€"And Others Dont, is compelling on this point:“You are more likely to acquire power by narrowing your focus and applying your energies, like the sun’s rays, to a limited range of activities in a small number of domains.” Check Price (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 3. Be Positive Image Source: AmazonIf you really want to be remembered for setting goals and achieving them, you will not succeed without a positive approach. Positivity is essential in business, just as in all areas of your life.  Th e brilliantly simple writings of Jack Canfield, co-writer of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books, are instructive in this regard. Canfield  writes:“Successful people maintain a positive focus in life no matter what is going on around them. They stay focused on their past successes rather than their past failures, and on the next action steps they need to get them closer to the fulfilment of their goals, rather than all the other distractions that life presents to them.” Check Price 4. Care About What Matters To You Image Source: AmazonFocus  not only on things that matter most on a daily basis, but also on what matters to you most ‘in the round’. Sociologist and author, Martha Beck, writes:“If youd rather live surrounded by pristine objects than by the traces of happy memories, stay focused on tangible things. Otherwise, stop fixating on stuff you can touch, and start caring about stuff that touches you.” Check Price (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 5 . Create Value for Others Image Source: AmazonInfluential  motivational speaker, Brendon Burchard, who was almost killed in a car accident at the age of 19, cites his brush with death as the inspiration for his core teaching questions: Did I live? Did I love? Did I matter? These questions are fundamental in setting goals and achieving them. As Burchard writes:“If you create incredible value and information for others that can change their livesâ€"and you always stay focused on that serviceâ€"then financial success will follow.” Check Price 6. Be  Healthy Image Source: AmazonHealthy  body, healthy mindâ€"wisdom that’s at least as old as the Roman poet, Juvenal, who wrote about “mens sana in corpore sano” (“a healthy mind in a healthy body”)â€"forms the motto of various modern institutions, and is cited often by high achievers.The US politician Matt Cartwright, for example, has argued that in academia…“…a healthy diet has a direct link to increased cognitive functi on and memory skills, decreased absenteeism… and improved mood”.Study the full range of evidence underpinning  the public awareness  campaigns of Cartwright and others in this illuminating collection of academic studies. Check Price (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 7. Be Part of Something Larger Image Source: AmazonFew people are as well known for  setting goals and achieving them as the late, great boxer Muhammad Ali. Ali was so much more than a boxer.  In the fantastic, Oscar-winning  boxing documentary When We Were Kings, writer and sports journalist George Plimpton recalled Ali delivering a  speech at Harvard University when, suddenly, an excited student yelled out: “Give us a poem!”Ali paused for a moment, then pointed first to  himself, and then to the audience, saying:“Me? We!”Plimpton said the poem was not only the shortest in the English language, but also “stood for something more than the poem itself”. It’s vintage Muhammad Ali, illus trating perfectly how the late boxing legend draw his true power not just from boxing skills, but from causes that he believed in, and from  the love and devotion of his global fan base. Check Price