How to set ambitious business goals and achieve them

“Is my business moving in the right direction? Am I setting the right goals? — these are the questions entrepreneurs ask at different stages of developing their own business. One of the tools that will help make the company’s progress systemic can be OKR (Objectives and Key Results, “Goals and Key Results”) - a goal setting system developed by Intel.

Its key difference from others is flexibility. Many companies plan their work a year in advance, and this, as a rule, ends with the plan being hopelessly outdated. OKR follows an agile ideology in which goals and results are regularly reviewed. This usually happens once a quarter, but many companies adapt the system to their own needs and additionally implement weekly and annual OKRs.

The system owes its popularity to former Intel employee and venture investor John Doerr. Today this method is used in many well-known IT companies, including GoogleHow Google sets goals: OKRs, LinkedInThe Management Framework that Propelled LinkedIn to a $20 Billion Company and others.

To start working on OKRs, you need:

1. Start preparing employees 3–4 months before the transition to a new planning system to make it easier. Hold meetings, webinars, recommend suitable literature and try to implement OKR at the level of corporate culture.
2. Formulate goals.
3. Define results.
4. Monitor implementation and adjust goals.

What is ambition

This word has many definitions. For example, in Ozhegov’s dictionary it has a negative connotation, because in Russian culture modesty has always been valued, and ambitious people were considered tyrants who needed to be ridiculed and belittled in every possible way. According to Ozhegov’s dictionary, ambition is closely related to the following character traits:

1. Heightened self-esteem.
2. Arrogance.
3. Swagger.
4. Arrogance.

However, in Western society this character quality is considered positive, primarily because it helps achieve goals and happiness. The main thing is that it does not develop into arrogance and contempt for other people.

In the West, employers value such people very much: they are able to generate income for the company, and high wages allow them to please their pride.

Previously, the majority of the population in Russia was the working class. This is why ambition was a bad quality. Now there are quite a lot of entrepreneurs in our country, and the business world does not tolerate unambitious people. At the present stage, the attitude towards this quality has changed for the better.

First of all, this concept is associated with the desire to achieve one’s goals, no matter what. If someone wakes up every morning with the thought that they need to change their life for the better, they have great ambitions. However, quite often such people have no idea how they can achieve their desires.

With ambition, people often set themselves impossible goals and suffer because of it. For example, an employee has a salary of 35 thousand rubles. If he sets a goal to have an income of 50 thousand rubles by next year, it will be quite achievable. An ambitious goal is an income of 100 thousand rubles in a few months. Of course, some will be able to achieve this goal, but not all. And when it is set, the individual himself does not believe in achievement, but ambitions take precedence over common sense.

How to formulate results

Once you have decided on your goals, you can start working on the results. If goals motivate and indicate the general direction of work, then the results should be as specific and measurable as possible. These are working tools and metrics.

It is also important to maintain moderation with them: each goal can have up to five results. Otherwise, you will be wasting your efforts. For example, you have an online store and you want to improve your email newsletter with offers for users. You set an ambitious goal: “To create the most profitable newsletter on the RuNet.” In this case the results will be as follows:

1. Increase email open rates to 70%.
2. Increase sales from each mailing to 20,000 rubles.
3. Increase the number of purchases in each newsletter to 50.
4. Win the competition “The most profitable mailing list on the Runet.”

Key results also have several important criteria to consider.

Measurability

No numbers - no results! If abstract constructions are still possible when drawing up goals, then this is unacceptable when forming results.

Confirmability

The result must first of all be achievable. If you cannot confidently say that at one moment you achieved what you wanted, then there is no point in setting such a result.

Compactness

One result - one metric. If you try to put everything in the world into the formulation, it will not lead to anything good.

Character traits

Many people are interested in what an ambitious person is like and what is characteristic of him. He has the following character traits:

1. Persistence.
2. Self-confidence.
3. Demanding on people.
4. Positive thinking.
5. High level of aspiration.

Such people, no matter what, go towards their goal. Of course, there are often various obstacles along the way, but this does not stop them. The only thing that can stop them is moral standards. There are situations when in order to achieve a goal it is necessary to violate moral standards. This stops some people, but not others. It all depends on upbringing.

