Smart Goals And Planning Your Future
The past year has been a long grind and while it’s not January yet, admit it, the thoughts of creative ways you can reinvent yourself in the new year have probably already started. You have probably been extremely busy these past twelve months, but, as you know, being busy does not mean you are being productive.
The past year has been a long grind and while it’s not January yet, admit it, the thoughts of creative ways you can reinvent yourself in the new year have probably already started. You have probably been extremely busy these past twelve months, but, as you know, being busy does not mean you are being productive.
Founder Institute Team Offsite 2018
If you are a rockstar founder or CEO though, you may have already met with your team to gather internal feedback, discuss a rough plan, come up with some smart goals, and chart the corporate course for the next 365 days. One example of how awesome teams do annual planning for the coming year; comes from our Founder Institute team offsite a few weeks ago in Lake Tahoe. As, Founder Institute CEO Adeo Ressi writes: “If you do not know what you want and where you are going, then you will never reach your potential.” Here is the 5 step process that we use at Founder Institute for our annual planning:
So this got me thinking. What if individuals planned for the next year with the same thoughtfulness and designed precision that companies do. To create a proper future plan and their own smart goals. Like most people, I juggle many things; I run Founder Institute New York, host the Ambition Today podcast, helped start the NYC Innovation Collective non profit, and have a personal life, etc. The first and non obvious answer is I have help and amazing teammates. Never take those around you for granted and make sure you have help. The second answer is that I view all of these as aligned to my personal core mission statement. I have a north star that guides my career choices day in and day out. It helps determine, at a high level, what I should say yes and no to.
This long term planning to set smart goals can be vital. It is the foundation upon which you manage your daily routine or drive monthly traction for your company. This tweetstorm from Julien Smith, CEO of Breather, does a great job stating how important it can be to stay focused on your north star. And more importantly how the effects of your long term grind start to manifest in your life. I recommend reading the whole tweetstorm, but here are two highlights:
So what things should you keep in mind as you plan your future smart goals and what you want achieve in the next 8,765 hours.
One: Aligning Yourself
First you need to digest your own thoughts. You need to step out of your normal day to day routine to take a step back. Schedule time to reflect, sans technology device. Just you and your thoughts. Even if is just for a cup of coffee one morning a week, or during a run. Go to a museum or visit a bookstore. Read a self help book. Watch an inspiring movie. Keep an open mind. Do whatever you need to in order to break out of your normal headspace. The clarity this will provide you will be very important.
Second, you need to gather raw and honest feedback from those you most respect and admire. Find someone whose actions or lifestyle you want to emulate and see what they do. Ask them what their routines are like and how they have accomplished similar goals in their own lives. Get an understanding of the blueprint, so you can start to build it for yourself.
Two: Define Your North Star
If you know where you want to go in life, you want to try formalize it into one sentence. Be sure you take the time to workshop it. It might go through many iterations, until it is something you love and feel passionate about. Consider it your personal mission statement. For example, my personal mission statement is to “Help Founders Improve The Lives Of One Billion People”.
If you don’t have a “north star” or a long term goal yet, that is fine. I assure you that you are not alone. And the answer for you is to go back to step one and aim to get as many new experiences as possible in the coming year. You need to test drive new places and people. Join an extracurricular team or activity in the evenings. Go volunteer somewhere. When you find something that feels right, I promise you, you will know.
Three: Establish Measurable Smart Goals
Smart Goals Definition: A goal which needs to conform to the following criteria: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely. ie; S.M.A.R.T. is the smart goals acronym.
Now that you know what you want to accomplish from step two, it is time to define what smart goals will determine success for you. When smart goals setting try to only have a handful of primary objectives. Above five and it will be harder to accomplish them in only a few months. These smart goals are the steps that take you closer to achieving your core mission.
Make sure you quantify the smart goals. Here are some great smart goal examples. If your smart goals are health related you could set smart goals around a specific desired weight, business milestones, daily food consumption, weekly number of workouts, average heart rate, etc. If accomplishing one of these smart goals will require the help of another person, for example a significant other, then you should discuss the smart goals with them and involve them in the process Just like these smart goal examples, you need to always be including a measurement along with the objective.
Four: Create Actionable Plans
Now that you have a mission and list of smart goals, it is time to determine the plans you will execute to work toward accomplishing them.
I like to start by writing the actionable first step underneath each goal. This way when you read it, you don’t get overwhelmed. You will simply know the next action that needs to be taken. From there you can take some time to expand and to build out a repeatable process. Writing out a great process can be hard at the onset because it takes time, but the long term freedom it affords you can be a game changer.
