1. CS 113 Welcome to Week 7/Unit 7
Academic Strategies for Business Professionals

2. General Questions & Weekly News
Please share your weekly news…
and general questions.

3. Weekly Reminders & Announcements
Tips for SUCCESS
Late Assignments
Planning Ahead

4. Unit 7 Assignments Complete the Unit 7 Reading & Activities
Goal Setting & Networking
Attend the Unit 7 Discussion
Apply S.M.A.R.T. Goal Setting Strategies
Complete the Unit 7 Web Exploration
Topics: Goal Setting // Planning Strategies
Begin working on the Unit 7/8 Assignment
Informational Interview with a Professional
Complete the Unit 7 Quiz

5. Unit 7 Interview with a Professional Assignment
Select Unit 7 on your Course Menu and then select the Assignment icon to the right. Follow all guidelines listed on the Unit 7/8 template.
Begin planning and preparing for your interview with a professional this week.
Double-check to make sure you have completed all items listed on the template. Proofread and revise as necessary.
Submit the completed template to the Dropbox area of the course on or before the last day of Unit 8.

7. Interview Planning Steps
STEP I: Think about a career you would like to investigate. You might also want to take time to research careers by visiting Kaplan's Career Services site. The O*Net OnLine is also a great career search tool as well: The idea is to take time to explore your career interest as you prepare for your interview.
STEP II: Decide upon the person you would like to interview. This person should be a professional who works in a career field that you would like to pursue (current or retired), so you can ask questions and learn more about what you want to do with your career.
ADVICE: When you begin to think about the person you wish to interview, let your own interests guide you.  TALK with friends, family members, neighbors, classmates and co-workers as you try to locate someone for this interview. You might be surprised at how many people will be willing to help you get connected with someone who would be appropriate for this interview.

8. Interview Planning Steps (cont.)
STEP III: Contact the person you want to interview and set up the day and time. You may conduct your interview in person, over the phone or by . 
Explain that you are conducting the interview as a requirement for your Academic Strategies course and let the person know that you have a strong interest in their career area or a related area for a future career. Make it clear that you will need only minutes for the interview to ask the 11 questions.
STEP VI: Prepare for the interview. The 11 interview questions are already prepared for you—you will see them on the Unit 7/8 template (located in the Unit 7 Assignment area). Use these questions and feel free to include a few that are of special interest to you as well. Conduct yourself professionally at all times and strive to keep the interview to no more than minutes. That is a courtesy on your part—time is valuable!!

9. Agenda for Seminar Unit 7
Reading
Setting Goals
Strategic Road Map
SMART Goals
Networking
Discussion Board
Review of Interview Assignment
Seminar Case Study
Conclusion

10. Networking? What comes to mind when you think of networking?
How are social and professional networking different?
How are social and professional networking similar?
When would be a good time to start building your own professional network?
Let’s take a poll . . .

11. Why is Networking Important?
Networking can open many doors.
Important to have strong network of people who know you and know your capabilities.
Effective networking can lead to many opportunities.

12. Networking Challenge
Wherever you are with your professional network right now, my CHALLENGE to all of you is to strengthen your network by the end of this term.
Let’s take a look at some practical ways you might do this . . .

13. Networking Field Trip Let’s explore the Work Bloom Networking site…

14. Questions?

15. “Man is a goal seeking animal
“Man is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.” Aristotle

16. Why set goals? Focus Motivation Benchmarks Rewards Accountability
Why set goals in the first place? Goals help us focus on what we think is important to accomplish in a particular time frame. With all that we have to do, goals allow us to narrow our field of concentration, to make choices, and to identify priorities. Goals also provide motivation. They tell us what we want to accomplish. They challenge us to show we can do it. Goals also enable us to benchmark our work. They tell us how much we want to grow from a prior position. Goals help us to identify individuals who are deserving of commendation, people who have accepted a challenge and met it successfully. They help us acknowledge the contribution to the cause that our work has provided. And finally, goals enable us to be accountable to our multiple audiences. By meeting our goals, we can say that we lived up to the promises we made.

