CS 113 W ELCOME TO W EEK 7/U NIT 7 Academic Strategies for Business Professionals Leticia Apolinaris A GENDA FOR S EMINAR U NIT 7 Reading Setting Goals Strategic Road Map SMART Goals Networking Discussion Board Review of Interview Assignment Seminar Case Study Conclusion M AN IS A GOAL SEEKING ANIMAL. H IS LIFE ONLY HAS MEANING IF HE IS REACHING OUT AND STRIVING FOR HIS GOALS. A RISTOTLE W HY SET GOALS ? Focus Motivation Benchmarks Rewards Accountability W HY SET GOALS ? Suffer less stress and anxiety Concentrate and remember better Demonstrate greater self-confidence Perform better and achieve more Be happier and more satisfied S ETTING L ONG T ERM G OALS Before you say "my goal is to retire to the Caribbean," it is important to take stock and analyze your situation from a different perspective. While you may truly be able to retire to the Caribbean, HOW will you do that? A new job? A higher income? Less responsibilities? S TRATEGIC R OAD M AP Vision Strategy Goals O UTCOME G OALS VS. P ERFORMANCE G OALS Did you get the job you set your sights on? Did you create something? Did you finish a task? Did you finish specific tasks on the way to a goal? Did you discover new things while working toward a goal? Did some of the steps taken result in something of value? SPECIFIC GOALS Setting something in concrete is good Events Dollars $$ Being a Participant Demographics We are sharpening our focus on what we are wanting to accomplish! SMART G OALS A useful way of making goals more powerful is to use the SMART mnemonic. While there are plenty of variants, SMART usually stands for: S Specific M Measurable A Attainable R Relevant T Time-bound For example, instead of having to sail around the world as a goal, it is more powerful to say To have completed my trip around the world by December 31, 2015. Obviously, this will only be attainable if a lot of preparation has been completed beforehand! Attainable Goals Realistic is good! Stretching is . Better! Reportable Goals Communication is the key Keep your promises! Time Based Goals Deadlines are motivating and good Celebrate your achievements You may set a date to stop working overtime. You may set a date to ask for contract work instead of salary. You should plan activities that are spent with family and no work interruptions. Whatever your goals they should be clear steps to achieving your long term goal: spending more time with family. 6 S TEPS TO C REATING A CHIEVABLE G OALS : With every goal you must follow the 6 Ps: Prioritize : You may have several goals. Prioritize them on your list. Positive : Use positive language. "I will ", "Ill be", "Ill have" Precise : Be precise. "I will have supper with my family three nights a week" rather than "I will be home earlier" Performance : Measure your performance. Set time for starting and completing your goal. "May 1 I will be home at 5:30 three nights this week" Practical : Make your goals practical. Do you have the control to make this work or do you rely on other people to meet your goal? Personal : Is this goal a personal goal or someone elses desire for you? Here is the goal setting method I suggest: 1. Have a BIG GOAL to strive for. 2. Break it into a series of smaller goals. 3. Break the smaller goals down into monthly and weekly goals. 4. Break them down further into daily goals. Why might we not meet our goals? Lets Discuss There can be many reasons why we may fail to achieve a goal: 1. Lack of commitment 2. They have lost interest and motivation in the goal 3. Feel overwhelmed, frustrated or disappointed 4. Lack of standards against which to monitor their progress 5. Are not able to acquire the required skills and knowledge necessary for achievement of their goal. 6. Lack of discipline, persistence and determination 7. They are not able to maintain their focus on the goal 8. Lack of energy and enthusiasm while pursuing goals. Lets Discuss The Case Study of Lara Lara is a stay-at-home, married mother of two small children. The past few years have been financially difficult for the family, so Lara has decided to go back to school to get a good paying job and help support her family. She would like a career that allows her to stay at home with Her children as much as possible. Her goals right now are to get in and out of college quickly and start earning money as soon as possible. Lara is into arts and crafts and has always been interested in starting her own business to sell them. Although she has no prior experience or knowledge about owning a business, she frequents craft shops and fairs and has some knowledge of what other people sell. She has decided to go back to school to become an entrepreneur. Question 1: Did Lara identify both her long-term and her short-term goals, and did she plan appropriate steps to achieve them? Question 2: How would you help Lara craft a set of goals in terms of becoming an entrepreneur that fit with the S.M.A.R.T (specific, measurable, action- oriented, realistic, and timed) approach? Question 3: How would talking to a shop owner or other entrepreneur help Lara formulate her own goals? The Discussion Forum for Week 7/Unit 7 Students are to post a minimum of three posts per discussion thread. One initial response and two replies to their classmates Posting on a minimum of three different days, for example: Wednesday, Friday and Monday The first post must be made by Saturday no exceptions (but the sooner the better). Be Substantive. Use 100 words minimum for each of the three required responses. Say something meaningful! Add Value! Spelling, Grammar, punctuation all matter. You will lose points for misspelled or misused words, poor grammar or incorrect punctuation including capitalization. You will respond to either A or B: Item A. Describe a situation where you set a goal and achieved it. How did this accomplishment make you feel? Which elements of S.M.A.R.T. goal setting did you use in this case? What did you learn about goal setting from this experience? Item B. Describe a situation where you set a goal but were not able to accomplish it. How did this make you feel? Which elements of S.M.A.R.T. goal setting did you fail to use in this case? What did you learn about goal setting from this experience? U NIT 7 A SSIGNMEN T The Interview with a Professional will be turned in during Unit 8; however, you will need to plan ahead and make this one of your short-term goals in order to be successful. Note that there is no Project due this week so that you will have the time to plan and get the interview completed before Unit 8. Follow the three steps to plan and prepare for your interview N ETWORKING Be sure to check out : Networking Basics And Networking Tips H OW DID YOU FIND YOUR LAST JOB ? Networking is by far the way that most people find work. Who you meet and keep in touch with today may be your boss or co-worker tomorrow! Take care of those relationships! N ETWORKING TAKES EFFORT Choose wisely! Be honest and forthright ! Be proactive about building a network! Be visible! Be Dependable! Likeable! Helpful! Ready and Willing! F IRST S TOP : The Unit 8 Interviewee! Questions??