Achieving results is impossible without self-confidence and self-confidence. However, ambition implies development into self-confidence: a person may not sincerely believe in achieving his goal, but set himself up for the fact that he will achieve it.

He will constantly tell his friends or acquaintances about his plans and that he is already having his first successes. However, most often we are talking only about upcoming successes. If a person has ambitions, he will demand respect and respect for himself. Even if he is nothing, ambition will take its toll. He may be offended or even angry at adequate criticism addressed to him. It is very important for him that everyone has a good opinion of him and does not dare say anything bad.

Self-confidence is closely related to positive thinking. Even if everything is bad, the individual will not give up and give up. He will move forward and come up with new tasks for himself. However, over time, if nothing works out, he may lose interest in the goal. He has very high self-esteem and demands on people, life and attitude towards himself, and constant failures do not stop him.

A high level of aspirations means strict demands on life. For example, a university graduate with poor academic performance and who does not have any professional skills expects a salary of 100 thousand rubles. Or an unattractive guy who doesn’t know how to communicate with a girl sees himself next to him only as models from the cover of a magazine, and doesn’t even look at ordinary girls who might like him.

“Am I motivated enough?”

Sometimes there will be bad days in your life. You will feel like you are literally giving up. The best way out in such a situation is to find motivation for yourself in order to continue working towards your goal.

Imagine that you have already achieved success, that all your dreams have come true. This picture will be a powerful incentive for you to get back into work.

Negative sides

Many people don't understand what the word ambition means. Quite often they associate something negative with this concept. Of course, this character trait has some disadvantages, but you can’t concentrate only on them.

Thus, some ambitious individuals have the following shortcomings:

1. Arrogance is a negative trait. It’s better to get rid of it, because it pushes people away. Of course, ambition will help you achieve your goals, but why should a person have high results in some field of activity if he is lonely? Don't alienate people if they don't meet your requirements and standards.

2. 
   Distortion of reality. Very often, people with ambitions set too high goals for themselves and greatly exaggerate their capabilities. Of course, you can achieve all your goals. But for this you need to work hard and make enormous efforts on yourself. Ambitious individuals believe that the whole world owes them and sincerely believe in quick results.

3. Very often, ambitious people are stressed and even prone to depression. This happens because their inflated goals are not achieved. Even though they have achieved high results, their goal bar is higher. The thought appears in your head that the goal has not been achieved, and hence stress and bad mood.
4. Perfectionism, on its negative side, can interfere with people's happiness. That is, the result can be achieved, but with minor shortcomings. These shortcomings can spoil the whole picture, and in the head of an ambitious perfectionist the thought arises that the result has not been achieved.
5. After achieving a global goal, you can feel empty and tired. The point is that ambitious people try to prove their exclusivity not only to themselves, but also to others. To avoid this, goals should be based only on personal intentions, and not social standards.

Of course, you shouldn’t regard ambition as an exclusively bad quality. She is very often useful. The main thing is to learn to enjoy small victories and treat other people well, and then the individual will be living proof that ambition is a positive character trait.

It is very important to remember that ambitions should be based only on real achievements and skills. If claims appear out of nowhere, it will play a negative role in understanding oneself and interacting with the world.

“What obstacles await me?”

It doesn’t matter whether you want to open a car repair service, sell flowers or build houses. No matter what business you start, you will inevitably encounter obstacles along the way. It’s good if you imagine in advance what problems you might have. This will help you avoid them or deal with them quickly.

Of course, no one can foresee everything. When you encounter an obstacle, think about why it happened. It is possible that there are flaws in your work that you do not notice. Try to find a weak point and direct all your efforts to correct the situation.

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If you don't see problem areas yourself, invite your team to help identify them. Exchange of ideas, joint problem solving - all this contributes to the unity of the work team.

How to become ambitious

The meaning of the word ambition is the desire to succeed. Despite all the negative aspects of this character trait, it is based on a positive desire. No matter what kind of character a person has, ambition can be developed.

Before developing such a quality in yourself, you need to understand whether it is necessary. Many people have learned to be content with what they have and live happily. However, if someone cannot sit still, but lacks the strength to move forward, they should definitely develop ambition.

