CHAPTER: 2

VISION, GOAL SETTING AND TIME MANAGEMENT

Meaning of vision:
Vision of a desirable future in which ones personal and professional or
organizational dreams and defined in one or two sentence .A person who can create a
realistic, and creative vision of the future that will pave to improve the present situation.

FEATURES OF VISION
 Vision gives direction: Vision is where you want to be. Overtime the vision becomes a
source of energy.

 Vision gives the foresight: what you want to become. Individuals or organization will
visualize the future and aspired to have reached the goals in the desired way

 Vision is long term goal: Many a time vision and goal seem alike but in true sense vision is
complementary to goals. vision help in setting up the goals

 Vision set tone for change: visions set tone for change & carry forward change and those
that which need to be changed.

 Vision is time bound: vision gives clear indication about what you are working toward and
hence one must also know as the time it might take to accomplish the same. Tasks
accomplished in given time frame only can lead to success

 Says what you want out of life: vision normally brings out person aspirations and ambition.
One can clearly understand what one wants to achieve in life by reading the vision. It is not
only organizations can set vision; even individuals have to set vision.

 It defines the person you are: Vision statement would help people to know the personality
or the person who sets it.

 Details principles and beliefs: values, principles and ethics of the organization are well
imbibed in the vision statement. The company core purpose and objective. Gives you the
power to create and design your life around your personal values.

Importance of vision
 It gives direction to your life.

 Allows you to live life with a purpose

 Creates a positive vision of your future

 Allows you to live life to the fullest potential

  Managing stress

Objectives of vision
 A clear view of where the organization’s line of product and services headed.

 Concept of what the “market” will be like in next 5 years.

 Concept of how the product or service might be improved in next 5 years.

 Concept of what the competition might be offering in next 5 years.

 Vision must motivate & sustain people through their implementation.

Why should an organization have a vision statement at all?

 The simplest reason is that how do you reach a destination.

 A stretching , unique and convincing vision

 A clear vision is of value internally and externally.

 It gives a shape and direction.

 A vision is a statement about what your organization wants to become

 A vision statement provides direction to all stake holders

 A vision statement projects a persuasive story about the future.

Vision level of people

 Wanderers: These are the people who never have vision in their life.

 Followers: These people will have vision in life but never pursue it on their own.

 Achievers: These people will have vision in life, and also they pursue the vision on their
own.

 Leaders: These are the people will have vision in life, pursue it and also they help others
to pursue it.

Creating a company vision

 Developing a great new product or service

 Providing excellent customer service with quality

  Providing congenial work environment to employees.

 Ensuring financial strength of the organization

 Safeguarding the interest of all stakeholders

Mission: A mission statement is a sentence describing the company’s function, markets and
competitive advantages, a short written statement of your business goals and philosophies.

A mission statement is statement of the purpose of a company, organizations or persons its reason
for existing a written declaration of a organization’s core purpose and focus that normally remains
unchanged overtime.

Doing things for right purpose:

When a person does the right things correct decisions for the right purpose he feels happy and
satisfaction from his deeds reasons for doing right things for the right purpose are as follows.

1. Facilitates correct decision making: Right purpose helps in taking correct decisions while wrong
decisions are the result of wrong purpose. If a person has right purpose in his mind to do activity the
he will select right decisions to perform right activity.

Example .if a manager has right purpose in his mind to do his right job. I.e. to earn money but in
honest manner .this purpose will helps the manager in taking right decision likes not to take bribe.

2. Helps to avoid feeling guilt: Choosing an action with wrong purpose may lead people to regret in
future. Doing things for the right purpose helps a person to deal with their regrets which they face in
daily life.

3. Enhances possibility of positive outcomes: A person can achieve success in any activity or field if
he has taken a decision keeping in the mind the right purpose.

Example: a person has decided to become a Doctor with an aim and determination to serve people
and not just making only money.

How to do things for the right reasons:

To know whether a person is doing things for the right purpose or not a person should has following
questions to him.

1. Whether reasons are beneficial for long term or not: It is normal human nature that short term
impact of a decision is only considered while taking decision. Although it is wrong attitude. A person
has to ask himself whether reasons for making any decisions are beneficial for only short term then
the person should not such a decision.

