Breaking through to Real Wealth!
Study Backs up Strategies for Achieving Goals
Psychology professor Dr. Gail Matthews has advice for those who put ‘stop procrastinating’ on their list of New Year’s resolutions: Share your goals with a friend.
Research recently conducted by Matthews shows that people who wrote down their goals, shared this information with a friend, and sent weekly updates to that friend were on average 33% more successful in accomplishing their stated goals than those who merely formulated goals.
Matthews became interested in the study of procrastination about 10 years ago after reading an article in Fast Company magazine about the “1953 Yale Study of Goals.” The premise of the study — that people who write down specific goals for their future are far more likely to be successful than those who have either unwritten goals or no specific goals at all — has inspired the teachings of many self-help authors and personal coaches.
The only trouble is that the study was never actually conducted. The 1996 Fast Company article debunked the Yale study as little more than an often-quoted urban legend.
However, Matthews’ research now backs up the conclusions long attributed to the mythical Yale study.
“With the proliferation of business and personal coaching and the often anecdotal reports of coaching success, it is important that this growing profession be founded on sound scientific research,” Matthews said.
Matthews recruited 267 participants from a wide variety of businesses, organizations, and networking groups throughout the United States and overseas for a study on how goal achievement in the workplace is influenced by writing goals, committing to goal-directed actions, and accountability for those actions. Participants ranged in age from 23 to 72 and represented a wide spectrum of backgrounds.
Participants in Matthews’ study were randomly assigned to one of five groups.
Group 1 was asked to simply think about the business-related goals they hoped to accomplish within a four-week block and to rate each goal according to difficulty, importance, the extent to which they had the skills and resources to accomplish the goal, their commitment and motivation, and whether they had pursued the goal before (and, if so, their prior success).
Groups 2-5 were asked to write their goals and then rate them on the same dimensions as given to Group 1.
Group 3 was also asked to write action commitments for each goal.
Group 4 had to both write goals and action commitments and also share these commitments with a friend.
Group 5 went the furthest by doing all of the above plus sending a weekly progress report to a friend.
Broadly categorized, participants’ goals included completing a project, increasing income, increasing productivity, improving organization, enhancing performance/achievement, enhancing life balance, reducing work anxiety, and learning a new skill. Specific goals ranged from writing a chapter of a book to listing and selling a house.
Of the original 267 participants, 149 completed the study. These participants were asked to rate their progress and the degree to which they had accomplished their goals.
At the end of the study, the individuals in Group 1 only accomplished 43 percent of their stated goals. Those in Group 4 accomplished 64 percent of their stated goals, while those in Group 5 were the most successful, with an average 76 percent of their goals accomplished.
“My study provides empirical evidence for the effectiveness of three coaching tools: accountability, commitment, and writing down one’s goals,” Matthews said.
Facts...are convenient things! Check it out!
Join Ray Kurzweil, & more on 8/3/11 in a historic conversation about the future. Watch LIVE @ cinemas nationwide! http://bit.ly/mQK8JO
Out of the box post...I know but I've gotta tell you Ray Kurzweil is an unbelievable genius I have followed for awhile and he's written awesome books on the future and so far he is batting about 80%! plus makes it fascinating to boot. He predicted much of where we are now 10 years ago when I started following him. If you like Discovery Channel this along those lines...just a little more technological and futurisic. Love to hear your thoughts afterwords.
Guest post by Neicole Crepeau, an Online Strategist at Coherent Interactive. She blogs at Coherent Social Media.
The other week, I was participating in Jay’s hashtagsocialmedia.com chat on social media. (It takes place every Tuesday at noon EST.) The exchange is below:
@jaybaer #sm107 BONUS Q4. How important is speed of response on Twitter? And can a company be TOO fast = creepy?
@neicolec: Q4: If support problem, no reply too fast. If I made a comment, a fast reply creeps me out. #sm107
It’s true. I get creeped out when a brand on Twitter replies quickly to a comment I just made. Probably a lot of people do. It may seem inconsistent and fickle, but we don’t always like a fast response to a brand mention on Twitter. In some cases, it might be best not to respond at all.
The key to deciding how fast to respond is to take off your business hat and put on your person hat. Think less about your business and more about appropriate behavior in a social situation.

The circumstance where I definitely do want a fast response is when I’m having a problem. I’ve had several companies respond quickly to conversations I was having with others about their products. Livefyre responded when I complained to my friend Mark W. Schaefer that my comment on his blog wasn’t uploading. And just last week, Triberr’s Dan Cristo helped me out when I told Gini Dietrich that I didn’t understand how to use Triberr. I was happy to have them eavesdropping, and happy to have them offer assistance.
In this circumstance, no response is too fast. Presumably, the customer has tried to figure out a solution on their own. By the time they reach out, they’re frustrated and maybe angry. They just want the problem solved now. (in fact, ExactTarget’s research on Twitter found that most customers turn to it as the third option, after they’ve been dissatisfied by a company’s phone and email response).
