This is the last in our series on how lawyers I coached are preparing their business plan for 2012. Greg Liakopoulos is a real estate partner in McCarthy Tétrault’s Calgary office. I like that Greg has recognized that it is important to plan actions to achieve goals. I frequently remind lawyers:

Setting goals is easy. Doing the work to achieve the goals is more challenging.

I also like Greg’s thoughts on pushing himself outside his comfort zone with stretch goals.

As I prepare by 2012 business plan I started by reflecting on 2011. One of the first things that come to mind is that my 2011 plan had goals and objectives, but I did not clearly set out a plan to meet those goals and objectives. this year I am going to be more specific on plans to meet my 2012 goals.

I want to outline in more details the actions I am going to take as well as a timeline to do those things. Only then can I have a better picture of what works and what does not work.

I am also going to hold myself accountable by sharing these goals and objectives with my colleagues. I think by making a bold plan and sharing with others in your firm you are now accountable not just to yourself but to others you have involved in helping you achieve those goals. Its easy to keep plans a secret, no one will ever know if you have met your goals or not. By sharing these plans and by making bold commitments like this, out loud, I think I will be more motivated to succeed.

The plan for 2012 will have its share of achievable goals and also ones that are a bit out of reach. I really want to push myself out of my comfort zone and elevate my game in all aspects of my practice and life.