2. Whether or not reasons are fruitful for individual or all: A person should ask himself a question
whether a reason for doing something contributes benefit to only him or others as well. A person
should always select those reasons that bring happiness for all.
3. Whether or not reasons bring happiness or pleasure among Individuals: There is difference
between happiness and pleasure. Pleasure is for short term whereas happiness is a feeling of long
term. Happiness tells the permanent status of mind.

Example. If a manager takes bribe it will gives him pleasure in terms of money for short term but in
long terms he may be sent to prison for taking bribe.

Meaning of Goal Setting

Goal setting is the process of deciding what you want to accomplish and devising a plan to achieve
the result you desire.

Periodicity of goals/Types of goals

Continuously to motivate individuals a proper goal must be selected goals once set should be
periodically evaluated.

A). Short term goals: short term goals are those goals which are made for short period of time. It is
very important to set particular reason of up to which one has to achieve the goals short goals may
be made for one day ,one week, one month or for a year.

b). Medium term goals: Medium term goals are made to fulfil individual s performance which are to
be achieved between short and long term period of time two to five years is the time period for
which midterm goals are set.

c) Long term goals: long term goals are those goals which are made to achieve after 5 years.

Example: Short term goal: I want to speak in English fluently in one month.

Medium term goal: I want to complete degree with 85%

Long term goal: I want to establish audit firm by next 5 years.

Process of goal setting

 Understand thyself (yourself): Effective goal setting is one of the most important habits you
can develop. It is the core skill for achieving success in your relationship. Hence it calls for
knowing thyself. You must know yourself in terms of strength and weakness. This will help
you to set realistic and achievable goals.

 Determine what you really want: Many times our life is direction less; we are just walking
the life without knowing the destinations where to reach. This makes a person demotivated
in life.one need to be very clear about what I really want in my life

 Set your goals: Once you clear about what you want to in your life then set your short term,
medium term and long term goals in a SMART way. The formula SMART (Specific,
measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound) should be followed.
  Prepare action plan: Dreaming and setting high goal is the first step and the journey begins
to make these goal to bring into action. Hence one must chalk out a perfect plan of action
which will take you to the goal destination. ‘It’s said if you fail to plan then you’re planning
to fail’.

 Have a progress chart: One must stop and look back to find out how have I accomplished.
There should be a progress charts prepared not only to find out how much is been
accomplished but also to reaffirm am I on a right road.

 Do the analysis: Do the analysis on the progress and take actions accordingly.

 Find out the result: Check the result and find out what has been missed and compare the
result with goals which have been set

 Achievements: Finally if you could get the expected result. Then it is an achievement.

Importance of goals
 Goals are like road map: They get you from one point to another

 Goals provide the direction: You need to reach your destination, the motivation to sustain
you on your trip, and a way to measure your progress.

 You take control of your life: Goal is like a GPS in life. it gives you direction and helps you
choose where to go in life . It makes you vision about your ideal future and turn it into
reality. When you have achieved the goal you improve your life and become better version
of your life.

 You focus on the important things: Goals help us to sort out what is important and what is
not. you will only focus on the things that you want to achieve and spend precious time on
them

 You will make good decisions: Goals help you to identify and establish your priorities and
make the right choice based on the long term view of what is most important to you.

 You can finish the task efficiency: you will focus and concentrate your time and energy on
the task. Keep away all the distractions and this make you efficiently

 You will be self-confident and enthusiastic: When you set a goal and measure the
achievement you are able to see what you have done and what you are capable of .This
process of achieving goals gives you the confidence and belief in yourself. And you become
enthusiastic too.

 You will make progress: After you have achieved one goal, you will try to achieve higher
goals. In the long turn, you will see big progress you have made when look back.

 You are closer to success: Goals are the starting point of success. A good start makes half
the success.

How to set Goals?

  Identify your personal values and mission statement: Your personal value is the big
direction. If you can identify your personal values, your personal goal will not go wrong.

