Are you a Goal Setter? Do you have a list of what you want to accomplish, whether it is a Bucket list for travel, sales and business goals, or goals for your personal life? And how is that going this year? I spend time around my birthday every year setting goals for the following year. So far my dream trip to Croatia has been canceled, my goal of running a 5K by June first became impossible and my plan of getting to my goal weight has morphed into ‘try not to eat ice cream every night.”
So you are not alone if the lofty goals you set for yourself for 2020 aren’t going to work this year. But challenging times require flexibility. And since we set our goals, we can also change them to reflect our new realities.
Goal Setting for Tourism Professionals
I recently did an online webinar for Circle Michigan on Goal Setting and Productivity Tips. As I developed the program, I created a new format of goal setting for Tourism Professionals. We are affected by current events more than most industries and that calls for a new way of thinking and moving forward. I thought I would share this new format with you today.
T.O.U.R.I.S.M. Goals
Teach Others How to Set Goals
You are leaders in your organization and in your community. People look up to you. When you set goals you are planning your future. You think about how to accomplish these goals and you force yourself to take action in order to achieve them. That’s pretty much the key to success in life. If you take the time to show others why it is important to set goals, and how to take steps to achieve them, you are improving the workplace and the tourism community at large.
Research shows that goal-setting is linked to increased self-confidence and motivation. And having someone to be accountable to helps you be more successful as this article shows. Offer to be that support for someone.
Only Pick a Few
This year is challenging enough. Don’t make it harder. Just pick a few key goals to aim for this year. Your future self will thank you.
Use Big Picture Thinking
Did you know that some of the world’s most successful innovations and biggest companies were created in difficult times? When nothing is the same as it was in January 2020, we can either wring our hands in despair or start thinking in new ways.
A college professor of mine told us how he would get employees to figure out new ways to handle a problem. He would tell the group ” If we had to make this work, what would it look like? ” Everyone would agree it would never work. He would ask ” I know this won’t work, but if it had to, what could it look like” Everyone would still shake their head. A third time he would ask ” If this had to work, what would it look like? And that is when a few people would raise their hands with tentative ideas. And the process would flow from there.
We need big ideas, and things that wouldn’t have worked in the past might be the perfect solution now.
Reset your Mindset
I got this phrase from a book of the same name by my business coach Natalie Eckdahl. She coaches women entrepreneurs and taught us that feeling like a failure and feeling defeated is part of the human condition. We are allowed to feel sorry for ourselves for 24 hours, and then we have to “Shut down Funkytown” and Reset our Mindset! You can do it too!
Include Rewards Along the Way
Our brains work better and we stay motivated if we get small rewards as we make progress towards a goal. How many of you have ever potty trained a child? I know I can’t be the only parent that rewarded small successes with little treats! Every time I get a new client in my Online Tourism Training Program, I buy myself a little gift like a candle or a necklace. It keeps me motivated and I bet it will work for you too!
Sales is always a goal
We need to bring money in so having a goal that tracks revenue is important. Maybe one of your big picture ideas will create a new revenue stream. Always have a goal that supports increasing revenue.
Mini goals are ok
Just like the earlier idea that fewer goals are ok in 2020, so are smaller goals. We are all under a lot of stress. Don’t add to it with a lofty goal this year. Sometimes just getting to the finish line is enough; you don’t have to try to be first. Instead of ” I will make 10 sales calls a day” how about ” I will make at least 3 sales calls a day.” That way you still move forward, and on a great day, you can reach for 10.
Want some T.O.U.R.I.S.M Goal setting help? Head over to Tourism Pro Academy. I have created a free downloadable worksheet to help you and your team. Click here to head to the Free Resources area.
Are you free at noon E.S.T today- June 2nd?
Join me on a Facebook Live with Jennifer of Groups Today. We will be talking about ways to ‘Continue your Career from your Couch’. For those of you who have participated in my webinar version of this topic, I would love to have you join and let us know if you have worked on any of the ideas we discussed! Here is the direct link to the Groups Today Facebook page. Hope to see you there!
How can I help you in June 2020?
DMO’s – Are you looking for ways to provide some value to your members during this time? Would you like to offer a free webinar that I will host? Join organizations such as
- SYTA,
- Circle Michigan,
- Happy Valley Adventure Bureau
- Pennsylvania Bus Association, and
- Visit Baton Rouge who have hired me already this year to educate and inform their members.
- Click here for additional information on the Online Tourism Training Program.
Your organization can choose from “Continue your Career from your Couch” or “5 Steps to get More Group Tours”. I offer 3 spots a month for free webinars – and there are still 2 spots in June and 2 in July. Hit reply to this email and let’s get you scheduled!
My Online Tourism Training Program helps DMOs/CVBs educate their partners in this changing environment. Partners can join from their homes or offices, and all the webinars are recorded so you can build a resource library and increase professionalism. I would be honored to help your destination!
Can I ask a favor?
Could you share this post with at least 2 of your colleagues who would benefit from reading it? And then they can sign up here to receive my posts directly to their inbox. Thank you!