A Process for Aligning Your Personal and Professional Goals

Given that the average new entrepreneur puts in over 60 hours per week and has family responsibilities to consider, you may experience goal conflicts in your life. This conflict could be a recipe for burnout if you’re unclear about your direction and what it takes to get there.

First, it takes stepping back and asking a bigger question: what do you want out of life? I often get a blank stare or the business owner will say, “I’ve never even considered that question.” Like any good recipe, it boils down to making sure that your personal and professional goals are compatible with your desired outcome.

Second, define your life vision. A life vision keeps you focused on your direction so that when you get off track, you begin to immediately recognize it and make course corrections. It also creates a foundation for the entrepreneur. It’s often not what the vision is as much as it is what the vision does. When an entrepreneur truly integrates their vision, it acts as a guide and influences their actions and choices.

Third, set a life strategy. The process of creating a life strategy includes integration over time of personal and business goals. Unless you unify your goals to your strategy, there may be conflict between the goals and your direction. At the end of a career, if all you have to show for it is a chaotic schedule and large net worth but you’re a stranger to your family and you have poor health, you will end up asking yourself if it was all worth it.
To begin, ask yourself:
What’s most important in life? Then use that question and apply it through four main filters: Internal, External, Financial, and Developmental.
What’s most important in the life I want to create - Internally (you, your family),
What’s most important in the life I want to create -Externally (your career/business)
What’s most important in the life I want to create -Financially (related around income), and
What’s most important in the life I want to create - Developmentally (what needs to be developed, your personal development, etc.)
These filters can get you jump started on your strategy and help you think through your direction.
Fourth, identify your stakeholders. With inclusion of all stakeholders up front, you can decide which stakeholders are most important to you and who you want to contribute to your plan. These stakeholders will benefit through their relationship with you and help you create your desired life.
When you have completed the vision, strategy and outlined the stakeholders, you can begin to identify your personal and professional goals that support the strategy. When you put the goals side by side, you can instantly identify where your personal and professional goals are congruent and begin to create your desired personal and professional life.