 Figure out the goals you want to achieve: After you know your personal values, find out
what you really want to achieve in every little aspects. life has many aspects and in order to
lead a happy life , you should set goals in every aspects

 Write your goals down. Make sure the goals are SMART and they are top quality goals:
Write them down. you must write your goals down on a piece of paper .if not they will only
become your dreams

 List the skills and knowledge required to reach your goal: Success needs a lot of
preparation. If you want to be successful, you need to prepare well .understand what skills
you have, you are good at and passionate about what. Consider all those factors which will
help you achieve your goals

 Develop a personal action plan: You need to make a detailed schedule according to your
goals. Develop an personal action plan and follow them

 Review your progress and update your goals accordingly: Make sure you are making
progress. If not analyze why the goals is not being met. Find a coach or friend to help you if
you have trouble .Realize your goal step by step

 Celebrate your success: To keep the motivation up ton set newer goal one has to cheer him
or herself by celebrating the success which will act as addition for the success and keep on
motivating to set newer goals.

 Start the process all over again: When you have achieved a goal , you may set a new one
from the beginning .Cultivate good goal setting habits

Features of attainable goals

 Specific: Stands for the specific goals should be set. Goals should be simply state what one
wants to achieve it should motivate individual to work more effectively to achieve goals.

 Written: Anything which is not written cannot be remembered and affirmed cannot be
achieved and hence one has to clearly mention in writing short term, medium term goals
and long term goals.

 Measurable: The goal should be quantifiable; one must be able to define as what one will
attain gain ex. I would like to read one book this month

 Action oriented: The goal must motivate you to immediately get into action. Ex when you
decide to score 80% you start studying minimum 8 hours a day this action in turn will help
you to achieve your goal.

 Realistic: The goals will motivate only when it is possible for you to achieve. You can set
difficult goals but must not set impossible goals.
  Time bound: Any goal which does not have time binding cannot be achieved ,if you do not
set a time frame it is impossible to achieve your goal

 Own it: Be confident about the goal what you set. Express your goal and be confident about
your goal only then you will be able achieve the goal. Any goal which has been owned will
definitely can be achieved

Steps to achieve goal

 Goal setting: The first step towards achieving a goal is to identify a clear goal on the basis of
one’s strengths, interests and priorities in life and setting a time frame to achieve the final
outcome.

 Develop workable plan: Once the goal is set, the next step is to develop a clear plan and
initiate action. “The plan should be workable where you should neither over estimate nor
underestimate your capability and opportunities”.

 Identify possible hurdles: Achieving a goal become easier and faster when you are able to
identify the probable hurdles. Must come out with a SWOT analysis, what are my strength to
achieve this goal, The weakness which might slow down my speed of achievement of goal
and same way how many opportunities are available to me attain the goals and nothing is
without threats, and hence one must be prepared to face these treats and inspire of that
must be ready to achieve the goals.

 Review progress and stay focused: once action has been initiated one must review the
progress periodically in terms of quality, quantity and timeliness. “Time to time review of the
progress is important. The most important aspect is not losing heart whenever you
encounter problems, stay motivated and focused to achieve the goals.

 Accept failures and move ahead: one should be open enough that mistakes could happen
should not get bogged down by failures but instead learn from those mistake and plan
better to make the goals and dreams come true.

Dos and don'ts of goal setting

 Do create a plan. Don’t wait for “somebody” to roll around.

 Do start small. Don’t focus on too many things at once.

 Do write it down. Don’t forget to give yourself a deadline.

 Do be specific. Don’t deal in absolutes.

 Do leave room for failure.dont expect for perfection.

 Do track your progress. Don’t fool yourself into failure.

 Do reward your success. Don’t beat yourself up over failure.

Why we don’t set goals
 A pessimistic attitude: if a person keeps doubting his own capability and develops
pessimistic approach would never be able to set goals.

 Fear of failure: most people underestimate themselves and never set goals and are scared
to set the goals for the reason of fear of failure.

 Lack of ambition: Every person is born with some talents, but these talents would be put to
use only when a person is ambitious. People do not set any goals as they are very casual and
non-ambitious.

 Fear of rejection: people with negative attitude always tend to have a fear of rejection and
hence do not set any goals

 Procrastination: Procrastination can be considered as disease of postponing which arise due

to the casualness and lethargic attitude such people will never set any goals

 Low self-esteem: People with low self-esteem lack the confidence and hence lack the
capability of goal setting

 Ignorance of the importance of goals: Goal act as motivation, casual tendency towards life
and ignorance of importance of setting goals with holds many in setting the goals.

Effective goal setting

 Write goals down: Success needs to take actions and this is the most important thing. By
writing the goals down you can remember each task that need to be done easily to check
them off when you have accomplished.