That’s one of the benefits of real-time monitoring and response—you may be able to intervene before the customer gets to the boiling stage. If someone is complaining about a problem, they are almost never going to be upset that you overheard, stuck your nose in it, and solved the problem.
Business hat: I’m monitoring conversations about my product. Someone just said they’re having a problem with it. I’ll provide good customer support by asking if I can help solve the problem right away.
Person hat: Those two tourists are looking at a map. Oh, I just heard one of them ask how to get to the market. I know just how to get there. Let me go over and help them.
It works in either scenario. If you were lost in the real world and someone offered to help, you’d feel grateful. (Except if you’re a New Yorker, in which case, mind your own business!)
Most of us who are digitally savvy know that we are being served online ads based on information that Google, Facebook, and others collect about our online activities. Many of us accept it as the price we pay for so much free content.
Still, if you visit Ford’s website, and then every ad you see for the next two days is for Ford, it kind of creeps you out. It’s like you’re being banner ad stalked. Maybe you know in the back of your mind that advertisers are watching you, but you don’t want it to be so obvious!
This effect is even worse on social networks. When you’re on Twitter and someone @’s you, you know that a person is talking to you. Even if it’s a branded account instead of a personal one, with a logo instead of a person’s photo, you are still very aware that it is a person tweeting to you. So, when someone tweets about the great deal on Wii’s at this or that store, just after you’ve made a comment that you’re thinking of buying a Wii, it feels like stalking. It feels like that person was spying on you.
Business hat: I’m monitoring the real-time conversation for opportunities. Someone just mentioned they are thinking of buying a new minivan. That’s a prime sales opportunity—at the point of decision. I’ll tell them we have good prices and give them a link to our site.
Person hat: I’m talking with a friend at a party about buying a new minivan. The sleazy guy at the buffet table behind us leans over and says, “I heard you mention you want to buy a minivan. I have great prices at my dealership. Here’s my card.”
Yuck.
Even something less spammy can be creepy. Let’s say I @ a Twitter friend in response to a question. I tell her that she should try Livefyre for her comment system. And then @Livefyre immediately tweets, “Let us know if you have any questions!”
I’m sorry. That’s asynchronous and icky. Livefyre might just be trying to be helpful, but it feels like they are spying on a private conversation, and are a bit too eager to please. Even though I clearly like the product and am suggesting it, I don’t like them intruding into my private recommendation to a friend.
That’s ridiculous, you might say. The conversation isn’t private. You’re on Twitter, for goodness sake. And it’s hypocritical. You didn’t mind them intruding when you had a problem.
It doesn’t matter if it’s hypocritical, though. People aren’t logical, and social rules are subtle and can seem capricious. Still, when they’re broken, we know. I may have a hard time explaining why that gentleman is standing too close when we’re out here on the street, even though it would be acceptably close in a crowded elevator. Nevertheless, if he’s standing too close, I’m uncomfortable.
So, let’s try our hats on again for this last situation.
Business hat: I’m monitoring the real-time conversation. Someone just recommended our brand of luggage. I’ll make sure they know we can answer any questions, and that they have my contact info.
Person hat: I’m on the subway talking with my friend about her travel plans. I recommend this great travel bag I bought. The guy behind us leans over the seat and says “I’m a sales rep for that luggage. Do you have any questions? Here’s my card.”
Creepy. You want to just brush him off. Chances are my friend is going to throw away that business card, even though she wants the luggage.
The next time you’re wondering how fast to respond to someone’s mention of your brand, take my advice: put your person hat on first.
Seth's Blog: Easy and certain
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/05/easy-and-certain.html
The lottery is great, because it’s easy. Not certain, but easy. If you win, the belief goes, you’re done.
Medical school is great because it’s certain. Not easy, but certain. If you graduate, the belief goes, you’re done.
Most people are searching for a path to success that is both easy and certain.
Most paths are neither.
What is one of the biggest threats to your success? It is being exposed and attempting to implement a strategy when you do not have the ones upon which it rests mastered. This is what 95% of all investors do. They want so badly to be an investor and make money now that they fail to master steps 1 or 2 before they go on to moneymaking step #5. Because no one like a coach or teammate alerts them they never know why they are failing….and so….they attribute their failure to everything except what is truly going on.
- Scott Whaley
What is one of the biggest threats to your success? It is being exposed and attempting to implement a strategy when you do not have the ones upon which it rests mastered. This is what 95% of all investors do. They want so badly to be an investor and make money now that they fail to master steps 1 or 2 before they go on to moneymaking step #5. Because no one like a coach or teammate alerts them they never know why they are failing….and so….they attribute their failure to everything except what is truly going on.
- Scott Whaley
From: Scott Whaley [mailto:scott@realwealthseminars.com]
Sent: Friday, July 16, 2010 6:19 AM
To: 'post@posterous.com'
Subject: test 2 Posterous please work!
Test 2a to Posterous please work
(619) 665-3543