Once you've identified your career conflicts, and you've revised your list of objectives accordingly, write down your top-priority goals. Examine each goal carefully in the light of the following questions: "Given my abilities, resources and the available time, how realistic is this goal?" and "What important sub-goals have to be reached to achieve the final goal?" You should consider these questions periodically and rigorously refine your answers until you have a comprehensive perspective.

You have a final list of important goals that have been ranked according to their value and attainability. The next objective is to develop a plan for achieving these goals. The first step is to specify, in writing, the performance required for you to be satisfied that the goal has been achieved. This performance involves both your efforts and external circumstances that will have an impact on those efforts. Questions to be answered include: What personal shortcomings, if any, can prevent me from realizing this goal? What externally imposed barriers, if any, will need to be overcome? What specific actions can I take to achieve this goal? Who, if anyone, can help me attain this goal?

Compensate for your personal shortcomings and eliminate or work around externally imposed barriers. If this isn't possible, you should revise your plan accordingly.

Actions you can take to realize each goal should be listed and ranked in order of effectiveness. In doing so, force yourself to be specific and include such details as the resources required, help needed from others and deadlines. While deadlines are important, self-imposed time constraints should be realistic, because meeting them is very important. If you fail to reach your goals within the time-frame allotted, you could set up a pattern of failure that can diminish your self-confidence and undermine future progress.

Your final list of actions, with deadlines, should be organized according to their priority. A flow diagram might help. The objective is to establish the order in which actions must be taken so that efforts will be systematic and effective.

Getting other people to help can be crucial to your success. To be sure you don't miss any opportunities, ask yourself such questions as: Who might help? What special resources or capabilities could they contribute? Will they willingly lend their support? If not, what can be done to overcome their reluctance? In what ways might others benefit from the attainment of my goal? How might they be rewarded for helping?

Before you put your plan into effect, decide how you will monitor and measure your progress. The best approach is to use a biweekly report procedure. This should be designed to let you know where you stand at any time, and whether you're ahead or behind schedule.

A report form should be set for each goal. The form should include a statement of the goal, a starting date and projected completion date.

The biggest obstacle to taking action is usually psychological. Many people want to be absolutely sure of their success before they set out to attain a goal. Such a need for total assurance is not only unrealistic, but also undesirable. Information should be gathered, but to insist that you have all the facts needed to prove the success of your plan before you act is an exercise in futility and, probably, an excuse for inaction. In addition, without the possibility of failure, you won't have the feeling of mastery and enjoyment when you succeed.

Once goals are set, you must be extremely persistent in pursuing them. Vacillation and indecision at the action stage almost guarantee failure. Quick action is preferable because the force of decisiveness itself creates momentum and progress.

When working toward each goal, don't get discouraged if you don't see the expected results and received sense of achievement immediately. If this happens, act as if success is just around the corner. This attitude provides the motivation to persist until the desired results start coming.

Your efforts should not be all work, without rewards along the way. If you attack your goals with the attitude that it will be a ceaseless and relentless struggle, you're apt to wear yourself out. Instead, you should reward yourself for each success, no matter how small or trifling. At the same time, keep your eye on your main objective. Singlemindedness in the pursuit of goals doesn't come automatically, nor are most people able to maintain it for long. But it's mandatory if you're to succeed.

Now you're ready to design your final Achievement Plan. Following the steps listed will improve your ability to achieve goals.

Step 1 -- From your list of goals from the exercise you completed in part one of this series, choose the goal you most want to reach. (If you have several equally desirable goals, follow this procedure with each of them). Review their significance, degree of difficulty and conflicts.

Step 2 -- Write down the results that would cause you to declare that the goal is achieved.

Step 3 -- Plan how to achieve your goal by examining the following four considerations:

Are there any personal shortcomings that prevent you from reaching your goal and that you have to overcome?

Are there any obstacles or outside barriers that you need to overcome?

What are the actions that you can undertake and things you can do to achieve your goal?

How can others help you to obtain your goal?

Step 4 -- Develop a goal achievement plan to:

• minimize or eliminate personal shortcomings and outside obstacles that hinder goal achievement and
• make your actions as effective as you can and plan to increase the help from others.

State as clearly and as exactly as possible what you want to achieve and within what time-frame. Then write out how important it is that you achieve your goal. How does this goal relate to your other long-term or short-term goals? Have you resolved or can you resolve, any conflicts that might exist?

Estimate your chances of succeeding. What will be the consequence of your success? What could happen if you fail to reach your goal? What specific actions can you undertake that will help you move toward your goal? (Identify each separate activity or step required.)

Select the one specific action that you consider most effective and that deserves complete concentration. Determine the best sequence for taking the steps. Ask: Who could help me achieve my goals? In what ways, where and when, might they help?

To achieve certain desired goals, you need specific skills. As a rule, executives select goals for which they have the requisite skills, but sometimes a goal requires improvement of existing skills or even acquiring a new set of skills. Assess your personal skills by making the following lists:

• those in which you excel.
• those at which you are above average.
• those you plan to improve.
• those you need to achieve your goal.

Next, rate the importance of each skill you need to achieve your goal on a scale of one to 10. Then, list the skills you need to improve and the new skills you need to acquire.

When planning to improve existing skills or acquire new ones, ask yourself these questions: Who could I contact to learn more specifically how I could learn/improve this skill? Whom do I know who has this particular skill? How could I learn from him or her? What books or magazines would be helpful regarding this skill? Are there any courses or training programs I could take? What new experiences would help me with that skill? What opportunities could I seek to practice this skill? What might prevent me from learning/improving this skill? How can I overcome any barriers?

Finally, think about what personal shortcomings (in terms of personality, values, skills, etc.) could keep you from achieving your goal. List them and list the steps you can take to overcome them. Then consider the following:

• What outside barriers or obstacles might keep you from achieving your goal?
• How probable is it that they'll prevent you from reaching your goal?
• What actions can you take to remove them?
• How can you revise your plan if the potential obstacles can't be removed?

-- Mr. Raudsepp was a frequent contributor to the National Business Employment Weekly from 1984 to 1995, publishing more than 50 articles in the magazine. As president of Princeton Creative Research Inc., a consulting firm in Princeton, N.J., he wrote 16 books and more than 700 articles for publications around the world.