Five: Develop Tracking Systems
You will need to track your plans in order to measure success, thereby determining if you have accomplished the smart goals necessary to bring you closer to achieving your mission.
As with all things in life, accomplishing these smart goals will require time. You should keep a digital calendar. This will allow you to schedule recurring time every week in your schedule to focus on the set smart goals.
If your smart goals require other people then create weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly meetings with those people to review them together.
Allow yourself to view your progress. Create a visual space where you can, at a glance, see how you are doing. At Founder Institute we create dashboards using software. I personally use Todoist to track my tasks. But you could use something as simple as a whiteboard, which you take the time to update weekly.
I like to stack order my smart goals by the things in the next 90 days that will bring in the most revenue. Depending on your life, this can at times be a shifting and moving target. Which is why I re-evaluate it throughout the year.
It will take time to accomplish the five steps, but the result will be a strong annual plan for your life. In the coming months you will accomplish more than ever before. Ensuring that your day to day grind is not just busy work, but meaningful work bringing you closer to the long term vision for your life.
If you want some help and guidance in 2019, be sure to check out two of our Founder Institute NY portfolio company’s which might be able to help! Tenshey is on a mission to advance gender diversity and leadership development through executive coaching. The Lighthouse is a curated community of vetted industry insiders providing tailored career advice and support.
Remember, that the long term grind can be a powerful force. When you work toward your personal mission the long tail rewards will be the most meaningful! You may fail more than once, but keep going. That’s the moment when everyone else quits and you start to become an outlier. That’s when you break away from the pack. Keep the grind going.
I for one am excited for 2019, as major internet milestones are passed. Truth Seekers are pushed to the forefront of society as the Time Person of the Year. Private companies like Space X set records for most flights in a year. As investors leave mobile behind to look for new areas to back, such as blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, quantum computing, and more. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow looks like as we build it together!
Alex Batdorf Is Teaching Female Entrepreneurs How To Get Shit Done
Did you know that only 17% of all startups have a female founder? Well we are lucky enough to have a female founder on our show today, Alex Batdorf. Alex is a business coach, co-founder of Zip Fit, a company that delivers a perfect fit denim for every body and now the creator of a YouTube series called Get Sh!t Done.
Alex Bartdorf, Creator of the Get Sh!t Done YouTube Series
Did you know that only 17% of all startups have a female founder? Well, we are lucky enough to have a female founder on our show today, Alex Batdorf. Alex is a business coach, co-founder of Zip Fit, a company that delivers a perfect fit denim for every body and now the creator of a YouTube series called Get Sh!t Done. This series focuses on helping female entrepreneurs maintain a balance between pursuing purpose and profit.
Growing up in Seattle, Alex had a lot of family support; they always told her the sky was the limit. She was never that kid that knew she would be an entrepreneur, she just knew she wanted to impact the world. Moving to Chicago for her undergrad degree was a big culture shock for her, but taught her a lot. After getting her Sociology degree and seeing all the entrepreneurs from her classes she realized the potential she had to become the great entrepreneur she is today. Tune in for more!
Growing up in Seattle
Culture shock moving to Chicago
How Sociology influences her as a founder
The story of starting ZipFit
The ins and outs of finding investors
Her new Youtube series, Get Shit Done
How she is helping other Female Entrepreneurs
Ambition Today Question of the Day™ :
“How do you know when it is time for a change, and when you recognize it, how do you push it forward?”
The Single Greatest Piece of Advice:
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Quote Of The Episode:
“You have to give yourself oxygen first… if you don’t have oxygen for yourself, nothing else can work.”
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Mitch Wainer: Bringing an Infectious Energy to the Marketing World
We are exploring the marketing world on today’s episode, with our special guest, Mitch Wainer. He is the creative marketing leader with many accomplishments such as Co-Founding Digital Ocean and being the Chief Marketing Officer at Clubhouse, a project management platform for software teams that provide the perfect balance of simplicity and structure. Mitch is an active advisor and speaker on entrepreneurship and growth marketing to the startup community
Mitch Wainer, Chief Marketing Officer at Clubhouse
We are exploring the marketing world on today’s episode, with our special guest, Mitch Wainer. He is the creative marketing leader with many accomplishments such as Co-Founding Digital Ocean and being the Chief Marketing Officer at Clubhouse, a project management platform for software teams that provide the perfect balance of simplicity and structure. Mitch is an active advisor and speaker on entrepreneurship and growth marketing to the startup community
Mitch grew up with a great family support system, that he feels is an important part in his entrepreneurial success. He graduated with a degree in Marketing from Northeastern. Short after graduating college, he found himself sitting in board meetings with seasoned professionals, trying to convince them that Facebook and Social Media is the way of the future. Listen in to find out more about Mitch and his success
High school and college years
Family Support System
Teaching himself how to build websites
Mitch’s first start out of college
Being a part of the Ask Jason podcast
Co-founding Digital Ocean
Mitch’s role at Clubhouse
Marketing then compared to marketing now
Ambition Today Question of the Day™ :
“Do you travel often, how important is travel for you, how do you balance time for those new experiences and get shit done as a founder?”
