You’ve Set Your Goals for the New Year, Now How Do You Get There? Mine the Gap
Actuals, Optimals, And Determining Steps To Success!
Our most recent trip around the Sun has ended (thank goodness), and we are on to the next revolution of this beautiful globe. This is the time of year many folks like to make resolutions, or at least set goals for the new year. In previous stories, I’ve talked about determining the kinds of skills and habits you might want to develop, and how to use a strategic planning tool to focus on areas you really need or want to improve.
Once you have a good idea of those areas, it’s time to narrow them down into the specific needs you have. To do this, I use a tool I learned when studying Human Performance Technology and Instructional Technology.
It’s called Gap Analysis. Simply put, we have determined where we want to go (the goals we set for ourselves) and where we are now (strengths and weaknesses from our SWOT chart). Now we need to determine the steps to achieve those goals.
Where are you at now? Determining Actuals
First, we determine the actuals. Where do you stand right now in terms of the skills or habits you want to develop? If I am trying to develop my writing skills, for example, I would want to…
