They go by different names. Gary Boomer (www.boomer.com) refers to 90-day Personal Game Plans. Morrie Shechtman (www.fifthwaveleadership.com) promotes Personal Action Plans to develop financial, personal and professional goals for 90-day, 1-year, 3-year and 5-year time periods. And, one of David Maister’s (www.davidmaister.com) favorite stories is about coaching pigeons, “Come on pigeon, you can do it, I will help you.” The story relates to setting short term goals, acknowledging achievement, and setting subsequent short term goals in order to achieve the overall goal.

Whatever you call it, writing your goals and making a commitment to achieve them is a key to success. Goals keep you focused and help you prioritize your time. What I’ve learned so far is that accomplishing goals is very satisfying and is the motivation to accomplish even more.