The Single Greatest Piece of Advice:
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Quote Of The Episode:
“The support system around you is a key ingredient to being successful”
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Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
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Brian Pasalich Is Setting The Foundation For Financial Health And Wellbeing
Growing up in an immigrant family, Brian Pasalich lived in Chicago, Croatia and even a small town in Montana all by the age of 13, which has allowed Pasalich to have a deeper understanding of the different walks of life that people face. This combined with a passion for helping people led him to his career in financial planning. He is the founder of Foundational as well as the Vice President of MassMutual.
Brian Pasalich, Founder of Foundational
Growing up in an immigrant family, Brian Pasalich lived in Chicago, Croatia and even a small town in Montana all by the age of 13, which allowed him to have a deeper understanding of the different walks of life that people face. This combined with a passion for helping people led him to his career in financial planning. He is now the founder of Foundational, a consumer-mindset driven platform for financial health and wellbeing
Since a young age, Brian’s passion has been helping others. In his career, he has been a volunteer EMT, a flight paramedic with the Army Reserve, serving on two SWAT teams, and a civilian flight paramedic for a trauma center. He majored in Microbiology at the University of Montana before finding his passion for helping people through financial planning and serving as a Mentor with Founder Institute. Listen in to find out about Brian’s unique experiences and how it has helped him help others:
- Being a SWAT flight paramedic
- Majoring in Microbiology at University of MT
- How his failing business was the best thing that happened to him
- Creating Foundational.co
- Being a part of MassMutual team
- Mentoring at Founder Institute New York
- Being on the board for Marriage Equality
- Staying active in the LGBT community
- How health and fitness is a major part of his life
Ambition Today Question of the Day™ :
“Why does family matter, and how do you balance your personal life with your work life?
The Single Greatest Piece of Advice:
Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list!
Quote Of The Episode:
“Name one goal you can accomplish without money”
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Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
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Matt Britton Is Changing The Face Of Consumer Intelligence For The Millennial Generation With Suzy
As a serial entrepreneur, Matt Britton has successfully acquired and sold many companies at the perfect time. He is most known for his important role in creating MRY (Mr. Youth) and Suzy.
Matt Britton, Found of Suzy
As a serial entrepreneur, Matt Britton has successfully acquired and sold many companies at the perfect time. He is most known for his important role in creating MRY (Mr. Youth) and Suzy. MRY is a digital and social media marketing agency that helps companies market to the youth, which is tomorrow’s future leaders. His latest venture, Suzy, is a consumer intelligence platform which helps bring the voice of real consumers directly to brands.
Now known as America’s leading expert on the Millennial Generation, Britton’s entrepreneurial spirit all started because of parties believe it or not. He ran 5 to 7 parties a week, and local businesses started to take notice. They would ask him to advertise their business during the parties, which led him to create his first business venue, Magma Group. This was just the beginning for Britton, listen to hear more of his great story:
- How Magma Group came about
- The meaning behind “Magma”
- Creating MRY, Mr. Youth
- How MRY got Microsoft as their customer
- How Suzy was developed
- His book, “Youth Nation”
- Being a serial entrepreneur
- Being an investor
Ambition Today Question of the Day™ :
“You have started several companies over the years, what is being a serial entrepreneur mean to you?.”
The Single Greatest Piece of Advice:
Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list!
Quote Of The Episode:
“Ninety-nine percent of decisions made in business have no data behind it”
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Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
Transcript:
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Adam Tishman, Bringing Customization To Your Sleep
Do you have to be an expert on a product in order to become a successful entrepreneur? Let’s ask today's guest, Adam Tishman. He is a New Yorker through and through, growing up in Manhattan helped his independence from a young age before becoming the co-founder of Helix Sleep.
Adam Tishman, Co-Founder of Helix Sleep
Do you have to be an expert on a product in order to become a successful entrepreneur? Let’s ask today's guest, Adam Tishman. Tishman is a New Yorker through and through, growing up in Manhattan helped his independence from a young age. He received his Bachelors Degree at Princeton in History before he decided to pursue an MBA where he met his co-founders of Helix Sleep.