To do this you need to take the following steps:

1. Stay alone with yourself and think about your life. Remember all the good and bad situations that influenced your character. You may have to look into your childhood, since ambition develops or is completely destroyed during your school years. When the true reasons for your failures in life are understood, you should begin to work through them.
2. Make a list of unfulfilled goals. This will help you understand your true desires. It is very important to write this text by hand in order to put deep meaning into it.
3. Raising ambition in adults occurs in the same way as in children. If a child is constantly praised for his achievements, he grows up to be confident and ambitious. The task of an adult is to do the same. For example, for some small victory you can reward yourself with a delicious dinner, and for a significant step towards your goal you can reward yourself with a vacation. It is extremely important to receive feedback from other people. The main thing is to talk only about the achieved results, and not about the planned ones. Such a reward system will help cultivate a good attitude towards oneself and work. Living by this principle, it is much easier to achieve your goals.

How to communicate with an ambitious person

Sometimes among your acquaintances you may find a person with high ambitions and with whom it is quite difficult to communicate. If you still want to maintain contact with him, you need to follow certain tips to help improve your relationship.

1. When you are with such a friend, do not mention the success of other people.
2. Don’t talk about your achievements, try not to remember them when an ambitious person is nearby.
3. Point out to your friend his uniqueness, beauty and genius.
4. If you know that this person has some awards for his victories, ask to demonstrate them.

Suitable professions

The choice of profession largely depends not only on professional skills, but also on human qualities. The following professional fields are suitable for an ambitious person:

1. Sales is a business that will “ignite”. Every month there will be a desire to close as many transactions as possible. The employee will bring profit to the company in which he works and receive a good percentage from it.
2. Entrepreneurship is about achieving goals and making unusual decisions. This is an integral part of the life of an ambitious person.
3. Leadership positions are suitable for demanding people. The activities of any company require routine tasks. The head of the department is able to motivate his employees to perform these tasks and control the process, and if they are not fulfilled, punish them. Ambitiousness and demandingness are very important traits for a boss.
4. Sport is about constantly achieving goals and self-improvement. Absolutely all athletes had great ambitions in childhood.
5. Public service. The most striking example is the Armed Forces. It is impossible to grow in this field of activity without ambition. To achieve the next title you need to work hard. This area requires personnel who show great promise.

For people with low ambitions, the following types of work are ideal:

1. Scientific activity.
2. Service sector.
3. Production.

Any job requires ambition. The meaning of the word is the desire for success. Without this desire, no one will have the desire to work. In any case, developing this quality will be useful for everyone; the main thing is to set realistic goals and not lie to yourself.

Ambition: Definition

In a general sense, the term can be defined as the desire to achieve success at any cost, to get more than you currently have, to change your life for the better, to set high goals and get what you want. Very often, ambitious people have no idea how they can achieve their goal, but still hope for a positive outcome and strive for the goal, even without any means to achieve it. Most often, ideas come already in the process of moving towards what you want. An ordinary goal differs from an ambitious one in that at first glance it seems unrealistic, it is like a dream looming in the vastly distant future, it seems risky and dangerous, and it is precisely ambition that makes it so. Synonyms for this concept can be given as follows: ambition, pride, pretentiousness, vanity, arrogance, arrogance. An ambitious person can never be satisfied with his current position and will always find something to strive for next. Such people usually become politicians, sports stars, and successful businessmen.

Ambitious character

Let's try to draw an approximate portrait of a person who has the quality we are considering. What is ambitious character? First of all, it is a constant desire for self-development and self-improvement. An ambitious person attends various trainings and seminars, reads professional literature, because he understands that without development there will be no movement towards the goal. He is aware of the need to adapt to a changing environment and at the same time tries not to lose his own individuality. He will always try to learn something new, as new knowledge helps him move forward.

Secondly, an ambitious person will never allow others to treat him badly or disrespectfully. He has a strong sense of self-esteem.

Thirdly, such a person will always rise up the career ladder easier than others. Often, ambitious people achieve more success than people who are more talented but not as vain.

And finally, such a person always tries to set himself up for a positive outcome, even if he has doubts about the reality of achieving what he wants. He likes to set goals a little higher than what he can realistically achieve. And only by achieving heights does he feel true satisfaction.

