The 9 C’s: Help for Achieving Your Goals
Humans seem to be naturally goal oriented. We look to the future as the place where we can have more of what we want in our business and our lives. Goals are what help us bring the future into focus. By knowing where we’re going, it makes decisions a lot easier and produces better results.
In addition to determining where we are now versus where we want to be at some specified time in the future, I find it’s helpful to understand the goal achievement process in terms of sequential conceptual stages. This offers another way to look at what might otherwise seem straightforward and colorless.
The 9 elements that support goal achievement are Courage, Commitment, Clarity, Communication, Consistency, Confidence, Credibility, Completion and Celebration.
When you first consider the goals you want to work toward, you may not have confidence in your ability to reach them. So how can you reach that state of confidence? I find the best point of departure is to establish a level of courage.
Acting from a feeling of courage and commitment is the foundation upon which confidence is built. Confidence begets confidence. Credibility is confidence returned. It comes when others believe in you and your message. Completion finishes the process and sets the stage for gathering courage for your next goal. And Celebration acknowledges and reinforces it all.
Courage
— Aware of who you are and what value you offer.
Courage comes from knowing yourself, your assets and limitations, and what you can and want to do that others will value. Courage provides a feeling of strength. Aligning all your assets makes you feel strong and courageous. Supporting your limitations adds more strength. Feeling courageous prepares you to take action.
Commitment
— Making a commitment to a goal is the first step toward achieving it.
Using the courage you’ve gained from defining and aligning your assets, you must look deep in your heart for what puts the fire in your belly, what motivates you to stick with it regardless of the challenges faced. Commitment is what makes you unstoppable.
Clarity
— Key words and phrases that define your market value will prepare you to communicate.
Once you’ve defined your “value” and learned the language that will attract what you want, you’re ready to plan how you’ll get your message out. It’s good for people to know “you’re looking for 10 new clients and here’s what they might look like”. That’s clarity.
Communication
— Prepared to communicate your message consistently.
You probably won’t be able to achieve your goals alone. So you’ll want to elicit the help of others. Communication, in all forms, is how you share your message with your “universe”. Once you’re ready to take action, communication is the next step in the process.
In business, the strong leader communicates goals to everyone in his working network. Asking for input from your “team” in developing goals is always a good first step. Communication is best when it goes both ways.
Consistency
– Consistency begets confidence.
This means you’ve considered and aligned all the ways you communicate. Having your verbal, written and visual communication conveying your key message creates a powerful force toward your goal. Consistent communication attracts those who relate to your message. Putting it out into your universe clearly and consistently is the action that produces results.
Confidence
— Experience
The first step in gaining confidence is to experience something that provides a successful outcome. Taking the risk to try something new is scary. We feel uncomfortable and unsure about our actions until we try and succeed. It’s that experience, however, that allows us to break through to confidence.
— Practice
Courage gets you ready; confidence puts you into action. By choosing to practice and repeat the experience of feeling confident, your confidence will gain strength. That’s when your message becomes second nature and your confidence level continues to improve.
Credibility
— Others have confidence in you
When your confidence is strong you encourage others to have confidence in you. As others perceive your integrity, they will come to trust in you and believe you can and will meet expectations. That’s when you gain credibility. People will want to do business with you. You’ll also be able to engage others to help you reach your goal.
Completion
— Reaching goals.
This is what it’s all about. Whether you’re selling and providing products, services or both, you’ve got goals. Looking at goal achievement from the perspective of the 8 C’s you can see how it is a cycle that builds on itself over time. The more goals you achieve, the easier it will become.
Understanding and applying these concepts is particularly helpful for business development goals. Your reputation, your brand image and your goal outcomes will benefit from your applying them.
Celebration
– Acknowledge your win.
Give credit where it’s due. Feel the joy, strength and freedom of taking the lead and plan to do it again. Reward yourself with a celebration; a party, an extra holiday, whatever makes you feel good about your accomplishment.
And there’s one more C that can help you accomplish your goals…and that’s Coach. As your coach I will help you integrate these elements into your actions and provide the structure and guidance to keep you on course toward your goals. I’ll also cheer you on and help you celebrate your successes.
