Hi and welcome to Mad Dog Leadership.  This new year is the start of a new series for me and my blog – 31 Days to a Better Leader.  Join me for the month of January where we will learn leadership lessons and apply them to our lives to accomplish our vision for 2011.

I want to take a different look at setting goals for 2011.  Recently, Seth Godin posted his #YearInReview What did you ship in 2010? That made me think.  Not what did I do in 2010, but what do I want to do in 2011?  Our first lesson is to be begin with the end in mind.  If we start a project or anything in 2011 we need to first think…”what do I want the outcome to be?”

When I am about to give a talk with high school students or anyone about leadership I ask myself, “What do I want my audience to take away from our time together?”  Asking this question helps me frame up my speaking points.  You can use this for anything you do.  When you give a presentation at work ask yourself,  “what do I want this presentation to do?” It could be to get a decision on your project or get funding for a project.  Identify whatever you want done and then craft your presentation or talk to get that end goal.

Now back to 2011. It is Saturday so you may be looking forward to some good football today. I know I am.  What do you want to accomplish in 2011?  This time next year what do you want to sit back and say…that was cool I did that.   What do you want to say in your  2011 Year In Review?

Here are some of mine:

Fill my auditorium to 500 people: To me right now my auditorium is empty except for a few people who come in and out of “my auditorium”.  Thank you if you come and listen.   The way I think about it is my auditorium is this blog. It is my virtual classroom where I teach.  I want to deliver content to people that will help them run their business better and help people achieve their goals.

Become 50 pounds lighter: I have already started this one. I have a plan through 2011 to lose some weight and become more active.

Mentor 10 people: Part of leadership is mentoring people.  There are several ways to get involved with this at work, church, schools and even prison systems.

Those are my main goals for 2011.  Notice how I was specific in naming the amount of something I wanted to achieve.  500 people, 50 pounds, 10 people, you need to push yourself  and be specific with your vision.   I would suggest you share your goals or vision with 2011 with close family and friends – this will help make it real and give you some accountability in achieving your end vision for 2011.

If you blog. please post your comments below and a link to your end vision for 2011. It is going to be fun this year growing together and helping each other fulfill our visions for 2011.

Thanks for reading.

Photo by Rhys Alton