Every year around this time, people make resolutions geared toward improving themselves in the New Year. The question is, is it the right one? Setting goals is important, but this attitude I believe sets you up for failure. I bet you didn’t know that only eight percent of people succeed in or stick to their New Year’s Resolution.

So how should you set goals for the New Year?

Step one: quit setting goals just for the New Year. Don’t just wait for the New Year to come around. Instead, you should be constantly setting goals, tweaking them, and striving for more. I feel the premise of a New Year’s resolution sets you up for failure because it implies a serious change and yearlong commitment. We should be constantly setting goals, not just once a year.

Do you know what the most important part of setting a goal is?

If you guessed planning, then you are correct. The planning stage is where most people fall flat when it comes to setting goals. Think about it, when is the last time you set a goal and came up with a concrete plan to execute said goal? I have a feeling most people will say never. If this is how you set goals, then how are you ever going to accomplish said goal?

Let’s say your goal is to goal is to grow my revenue by 50% in the next year. Well how are you going to accomplish this, and is it realistic? Start by reviewing what you currently have going on, this way you know what you need to improve. Then make a plan by setting smaller goals that build towards the larger one.

So, in all reality, you should not only be setting goals, you should also be making plans for how you will accomplish the goals you have set. Plans answer the “How?”, which is most important part for accomplishing the “What?”.

So as you can see, goals and plans go hand in hand; you can’t succeed at one without the other. Pablo Picasso put it best when he said, “Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” If you live by this quote, I have no doubt that no goal is too high or too far out of reach.

Goal setting, in my opinion, is the most important part of a successful organization. Without it, you are doomed to fail or spin your wheels. However, if you don’t plan on how to reach your goals you are again doomed to fail. So make sure you are constantly setting new goals while always planning on how to achieve them.