17. Why set goals?
• Suffer less stress and anxiety • Concentrate and remember better • Demonstrate greater self-confidence • Perform better and achieve more • Be happier and more satisfied

18. Setting Long Term Goals
Before you say "my goal is to retire to the
Caribbean," it is important to take stock and
analyze your situation from a different
perspective.
While you may truly be able to
retire to the Caribbean, HOW will you do that?
A new job? A higher income? Less
responsibilities?

19. Strategic Road Map Vision Strategy Goals
Strategic goals should be more than mere milestones on a well worn path. At their best, they should help direct that path. In essence, we need to look into the future and estimate just what has to become to remain healthy and effective. With that vision and persistence, you need to develop a strategy for becoming that well developed person in the future. Once you have that vision and strategy, you can choose goals that if and when accomplished, can move to the desired new position or growth in a specific time. Strategically chosen goals help us to know that we are on course during the journey, or they can help us re-orient ourselves to a new objective as changing circumstances dictate. Goals also help us strengthen our relationships. First, by communicating our goals up front, and by promising to frequently check our progress.

20. Outcome Goals vs. Performance Goals
Did you finish
specific tasks on the
way to a goal?
Did you discover
new things while
working toward a
goal?
Did some of the
steps taken result
in something of
value? 
Did you get the job you set your sights on?
Did you create something?
Did you finish a task?
Outcome focuses on end result. Performance allows for more control and is more realistic.

21. SPECIFIC GOALS Setting something in concrete is good Events Dollars $$
Being a Participant
Demographics
We are sharpening our focus on what we are wanting to accomplish!
Goal setting adds clarity in the minds of everyone involved. Choosing concrete metrics, we are further sharpening the focus on what we are trying to accomplish. This not only establishes accountability, but enables us to enlist support in our efforts without confusion. Goal clarity may be enhanced by asking those supporters for their feedback. The more clear and simple your goals can be made, the greater the buy-in you are likely to achieve in support of them.

22. SMART Goals
SMART goals respond positively to the following questions: 1) Are they clear, and will I know the goal was achieved or not. 2) Will I know if progress was made, or not, and how much? 3) Are they realistic, or are they empty promises? 4) Can progress toward them be communicated effectively and regularly? 5) Do I know when they are to be achieved and by whom?

23. A useful way of making goals more powerful is to use the SMART mnemonic. While there are plenty of variants, SMART usually stands for:
S Specific
M Measurable
A Attainable
R Relevant
T Time-bound
For example, instead of having “to sail around the world” as a
goal, it is more powerful to say “To have completed my trip
around the world by December 31, 2015.” Obviously, this will
only be attainable if a lot of preparation has been completed
beforehand!

24. Attainable Goals Realistic is good! Stretching is …. Better!
When setting goals, try to estimate what is reachable. Nothing can be more de-motivating then to fail to meet an important challenge. It is motivating to find the appropriate moment and cause to question ourselves to reach for a “stretch” goal, one that not only presents a particular challenge but also offers a special reward four ourselves. Stretch goals can create fatigue if they are used repeatedly, but they can be especially satisfying when used correctly.

25. Reportable Goals Communication is the key Keep your promises!
As you work towards your goals, communicate your progress at strategic moments to maintain momentum and excitement. Reporting on progress lets your supporters know that you are being successful and encourages them to join in the winning effort. This is an important point success breeds confidence and further success. If the effort is lagging, make your messages motivating and helpful. Your supporters do not want to see you fail, but occassionally they need to be reminded of their role for you to reach your goal.

26. Time – Based Goals Deadlines are motivating and good
Celebrate your achievements
Deadlines are particularly motivating; we all remember the urgency we felt, if not the anxiety when a term paper was due. Deadlines also present opportunities to celebrate achievement. Make sure you use them. If the goals were strategic and challenging then you will need to acknowledge it! If your supporters were an intrical part of that achievement, make sure you say “thank you.”

