The word “goal” is used so frequently that it can be easy to forget how vital having goals is to success. Of all the executive skills we teach as part of our Aurora Ripple Enterprises training program, goal setting is the most important.

We set long-term objectives that can take anywhere from one to five years for us to hit, but then break those down into quarterly, monthly, weekly, and even daily action steps. This may sound like a lot of work, but by following this process we know exactly what to do every day to bring us closer to our vision of the future.

Using this strategy also keeps our motivation high, because we experience small wins every day. If the only time we could celebrate victory was in the distant future, it would be easy to lose steam. This is not a recipe for success though; high levels of enthusiasm are what’s required to power through obstacles and achieve victory, no matter the challenges.

Another Aurora Ripple Enterprises tip when it comes to goals is using vertical alignment. We make sure our individual targets line up with the company’s long-term, mid-range, and short-term aims. In this way, without spending any more energy than we would on our own careers, we’re contributing to the success of the team as well. Talk about a win/win!

Goals are more than just a buzzword in our office. Like Aurora Ripple Enterprises on Facebook to learn more about how we set and achieve milestones.