Think binary for clarity

“To grow!” he responded confidently to my question about the primary objective of his business in 2015.

I dug deeper. “What part of the business do you want to grow and by how much?”

There was a pause. “I’m not really sure, exactly,” he said. “I just want to grow.”

H.L. Hunt, the billionaire Texas oil tycoon, was asked in a television interview what advice he would give others to help them achieve financial success. In his response he stated that only two things were required: “First, you must decide exactly what it is you want to accomplish. Most people never do that in their entire lives. And, second, you must determine the price you’ll have to pay to get it and resolve to pay that price.”

Like many other business owners, you want to grow your business, have more meetings with potential customers and get more leads. You likely want to see bigger profits and reduced overhead. But, unless you define these goals with clarity and specificity, you’ll live with fuzziness instead.

Fuzzy goals allow you to waffle as to whether they have achieved.

In my own life, when I am fuzzy with my goals, I find myself in chaos and frustration. Conversely, when I have clarified my goal, I become like a heat-seeking missile to achieve it. Yes, I am off course some of the time, but the clarified goal gives me the coordinates, which help me to recalibrate my actions back to it on a regular basis.

One simple way to help you achieve clarity is to define your goals in binary terms. That means if anyone asked if you had achieved the goal, you could only respond with a yes or a no; maybe is not an option.

Did you gross $100,000 in revenue last month? Yes or no?

Did you get 100 new leads in the last month? Yes or no?

Did you have 20 face-to-face meetings with prospects?

Did you realize a 17 percent profit margin?

Did you reduce overhead by 2 percent?

These questions all require you to have a binary answer.

Are your goals for the new year clear or fuzzy? Do you know exactly what you want to achieve or accomplish? Are your goals binary in terms of confirming their achievement?

Clearly defining your goals means that you’ve covered the first half of H.L. Hunt’s success formula. That leaves the second half: the determination and resolution required to achieve your goals.

Here’s to you and your success!

Tom Adams is an executive coach and strategic advisor to RIM service companies. Check out his Thrive in 5 videos at www.TomAdams.com.