 Set priorities : When you have several goals, give each a specific priority, and it helps to
direct your attention to the most important ones and follow each in succession

 State each goal has positive statement: if you want to express your goals in a positive way,
you simply have to first think of a goal that puts a smile on your face when you imagine it
completed. Think positive and you will get good results. You will have the power to clear all
the obstacles on the way.

 Being precise: Being precise in setting your goals is no more than setting them with exact
details. it is easier this way because then you can follow a step by step format

 For effective goal setting, set different types of goals: It is important to set goals: outcome,
performance and process, each with its own set of advantage and disadvantage .to receive
the best result, use the three types of goals .Outcome goals give you direction and a target
to aim for, performance goals give you motivation and measurable result and process goals
help you focus on improvement and mastery.

 Set realistic goals: By being realistic you are increasing your chance of success. Do not set
them too low. People tend to do this where they are afraid of failure or where they simply
 don’t want to do anything .Don’t set them too high too. It’s nice planning to become a
millionaire, but planning to do in three months is an outrageous claim. Your goals must be
realistic and tangible otherwise you will be disappointed so soon and drop all your efforts.

Successful goal setting secrets

 Decide what is important for you.

 Ensuring that the goals are your owns, not somebody else’s.

 Write it down.

 Make sure your goal is SMART.

 Analyze the goal.

 Build your self confidence

 Motivate yourself

Time management

Meaning: Time management is a set of principles, practices, skills, tools and system that
work together to help you. Time management is essential skills that help you keep your work
under control, at the same time that it helps you keep stress to a minimum.

Why is time management important?

 Time is limited: Everyone gets the same amount of time each day, and it’s limited,
therefore it’s important to make the most of your time if you ever want to be more than
average at workplace. Time is a special resource that you cannot store or save for later
use. Everyone has the exact same amount of time each day .time not well used cannot be
retrieved.

 Make better decisions: There are many choices in life and often times we’re faced with
many choices to choose from at the same time, when you practice good time
management, you have more time to breathe; this allows you to determine which choices
are the best to make.

 Accomplish more with less effort: By taking control of your time, you’re able to stay
focused on the task at hand. This leads to higher efficiency since you never lose
momentum.

 Be more successful: time management is the key to success; it allows you to take control
of your life rather than follow the flow of others. You accomplish more, you make better
decisions, and you work more efficiently; this leads to a more successful life.

 Learn more: when you control your time and work more efficiently .you are able to learn
more and increase your experience faster.
  Reduce stress: one of the main causes of stress is due to people feeling rushed. With good
time management, you know how much time you have, which reduces feeling of being
rushed, which in turns leads to less frustration and stress.

 Create discipline: when you practice good time management in your life, you are less
likely to procrastinate. Time management leads to higher productivity and leads to a
disciplined life .time management help you make conscious choices, so you can spend
more of your time doing things that are important and valuable to you.

 Improve quality of life: we all need some free time to relax and unwind but,
unfortunately, many of us don’t get much free time because we’re too busy trying to keep
up with our daily activities and work load .by implementing time management skills, you
are able to get more done in a shorter period of time leading to more free time.

Time management includes

 Effective planning: plan your day well in advance .prepare a to do list or a “task plan” jot
down the important activities that need to be done in a single day against the time that
should be allocated to each activity. High priority work should come on top followed by
those which do not need much of your importance at the movement.

 Setting goals and objective: working without goals and targets in an organization would be
similar to a situation where the captain of the ship loses his way in the sea. Yes, you would
be lost. Set targets for yourself and make sure they are realistic ones and achievable

 Setting deadlines: Set deadlines for yourself and strive hard to complete tasks ahead of the
deadline. Do not wait for your superior to ask you every time .learn to take ownership of
work.one person who can best set the deadlines in you yourself.

 Delegation of responsibilities: don’t do everything on your own. There are other people as
well .one should not accept something which he knows is difficult for him. The roles and
responsibilities must be delegated.

 Prioritizing activities as per their importance: Prioritize the tasks as per their importance
and urgency .know the difference between important and urgent work .identify which tasks
should be done within a day, which all should be done within a month and so on tasks which
are most important should be done earlier.

 Spending the right time on the right activity: develop the habit of doing the right thing at
the right time. Work done at wrong time is not of much use .Don’t waste a complete day on
something which can be done in an hour or so.