Now it probably becomes clearer to you what ambition in character is. A person endowed with this quality has a great chance of achieving success in all areas of his life.

How to develop?

Since the quality in question is in fashion today, many are wondering how to develop ambition in themselves. And is this even possible? It must be said right away that you are not born with ambition. This quality is acquired in the process of personality development and is laid down from childhood. His own parents play a big role in shaping a person’s ambitions. If they encourage all the child’s successes, are happy for him and praise him, then such a person grows up more self-confident, and with age he develops ambitions.

But if parents mainly scold the child and do not pay due attention to his achievements, then, most likely, he will grow up lacking ambition, downtrodden and insecure.

Situations are also possible when children, whose parents do not provide them with adequate support, grow up and strive to prove to them, to themselves and at the same time to the whole world that they are also worthy of something. Such people try to challenge society, and their ambitions are often morbid.

Thus, we can say that ambition cannot be developed - this trait is ingrained in a person from childhood.

The right ambitions. Correct achievement of an ambitious goal

Aubrey Daniel, author of books on leadership and success, still highlighted a couple of moments when ambitious goals can be set.

First, I will say that according to my personal observations, we, former “Rushkas,” suffer from low self-esteem. Those. we take targets (if we take them at all) that are correspondingly low. And about normal goals - about those that are truly within our power - we think that they are ambitious. Draw your own conclusions...

So here's the uv. Danik conducted research that about 10% of people with ambitions still satisfy their ambitions.

Unhealthy quality

Now that we have defined what ambition is, let’s try to find out in which cases it can be useful, and in which it can cause significant harm to a person and his environment.

What kind of people can be said to have had their ambitions gone beyond their limits and become unhealthy? First of all, claims must be supported by something. If a person really has some abilities, it is natural that he has certain ambitions. But when they are empty, with a complete lack of abilities in a certain field of activity, it looks funny and stupid.

A person with unhealthy ambition may set impossible goals for himself because he overestimates his capabilities. He cannot even admit to himself that he is not able to cope with any task; he is ready to work on it day and night, just to prove to himself and others that he can achieve this.

In addition, an overly ambitious person is demanding not only of himself, but also of others. He does not respect people with low ambitions and sets difficult tasks for others. He can even act arrogantly, as if he has already achieved a lot. This is what ambition means in an unhealthy and ugly form.

When ambitions are too high

If a person notices that his ambitions have gotten the better of him, he needs to learn to suppress them.

1. You realized that you have inflated ambitions, let them be inside you.
2. Take more time to think, meditate, acknowledge your own emotions and feelings.
3. Love yourself. Then you will be less likely to look for love in someone, and you will stop controlling everyone.
4. Decide what is of great value to you, understand that you don’t need to argue with someone about anything, realize your tasks and goals.

Now you know what ambition means and who an ambitious person is. As you can see, with a normal level of ambition, a person achieves considerable heights, however, inflated ambitions interfere with normal life activities and affect relationships with other people.

Professions for people with low ambitions

If, after reading this article, you consider yourself to be a person with a low level of aspirations, do not be upset. There are also many good professions for such a person. Since he values ​​professional stability above all and does not prioritize career growth, he can try himself as an engineer, clerk, economist or accountant.

In addition, people with low ambitions may work in the administrative field, where there is a high turnover of staff. There is always a shortage in the labor market in the field of administrative personnel, because employees who have ambitions usually do not stay in such positions for long; for them it is just a springboard for further career advancement.

So what is ambition? In a broad sense, it is a person’s desire for success. If he sets high goals for himself and strives to achieve them, if he tries to improve the quality of his life and is engaged in self-improvement and self-development, then he can be called ambitious. This character quality can be either good or bad, depending on whether a person has healthy or inflated ambitions.

We hope that after reading this article you understand what ambition means.

How to develop ambition. 6 steps towards this quality

Love your strength

“Behind every successful woman there is only herself” unknown source

Try to love your strength, cherish your ambition and cherish your power.

No one will do this for you. Support should come from within - from you. Do not shift the expectation of help to loved ones.