27. You may set a date to stop working overtime
You may set a date to stop working overtime. You may set a date to ask for contract work instead of salary.
You should plan activities that are spent with family and no work interruptions. Whatever your goals they should be clear steps to achieving your long term goal: spending more time with family.

28. 6 Steps to Creating Achievable Goals:
With every goal you must follow the 6 P’s:
Prioritize: You may have several goals. Prioritize them on your list.
Positive: Use positive language. "I will …", "I’ll be…", "I’ll have…"
Precise: Be precise. "I will have supper with my family three nights a week" rather than "I will be home earlier"
Performance: Measure your performance. Set time for starting and completing your goal. "May 1 – I will be home at 5:30 three nights this week"
Practical: Make your goals practical. Do you have the control to make this work or do you rely on other people to meet your goal?
Personal: Is this goal a personal goal or someone else’s desire for you?

29. Here is the goal setting method I suggest: 1
Here is the goal setting method I suggest: 1. Have a BIG GOAL to strive for. 2. Break it into a series of smaller goals. 3. Break the smaller goals down into monthly and weekly goals. 4. Break them down further into daily goals.

30. Why might we not meet our goals?
Let’s Discuss

31. What happens if you set goals that are not realistic
What happens if you set goals that are not realistic? Too high maybe or too low?

32. Why should we set deadlines as we set goals?

33. Why do you think it’s important to have a mixture of short-term goals and long-term goals?

34. There can be many reasons why we may fail to achieve a goal:
1. Lack of commitment 2. They have lost interest and motivation in the goal 3. Feel overwhelmed, frustrated or disappointed 4. Lack of standards against which to monitor their progress 5. Are not able to acquire the required skills and knowledge necessary for achievement of their goal. 6. Lack of discipline, persistence and determination 7. They are not able to maintain their focus on the goal 8. Lack of energy and enthusiasm while pursuing goals.

35. Let’s Discuss
The Case Study of
Lara

36. Lara is a stay-at-home, married mother of two small children
Lara is a stay-at-home, married mother of two small children. The past few years have been financially difficult for the family, so Lara has decided to go back to school to get a good paying job and help support her family. She would like a career that allows her to stay at home with Her children as much as possible. Her goals right now are to get in and out of college quickly and start earning money as soon as possible. Lara is into arts and crafts and has always been interested in starting her own business to sell them. Although she has no prior experience or knowledge about owning a business, she frequents craft shops and fairs and has some knowledge of what other people sell. She has decided to go back to school to become an entrepreneur.

37. Question 1: Did Lara identify both her long-term and her short-term goals, and did she plan appropriate steps to achieve them?
Question 2: How would you help Lara craft a set of goals in terms of becoming an entrepreneur that fit with the S.M.A.R.T (specific, measurable, action- oriented, realistic, and timed) approach?
Question 3: How would talking to a shop owner or other entrepreneur help Lara formulate her own goals?

38. The Discussion Forum for Week 7/Unit 7

39. The first post must be made by Saturday –no exceptions
Students are to post a minimum of three posts per discussion thread. One initial response and two replies to their classmates
Posting on a minimum of three different days, for example: Wednesday, Friday and Monday
The first post must be made by Saturday –no exceptions
(but the sooner the better).
Be Substantive. Use 100 words minimum for each of the three required responses. Say something meaningful! Add Value!
Spelling, Grammar, punctuation all matter. You will lose points for misspelled or misused words, poor grammar or incorrect punctuation including capitalization.

40. You will respond to either A or B:
Item A. Describe a situation where you set a goal and achieved it. How did this accomplishment make you feel? Which elements of S.M.A.R.T. goal setting did you use in this case? What did you learn about goal setting from this experience?
Item B. Describe a situation where you set a goal but were not able to accomplish it. How did this make you feel? Which elements of S.M.A.R.T. goal setting did you fail to use in this case? What did you learn about goal setting from this experience?

41. First Stop:
The Unit 8 Interviewee!

42. Questions??