Tishman knew he wanted to be a successful entrepreneur one day, however, he never thought it would be in mattresses. Knowing that mattress buying was confusing, expensive and hard for a lot of consumers, Tishman and his co-founders knew there had to be a better way. Listen for more details on how they have developed an amazing product, and what lead to Tishman's success:
- Born and raised in NY
- Growing up with a metro card
- Obtaining a BA at Princeton
- Tishman’s early on careers
- Meeting his co-founders
- How Helix Sleep came about
- The research behind Helix
- How sleep is innovative and necessary
- The meaning behind the name “Helix”
Ambition Today Question of the Day™ :
As an entrepreneur: How important is sleep to you?
The Single Greatest Piece of Advice:
Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list!
Quote Of The Episode:
“As you build your business, it is not just product at the end of the day, it is also the vision that you have and the story that you tell.”
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Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
Transcript:
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Wes Schaeffer, The Sales Whisperer On Truly Knowing Your Customer
A successful entrepreneur, speaker, and father of 7, Wes Schaeffer is the person you seek when you want to generate more sales. Wes Schaeffer is a marketing strategist and is known as The Sales Whisperer. He grew up in Houston, TX, served in the Air Force, graduated from A&M and became a successful salesman.
Wes Schaeffer, The Sales Whisperer
A successful entrepreneur, TED speaker, and father of seven, Wes Schaeffer is the person you seek when you want to generate more sales. Wes Schaeffer is a marketing strategist and is best known as The Sales Whisperer. He grew up in Houston, TX, served in the Air Force, graduated from A&M and became a successful salesman.
Although he had the income and personal life he wanted, he wasn’t happy with his job, which is when he became decided to become the Sales Whisperer. Wes's analogy of being a sales whisperer came to him after some inspiration from the dog whisperer. Some dogs have behavior issues but the reality is that their trainers don’t have the proper training to enable them to be successful pets. Just like how sales leaders come to him with lack of training and sometimes incorrect sales tactics, it is Wes’ job to help them learn a better and more efficient way. Listen to our podcast to hear more about Wes’ insights!
- Growing up in Houston and life in the U.S. Air Force
- Knowing when to switch gears
- The start of his career and transition to entrepreneurship
- Common sales leadership do's and do not's
- How he started The Sales Whisperer
- Breaking down Wes' Ted Talk
- Maintaining work-life balance with a big family
Ambition Today Question of the Day™ :
How do you maintain work-life balance to ensure you get time with your family?
The Single Greatest Piece of Advice:
Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list!
Quote Of The Episode:
“If you have seven priorities, you have none.”
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Listen to this episode now:
The A-List
Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned!
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Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
Transcript:
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Why Sean Ellis, Co-Author of Hacking Growth, Optimizes For Reputation And Learning
In 2010 Sean Ellis coined the term Growth Hacking and now he joins us on Ambition Today. Sean is the Co-author of Hacking Growth with Morgan Brown and currently the CEO of Growth Hackers.
Sean Ellis
In 2010 Sean Ellis coined the term Growth Hacking and now he joins us on Ambition Today. Sean is the Co-author of Hacking Growth with Morgan Brown and currently the CEO of Growth Hackers.
Sean has had quite an impressive career both as a marketer and as an entrepreneur. He was the first marketer at Dropbox, Lookout and Xobni and he has taken companies LogMeIn and Uproar from launch to IPO. Sean is also known for popularizing the term product/market fit. We cover some of Sean's best practices for growing your company, as well as how he thinks of Growth Hacking as it continues to grow into the future. The story of Sean's entrepreneurial journey unlocks numerous insights along the way, including:
- What is "Growth Hacking"
- The role of family entrepreneurship on Sean
- The value of spending time abroad
- Being the first marketer at Dropbox, Lookout, & Eventbrite
- How pushing through the fear of failure has lead to success
- Making the leap from employee to entrepreneur
- Optimizing for reputation and learning over money
- How business teams need to be thinking about Growth
- The value of having a chip on your shoulder
Ambition Today Question of the Day™:
"What excites you? What motivates you to keep going?"
The Single Greatest Piece of Advice Sean Has Ever Learned:
Join the Ambition Today A-list to listen now!
Quote Of The Episode:
"For me, the two big motivating factors were reputation and learning. I wanted to build a reputation because that would open the door to the best learning opportunities."
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Listen to this episode now:
Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned!
Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
You can find the full transcript of this episode here.
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