They are already at a loss about what is happening to you, and are often simply not ready to accept you and support you in your ambitious and bold projects.

Meditation “My value” - do not look for love, support, respect in the eyes of others. Remember that all this is inside you, learn to value yourself.

Allow yourself to think about what you want to achieve, achieve, where you want to go.

Don't compete with others, compete with yourself.

The affirmation helps me: “I am perfect, just as this world is perfect, as God is perfect.”

Highlight your achievements and strengths

Make a list of your achievements, what you can be proud of. It doesn't matter whether it's long or short.

It is important that you remember what YOU CAN!

Don’t be shy about telling others what you’re proud of about yourself, form a support group.

One of my first steps into a new life was writing a resume. I wrote it not for a standard job, but for a dream job, for myself - beautiful, strong, wise.

This is a great tool to highlight your strengths and turn your weaknesses into strengths.

When I wrote such a text about myself and shared it on Facebook, I realized that I had turned another page in my life and sent a powerful request and intention to the Universe.

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Every morning you yourself create the mood for the whole day, consciously or not, but you do it. Why not set the mood for the whole week from this day on? To make things work out. The efforts invested were returned a hundredfold...

Create an environment

We live in a unique world. With the help of social networks, you can see in real time how people grow, what stages they go through, what realizations they receive, how their entrepreneurial ideas develop.

If previously we could only read the autobiographies of successful people, now we have the opportunity to make friends with them, communicate, share experiences and receive support.

Surround yourself with interesting, proactive, enterprising, open-minded people. Let your social media feed be like a flower garden of ideas and discoveries.

Share yourself, attract interest and good luck. It's much easier to move forward in good company.

Learn to be inspired by the example of others and admire courage and bravery sincerely and from the heart.

Send wishes of success and prosperity to everyone who asks for it or to those who are on the Path.

Try not to allow critical thoughts towards yourself and others at this moment, just mentally wish for success and an easy path.

Don't think that you won't succeed. Age, gender and education have nothing to do with it. You can start at any time.

Read Vladimir Yakovlev’s books “The Age of Happiness” or “I Wanted and I Could” for inspiration.

Sister Bader - a nun from the Roman Catholic community of Spokane, Washington - at 86 years old, can swim, bike and run for 16.5 hours, without stopping. She started playing sports at the age of 52.

Improve your skills

My daughter mirrors: she stood on roller skates, skated for ten minutes and is already whining - I can’t, I don’t know how, I’ll never learn.

I ask her to do this for at least a month, an hour a day, and then talk to me about whether she can learn or not.

I understand that this applies to me too. Follow these tips, they help a lot!

Experts have calculated that to achieve a level of skill commensurate with the status of a world-class expert, 10,000 hours of practice are required—not to study the activity, but to practice.

Investor, programmer, author and serial entrepreneur James Altacher writes that if you dedicate 5-7 thousand hours to a business, that will be enough to become one of the top 200-300 at anything.

Based on this, if we start acting today, then in 4-5 years we will all achieve a lot!

Even half an hour a day doing your favorite activity is already good.

Agree with your loved ones that you absolutely need personal time when no one will disturb you.

Keep the Hedgehog Matrix in front of your eyes from Good to Great by Jim Collins to do what can lead you to success.

Lean out and get out

If you feel that the time has come, stick your head out and get out of your holes, declare yourself to the world.

First, you can shine in a small and friendly company, and then you should aim for a public one.

I am very glad that I was not afraid and submitted my first article to “Keys of Mastery”.

These are two big differences when you write sneaky posts for friends or detailed articles for a large audience. A completely different experience.

But I don’t agree with those who say that you need to get out of your comfort zone to get to the next level.

I think you first need to enter your comfort zone, feel your strength and trust in the world around you, and only after that declare yourself.

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“What have I achieved today?”

Make it a habit to ask yourself this question at the end of each work day. Each of your achievements, no matter how small, will be a great incentive to continue moving forward. Do this analysis every day and you will see how beneficial it will be to your productivity.

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Try to take at least one step every day that brings you closer to your goal. If you realize that you didn’t succeed today, turn your disappointment into an incentive. The next day you will be able to take on work with renewed energy.