The secret sauce recipe for a successful 2020

You’re back at work, ready to kick butt for another year. You’ve reviewed how your business went in 2019, you’ve made a business plan for 2020.

But how do you make your plans work, and last longer than a ‘New-Year’s-resolution-gym-goer’?

The secret is in how you set your goals. And there are two key ingredients in the secret sauce of your success.

Being specific and being accountable.

Be specific

Quite simply this is: What will you do? When will you do it by?

When you’re specific about your goal, you know exactly what you’re going to achieve, when, where, and how you’re going to do it.

By planning the steps, you need to meet that goal, your mind focuses on what you need to do and how you need to act to achieve it.

You literally change your behaviour to reach the goal.

The unconscious psychological “attentional bias” effect comes into play and starts working for us.

The world leader in the science of goal setting is Dr Edwin Locke. In a major decade long study, he found that 90% of the time, setting specific and challenging goals led to higher performance.

Business studies have validated this. Businesses that set specific goals have a higher success rate and are 147% more profitable than those who don’t.

Be accountable

Psychology professor Dr Gail Matthews ran a study where she found that accountability was the other key factor in achieving goals. One group of subjects in her research had to share their concrete plans with another person and then had to send them weekly progress reports.

Over 75% of this group achieved their goals compared to just 35% in the non-accountability group.

But be careful who you share your goals with. Don’t just send them to your best mate who will say “oh well, there’s always next week” when you miss the mark. Find someone you respect, who will work with you and hold you accountable.

So, there you have it – being specific and accountable will significantly increase your chances of hitting your goals.

What are your specific plans for 2020? Who will hold you accountable?

It’s never too late to start. Commit now to be a success in 2020.