This past Wednesday, Intelligent Ink once again played host to a fabulous networking event filled with inspiring speakers, lively discussion, and lots of laughs. This month, we explored the theme of Intelligent Goals.

Here are some of the key take-outs:

Goals should be SCARY

Our charismatic key note speaker, Cam Calkoen, shared how doing something that he was scared of – public speaking – lead to a life he could never have dreamed of.

To make it even easier to remember, Ryan Hewitt gave us an acronym on which we can all base our goals:

Simple – your goals should be straightforward and specific

Communicative – telling people your goals holds you accountable

Ambitious – you need to push yourself outside your comfort zone

Real – your goal needs to be manageable so you’re not setting yourself up for failure

Yours – choose a goal that aligns with your values, that you can take ownership of

Buy in is hugely important

Monica Briggs emphasised the important of having people within an organisation buy into goals. Understanding what part they play in the greater outcome makes people more invested in their goals, and without buying in, they are far less likely to achieve them. Discussion amongst attendees backed up this argument, with many saying that they find it far harder to meet arbitrary KPIs and goals set by their superiors than if they set goals themselves.

It’s all about trust

It’s important to trust people – and yourself. As Julie Keegan demonstrated, ballroom dancing is the perfect analogy for important life lessons, with trust being essential to life, and achieving goals. Surround yourself with good people, and then trust them to support you. Most importantly, trust yourself. Tell someone else “I believe in you” and tell yourself at the same time. No phrase is more important to give and receive.

Timing is everything

The room was almost unanimous in their agreement that New Year’s resolutions are often the goals most easily broken, and many agreed that setting goals at specific, pre-determined times isn’t effective – instead, set your goals when the occasion is right for you. When something new happens in your life, or when you get to the point where you need to make a change. Re-evaluate your goals regularly and make sure that they’re still right for you (and your organisation) so that you’re not just reaching towards empty goals.

Be AWESOME

The word of the night was awesome, with Cam sharing his favourite word and everyone agreeing that all four speakers had been absolutely awesome. They key to goals, according to Cam, is not about doing extraordinary things, it’s about doing what you love and being a little bit more awesome each and every day.

Thanks again to all our speakers – Cam Calkoen, Monica Briggs, Ryan Hewitt, and Julie Keegan – for contributing to such a fantastic evening, and to everyone who came and shared their enthusiasm and knowledge.