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Setting Goals

Written By Emily McCollin

12/23/15

Cultivating Change

As we look toward a new year, Americans tend to start setting goals: goals for our personal lives, for our families, for our work. Many of us just add new goals to our already long to-do list, and then feel overwhelmed by the massive accomplishments we expect of ourselves. This approach often prevents people from realizing real change in their lives.Setting goals on Biltmore stationery

In Biltmore Center for Professional Development workshops, we encourage participants to set goals based on their takeaways from the session. We ask each participant to take an honest look at what he or she will Keep doing, Stop doing, and Start doing toward creating intentional change in their daily approach to work. Our facilitators emphasize that long-term change within an individual’s life or business often results from taking small steps inspired by thoughtful intentions.

Biltmore Center for Professional Development’s foundational course focuses on Gracious Hospitality. Gracious Hospitality is most simply defined as excellent customer service with a Plus One approach.  This “Plus One” is the individual’s decision to serve, which cannot be planned, but rather must be authentically offered in a client’s moment of need. Making this second nature for one employee, not to mention an entire organization, may sound overwhelming, even impossible. However, as with any change, it starts with individuals taking small steps toward the goal.

Does this still sound too hard? Picture an organization that serves the public – maybe even your organization. Perhaps senior managers walk through the lobby or other public areas throughout the day, but are often talking or typing on their cell phones – giving the impression that they are unavailable to both customers and colleagues.  Setting the goal to provide Plus One customer service in this situation is so easy! The senior managers just need to keep walking through public spaces, stop working on their cell phones while in these public areas, and start greeting guests and colleagues with eye contact and a smile. This personal touch, that requires no formal training, immediately elevates the customer experience and is a small step that reaps instant rewards.

As you consider professional goals for yourself and your organization, we invite you to join Biltmore Center for Professional Development workshops this coming year. For more information and to register, please visit our website.