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Education

Meanwhile, improving by 1 percent going to do it. It needs to be measurable and time bound.
isn't particularly notable—sometimes
it isn't even noticeable—but it can be 2. The goal must be challenging but achievable. You will work harder
far more meaningful, especially in for tough but realistic goals than for easy goals that pose no challenge or
the long run. The difference a tiny impossible goals that can never be attained.
improvement can make over time is
astounding. 3. The goal should be framed in terms of getting what you want rather than
avoiding what you do not want. Approach goals are positive experiences
Here's how the math works out: if you that you seek directly. Avoidance goals are unpleasant experiences that
can get 1 percent better each day for you hope to avoid. People who frame their goals in approach terms have
one year, you'll end up 37 times better much better results in accomplishing their goals.
by the time you're done. Conversely, if
you get 1 percent worse each day for I recommend setting goals or targets for 90-day sprints that are in alignment
one year, you'll decline nearly down with one-year goals. Longer term, it's great to envision three years, five years
to zero. What starts as a small win and a big vision of 10 years or further in the future, but for execution, you must
or a minor setback accumulates into stay focused on producing results in a shorter time frame.
something much more (see Figure 1).
Here's the formula for success: clarity of purpose + clear outcomes + consistent
Jim Rohn put it this way: "Success is daily action. Your goals and dreams need to get your blood pumping, create
a few simple disciplines, practiced excitement and drive you to action.
every day; while failure is simply
a few errors in judgment, repeated Marc Beauchamp is author of Survive and Thrive in the Merchant Services Industry and founder
every day"
of Bankcard Life, a community for payments professionals. He is offering a free copy of his book
The goal study to all payments professionals at www.bankcardlife.com/greensheet. Marc welcomes your com-
ments and feedback at marcb@surviveandthrive.biz.
In 1979 Harvard studied a graduating
MBA class, asking a single question.
Have you set written goals and
created a plan for their attainment?
Before graduation it was determined
that: 84 percent of the class had not REIMAGINE THE ART OF USAEPAY.COM
set goals of any kind; 13 percent had 866-570-2051
written goals but no plan to achieve
them; and 3 percent of the class had TRANSACTION
written goals and plans to achieve RETAIL E-COMMERCE MOBILEOBILE
M
them.
The results? 10 years later, the 13
percent that had written goals
but no plan to achieve them were
making twice as much money as
the 84 percent that had no set goals.
But astonishingly, the 3 percent that
had both written goals and a plan to
achieve them were making 10 times
more than 97 percent of the class.

Another study conducted by several
well-known doctors demonstrated
that goals are more likely to improve
performance when three conditions
are met.

1. The goal must be specific and
measurable. Defining a goal as
doing the best you can is as bad
as having no goal at all. You need
to be specific about what you are
going to do and by when you are

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