Whether you are an entrepreneur, small business owner, self-employed or leader in a major corporation – setting and achieving goals plays a vital part in business growth and success.
Because it is the time of year when people talk about resolutions you can bet that their goals include things like losing weight, getting fit, eating healthily… That’s why Weight Watchers and all the other weight management programmes choose this time of year to market their services and they usually focus on success stories with Jennifer Hudson, being one of the most well known ambassadors.
It got me thinking about why the Weight Watchers approach succeeds and how this could be applied in business.
These are 5 of the Weight Watchers principles that you can apply to achieve your business goals in 2015:
1. Get real
The first principle of Weight Watchers is to make an honest assessment of where you are now – what do you weight now and what is your goal weight? For your business that means an analysis of where you are in the business lifecycle.
Only by understanding your current position can you honestly set a realistic goal. If you don’t know where you are in the lifecycle click here to find out.
2. Know your why
Weight Watchers stresses the need to have clarity about why you want to lose weight. Having a clear why is a key motivator, especially when the going gets tough.
Why are you in business, what do you want to achieve, who do you want to serve, what value do you want to add, what contribution do you want to make, are you pursuing your passion?
Check out this video for inspiration
3. Have a plan
Weight Watchers is about having a clear plan, a road map that you can follow, but with enough flexibility in it to enjoy the journey.
In business we know that there is little point in being motivated without a clear plan of action. What is your plan? What action are you taking to achieve your business goals and how are you measuring progress to determine whether or not your plan is working?
4. Don’t go it alone
Anyone that has gone to Weight Watchers will know that weekly meetings are lead by someone who has successfully implemented the plan and achieved their goal. They are showing others what can be achieved and inspiring them to follow through and the members also support and encourage each other.
Do you have a mentor or coach that supports and inspires you to overcome times of doubt, to stay on the journey? Are you a member of a peer group where you can share your concerns, ideas, and experiences? How are you supporting other leaders to achieve their goals?
5. Recognise success
Weight Watchers have all sorts of rewards for achieving miles stones and there’s even a special reward for achieving your goal weight – you become a gold member for life as long as you remain within 5 pounds of your goal.
What are you doing to show that you value the contribution that your people are making to the growth and development of your business? It’s not always about monetary reward. You can be creative and imaginative about the incentives you offer. You would be surprised how excited Weight Watchers members get about getting a “silver 7” sticker and having it announced at the meeting that they have achieved a 7 pound weight loss.
Conclusion
This may sound like a strange approach to business, but if, like me, you are always looking for innovative approaches to your business and it works, why not give a try?
Please do let me know how you get on so that we can inspire others to success too.