Skills necessary for effective time management

 Stay organized.

 Learn to prioritize

 Be punctual and disciplined

  Take ownership of work

 Be a little assertive

 More focused

 Be reasonable

 Be able to be flexible

 Have a vision

Stress management
Meaning: It is a set of technique and programs intended to help people to deal more
effectively with stress in their lives by analyzing the specific stressor and taking positive
action to minimize their effects.

Four key sources of stress

 Time stressors: too much to do little time

 Work overload
 Lack of control

 Encounter stressors: due to interpersonal reactions

 Role conflicts
 Issue conflicts
 Action conflicts

 Situational stressors: Arises from the environment

 Unfavourable working place

 Rapid change

 Anticipatory stressors: Potential disagreeable events

 Unpleasant expectations
 fear
Types of stress
 Acute: Short term stressor leads to acute stress .It evolves all of a sudden, is extremely sharp
and vanishes rapidly.

 Episodic stress: It occurs when we experience acute stress too frequently.

 Chronic stress: Chronic stress is a prolonged stress that exists for weeks, months or even
years. This type stress is usually experienced by those constantly relocating from one place
to another or changing jobs frequently.
  Hyper stress: hyper stress occurs when an individual is asked to do something which is
beyond his or her capacity. Overloaded or over work are the reasons for hyper stress.

Stress management techniques

 Laughter is the best medicine

 Discuss your problem

 Don’t compromise your values

 Develop pleasant thoughts

 Organize yourself

 Control your environment

 Love yourself

 Reward yourself

 Be aware of yourself

 Relax yourself

 Enjoy yourself

Proven tips for stress relief

 Prepare for the morning the evening before

 Don’t rely on your money

 Plan ahead

 Get enough sleep

 Writing your thoughts and feelings down

 Learn to live

 Everyday do something you really enjoy

 Relax your standards

 Learn to delegate responsibility

General principles of stress management

1. Time Management: One should manage his time properly. He should avoid setting unrealistic
goals. Preparation of to do list helps managing time effectively. One should also note that he should
accept responsibilities over and above his capacity.

2. Prioritize tasks: Make a list of task you have to do and tackle them in order of importance. Do the
high priority items first. This helps to completing the work more pleasantly.

3. Relax and breathe deeply: Our body cannot maintain the same level of energy without that extra
oxygen. Therefore it is necessary to breathe deeply to get extra oxygen. This releases considerable
amount of stress.

4. Take more breaks from your work: Working continuously without break causes monotony,
boredom and stress. Therefore taking break in between helps us to relax, break monotony and
reduce stress. One should get away from the desk and move out for few minutes and resume work.

5. Delegate Responsibility: Management is all about getting things done by others. One should
learn the art of delegation of responsibilities to others. If the task is properly distributed to the
capable persons in the organization, the considerable amount of stress can be reduced.

6. Get more sleep: Stress causes due to lack of sleep also. One should take enough sleep in order to
stay fresh and fit to work the next day .taking proper sleep increases energy level and ability to
concentrate.

7. Spend more time with optimistic people: It is necessary to have people with positive attitude.
Negative people will create negative thoughts, leading to a stressful situation. To be cool and calm it
requires that one should practice positive attitude.

8. Practice effective communication: Communication is most essential for preventing tensions .one
should communicate in the language of the receiver. He should be good in both verbal and
nonverbal communication. He should also pay attention to co-worker‘s gesture, tone of voice and
posture.

9. Developing good working relationships: Trust, respect, understanding and compassion are
necessary in any relationship. Co-workers have to function as a team and reach the common goal.
Good work relationships will relieve stress. One should spend little time with co-workers to improve
inter personal relationship.

10. Exercise regularly: Aerobic exercise such as walking and swimming, produces brain chemicals
that fit uplift your mood and mental wellbeing. Exercise also improves sleep and gives you time to
think and focus on other things.

11. Eat healthy foods, practice of yoga and meditations: One should have proper food at specific
intervals. He should never skip meals. It is necessary to take time out for lunch no matter how busy
he is. And also practice of yoga and meditations are the best medicine to the stress.

12 .Anger Management: Anger is normal and healthy emotions that helps people to detect and
respond to a threatening situation. If people can channelize anger it can be a powerful motivating
force. The uncontrolled anger can seriously harm personal and professional life.