Toronto

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

SMART Career Planning

Dream Goals are better than SMART ones

May 27, 2009 -- Goals should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. Most people come across this lesson countless times in their professional careers. While SMART goals do make logical sense, they often do more harm than good when it comes to one's career.

"How often do we stop to consider our craziest, wildest dreams of professional success? For many people, it was probably a very long time ago" says Randall Craig, author of the best-selling career planning book Personal Balance Sheet. "Many people consider these dreams ridiculous, unattainable, and beyond their station in life - so they don't set dream goals… and thus limit their potential."

Setting dream goals are important because:

1) they help keep our eye on the longer term "prize".

2) they help prioritize our to-do lists.

3) they improve our motivation when times are tough.

Adds Craig: "Whenever we find decisiveness, engagement, and action, we usually find dream goals too. And without dream goals, we often find the opposite."

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Randall Craig is North America's foremost expert on career planning and work-life balance. He is the author of the popular Leaving the Mother Ship, The Working Resume, the best-seller Personal Balance Sheet Practical Career Planning Guide, and the just-released Online PR and Social Media for Experts. For more information, please visit http://www.PersonalBalanceSheet.com

Randall Craig can answer all questions about career planning, networking, job search, and workplace issues.

Randall Craig, CFA, MBA, CMC

President

Pinetree Advisors Inc.

416-256-7773

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Randall Craig, CFA, MBA, CMC

President

Pinetree Advisors Inc.

Toronto

416-256-7773

416-256-7763

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