BY DR. Clyde Rivers & Dr. Donella Pitzl

In our last article, as a potential successful businessperson, you were challenged to a second step in moving into the successful business realm.

Winning in business is having a plan. This article continues to move you in that direction. Remember, God created you to be successful and not just be led about by another. That battle is won or lost in your thoughts.

Remember, �To be a successful businessperson you have to believe you can be one,� as I stated in the last issue. I also mentioned the need to strategize regarding your ideas. Again, the English word strategy means a plan of action to achieve an overall aim.

Goals and strategies are vital to winning in business! Success does not happen by sitting by and letting others lead you. If you don't know where you are going, that's where you'll be�Nowhere!! In order for you to succeed in business and life, you must know where you are going.

Goals are the end results that you are working towards and strategies are the steps you use to reach the goals. The Word of God says that, �Without vision, people perish.�

Everyone needs something to focus on. Let me give you steps to sharpen your focus. Taking the ideas you are documenting since our last article, write down 2 goals that you would like to accomplish for each idea. These written goals (ideas) should be specific, realistic, and be made with a deadline for completion as much as possible. These business goals should motivate you to work harder and stay focused.

The next step is to write out 3 strategies for each goal that will help you achieve each of your goals. Strategies should be small, creative steps that you can obtain in a timely manner to help propel you toward success.

For example, if my goal is to sell 50 items so I can be the top sales person in my company this year, my strategies could be to spend 2 hours per week researching new clients, markets and businesses, make contact with 3 potential new clients per week, and to make at least one sell per week.

These strategies would help me reach my goal - the top seller. Achieving my goals weekly would motivate me to stay focused but would also keep me on track to achieving excellence.

Evaluating how I am doing on my weekly strategies would also allow me to modify my plan if necessary. Goals and strategies are excellent tools that lead to winning in business! Keep moving forward there is more to come.
Dr. Rivers and Dr. Pitzl are renowned businesss strategists, motivational speakers and authors.