Half Way Through This Year

Last night, I was thinking about my vacation as I do almost every night it seems. I realized we are approaching the halfway mark of the calendar year. For many companies the fiscal and calendar years do not align; however, it is an important time for reflection and goal realignment.

Did you set goals in January? I am not talking about New Years resolutions - they are useless. Some would question the usefulness of goals as well. I personally think goals are basically good. Often if you do not set a goal for something, you never achieve it.

About a year ago, I asked an executive of a firm why he set goals several years out. The goals?Ǭ† seemed good, but the timelines appeared to be arbitrary. He set a goal to have a major project completed by 2008. As we talked about it, I assumed the goal was set for the end of 2008. As I verified that the project would be compete by the end of 2008, he stopped me cold.

“No.” he said emphatically,?Ǭ† “The project is to be complete by 2nd quarter in 2008.”

There were no requirements, scope or even complete understanding of the goal. I thought to myself, “What does it matter whether it was 2nd quarter, last quarter or 2010.”

He explained why he set the goal for 2nd quarter 2008. The answer was simple.

“If you don’t set a goal, you will not work towards solving the problem, so I pick my dates for goals a bit randomly.” he explained. “I have never missed a date, because I engage people early, make the goal an immutable event, and the group begins to own it.”

Basically he believed that people needed to know where they were going and when they were expected to get there.

Most of us think about retirement as a goal. I want to retire by age “xx.” Most people I talk to say they want to retire by 65 and hope they enjoy good health.

When I started my first company at age 39, I set a goal to retire by age 45. I turned 44 last month. A lot of things have happened, including a failed business, so I am not going to reach my goal short of winning the lottery. That is a possibility, as I am in a group that plays the lottery every week.

It is not probable. So as I enter this half-way mark for the year, I have been reevaluating my retirement goal. My oldest son is 15 and headed towards college. I have three other children marching towards college. Not all of them may go to college. We are expecting our 5th child in September, so that muddies the water even more.

Despite all of the logistics, financial demands, and the toll of everyday life, I need to reset my retirement goal. If I don’t set a new date, I might be 65, still working part time.

So, during my vacation this year, I am going to sit on the porch of our Victorian beach house in Cape May, NJ, drinking a glass of Merlot, and determining my new retirement goal.

When are you planning on retiring?