complexity creating infrastructure foster optional.”

LeadershipGoal Setting - A few quick tips to make your 2010 a successful year!In December at a Chamber U event, wediscussed ideas around staying motivatedin a difficult economy. Since then I haveread several articles on goal setting in 2010.The sentiment is always the same: get upearlier, work faster, write down your goals,make a plan and work it, etc. While thisadvice appeals to the logical part of me, Istill have a sense that something is missing.nonprofit with a mission of helping addicts and alcoholicsrecover and reenter the workforce. The speaker was a recoveringalcoholic and talked about a time in his life when hewas trying to get back on his feet. He said that when he gotout of treatment his first goal was to “get a job”. After he gota job his only goal was to “show up” every day for that job.At that point in his life, these goals were realistic for him. Hemet them and continued to set realistic goals. He is now ana executive at a large Twin Cities organization.I remember when I started my first sales job out of college. I announcedto my manager that my goal was be first in the regionby the end of the year. There were sixty-eight people in myregion. They all knew more about our product than I did. Andthey had better sales skills than me. The only thing I had onsome of them was blind ambition. I did not finish the year first,in the top ten, or even the top half.The statement to my manager was more an act designed to coverup my insecurities than a goal for the year. In observation, itseems that often people set goals that “sound good” or are basedon what they think their goals “should be” rather than actuallysitting down and thinking about what they really want and whatis realistic.If you want to use your goals as a tool to motivate you, considerasking yourself the following questions:1) Are my goals honestly within reach? Given my skills andexperience level, my goal of being first in the region by theend of the year was not in reach. I recently heard a speakerat a Rebuild Resources event. Rebuild Resources is a local2) Are my goals mine? One of my closest friends became a lawyerbecause that is what her father wanted for her. After afew years on the job and $100,000 in law school debt, shecouldn’t do it anymore and quit. She now works with studentsand loves it.3) Are both my heart and mind bought into the goals? The litmustest is how we feel when we think about achieving ourgoals. For me it is the right mixture of excitement and fear,excitement about achieving the goal and fear about the prospectof falling short.Whether or not we reach our goals influences how we thinkabout ourselves. How we think about ourselves affects everything,so proceed with cautious optimism versus blind ambitionand we can look forward to accomplishing our goals in 2010.Patrick Finnegan is a Senior Consultant with Dale CarnegieTraining, he can be reached at patrick.finnegan@dalecarnegie.comor 952-548-5626.New Members Recognized at March Luncheon - Ambassadors greet some of our February joineesAt the March General Membership Luncheon & Annual Meeting,some of our Ambassadors were on hand to greet some of our newestmembers who joined during the month of February. Pictured fromleft are: Josh Wolberg (Strategic Financial, Inc.). Ambassador KevinHonius (Unity Bank), Marc Makarem (ipHouse), Anna Iverson(Ryan Hodgins & Assoc), Ambassador Barb Lyons (Sign-A-Rama),Ambassador Shay Roth (Welcome Neighbor), Sosha Brink (CreativeResources), Ambassador Carrie Dolinar (ProStaff), AmbassadorCurtis Gallegos (Principal Financial), Jeff Nawrocki (MetropolitanAirports Commission), Ambassador Tom Hanske (Beacon Bank),Ambassador Allan Giese (Suburban Chevrolet) and 2010 AmbassadorCo-Chair Todd Warner (Phoenix Technology Solutions).Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce • 11455 Viking Dr. #270, Eden Prairie, MN 55344Ph: 952-944-2830 • Fax: 952-944-0229 • Website: www.epchamber.org5