Thursday, December 1, 2011

Measuring Your Worth

Eight more posts then I will have actually achieved a goal, 52 posts in one year!  I have approximately 30 more days to do this and I think I can do it.  Heck, after this post I will be down to seven.

When I was a career-girl, in the corporate world, goal setting was an annual occurrence.  It was an important step to take for women hungry enough to attempt to climb the male-dominated corporate ladder without having to sleep your way to the top.  Having a list of MEASURABLE goals was my ticket to accountability for my accomplishments and justification for a raise, bonus, and promotion.  It gave me credibility with my peers and more importantly it sent a message to my boss and the decision-makers that I was a serious, career-minded woman.  Being able to sit down with your boss at the end of the twelve months and have documented proof of your contributions to the organization and showing personal improvements and betterments always puts you in a position of power.  It is where you reiterate your worth to the company and where you hold the power to negotiate.

Since I left the corporate world in 1996 I have continued to set goals for myself.  Because they happen to be devised at the beginning of the year they tend to resemble New Year's resolutions but for the most part, they are goals.  Some unattained goals linger year after year.  A re-evaluation of the validity of those goals is certainly past due.  But, the most important thing I've learned about goal-setting is to make sure they are measurable.  Have a timeline associated with it.  Have a percentage increase or decrease attached to the goal.  Making the goal concise and quantifiable helps to keep it simple, stupid.

So, as I evaluate my progress of 2011 and prepare my commitments for 2012 I plan to keep in mind the validity and achieve-ability of these goals.

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