How to review your annual goals and set up for next year

Executive overview

Most people either skip annual goal reviews or treat them legalistically — marking anything unfinished as failure. Reviewing goals honestly, including the ones that became irrelevant, builds better intentions for the next year.

The host walks through nine goals set for 2015, scores each one, and draws out the broader principle: starting with a goal and shifting is better than not starting at all.

Setting goals you later miss is more valuable than not setting them — the intention moves you forward.

2015 goal review: results by category

1. Launch a Coaching for Leaders product or service — Achieved. Created and launched the Coaching for Leaders Mastermind; two inaugural groups running.
2. Learn to play seven songs on guitar — In progress. Reached roughly two to three songs reliably after weekly lessons for seven to eight months.
3. Free up time on audio production — Achieved. Hired a podcast producer; recovered two to three hours per week, mostly returned to family time.
4. Hit a specific Dale Carnegie business strategy goal — Not applicable. Ownership change mid-year made the goal irrelevant; scratched and restarted.
5. Read 15 books — In progress / no. Completed seven to eight, including one fiction and two on early childhood development; HBR books untouched.
6. Two significant network or friendship interactions per week — No. Made real headway but did not hit the weekly target consistently.
7. Attend a copywriting course — Achieved. Substituted a book and ran an informal video group with peers; improved the skill, which was the actual goal.
8. Go camping with son Luke — Achieved. Trip booked for the same weekend as the recording.
9. Double the Coaching for Leaders audience — In progress. Downloads grew ~50% to ~6,000 listeners per episode in the first week; catalog downloads crossed 100,000 per month.

Final tally: 4 achieved, 3 in progress, 1 no, 1 not applicable — 7 of 9 either achieved or substantially advanced.

Why goal-setting works even when you miss

• Legalistic goal-tracking (did I hit every single one?) undermines the broader purpose of intentional living.
• A goal that becomes irrelevant mid-year still served its function: it focused attention and triggered planning.
• Falling short on a goal is not failure if it moved you closer to something meaningful.
• Reviewing goals at year-end reveals patterns — which areas you invested in, which you avoided, and why.

Substituting the method while keeping the outcome

• Goal seven (copywriting) is a clear example: the target was skill improvement, not course attendance.
• When a course turned out to be replicable via a book and a peer group, the switch was legitimate.
• Distinguishing the desired result from the assumed method prevents unnecessary rigidity.

Two actions for new-year planning

• LifeScore assessment (free): self-rate across 10 life domains (vocation, finances, physical, emotional, social, etc.) on a 1–12 scale; tracks progress over time; takes under 10 minutes.
• Five Days to Your Best Year Ever (Michael Hyatt, paid course): five one-hour modules; designed to be completed between Christmas and New Year's; provides a goal-setting framework and weekly check-in structure.
• Both tools are presented as starting points for intentional planning rather than casual New Year's resolutions.