Some of the best leaders I’ve ever been around all have one thing in common. It’s not charisma, or communication skills or creativity. Its goals and planning. These leaders had plans and goals for their future, both personally and corporate. The reason this is so important is that they recognize that if you do not have a plan to get where you want to be, then you’ll never make it. The end of December is perfect to set aside some time to dream and plan for where you want to be next year. Here are some ideas to consider when making goals and the type of goals you should consider.

• A goal must be specific. The more detail you can provide, the better your chance of success.

• A goal must be measurable. You need to be able to check your progress in the process.

• A goal must be realistic. Setting the bar too high is a sure recipe for quitting.
• Every goal you set, you need to write down.

Which goal is a good goal, and why?

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A constant lesson keeps hitting me:

Nothing great happens over night.

Never. Ever! Even when it seems like it, there’s always an untold story. I got to spend some time with Jon Acuff the other week. He’s the author and blogger of Stuff Christians Like. He said he’s got 98% of the countries in the world reading his blog! Just this week, he completed his goal and raised $60,000 to build 2 schools in Vietnam. But here’s the reality: he didn’t just start blogging and 100,000 people showed up to his blog. He’s been writing most of his life. And he didn’t raise $60,000 in 2 weeks, it took 2 years of building a relationship with his readers. Below is an previous post on how Dan Brown became a best selling author, and guess what….it didn’t happen over night! (Be on the look out for interview with Jon next week)

What is a dream you have and are you willing to work at for a long time to see it come true? Read more »

Here’s a behind the scenes conversation with Lee McDerment. Lee is the worship director for NewSpring Church. Listen in as Lee talks about leading worship, how he connects with God, and what its like working for Perry Noble.

Be sure to sign up for the next Backstage Leadership class starting in January. Get to ask questions to great leaders like Mark Batterson, Dan Cathy, Ken Blanchard and Mike Foster.Click here for more info.

Last night I had the amazing privilege of hosting Gabe Lyons for a Backstage Leadership main session. It was another awesome time of listening to a great leader dialogue about their leadership journey through amazing Q&A. If you are not familiar with Gabe and what he’s doing with Q, do yourself a favor and look into it. (read about it here) Of all the amazing stuff that Gabe shared last night, the best take away for me was not a specific answer he gave. And believe me, he gave some brilliant insight. What stood out the most was the humility in his answers. Each answer had a covering of humbleness. It was by God’s grace that he’s had the opportunities and ideas to pursue. It’s by grace that he’s built an amazing network of friends and leaders. Now, I know that he’s worked incredibly hard and sacrificed to see his vision come true, but there was such humility in that. I think that’s why people are drawn to him and other great leaders. A great reminder and example that God gives grace to the humble.What are the traits you love in a leader?