Goal Setting Worksheet
The Big Ideas
“There is no dress rehearsal in life. You get one shot. Make it count.”
Every two to three years deserves a season of introspection: “What am I doing to become my best self?” If we are not intentional, the company grows faster than we do, and our value to it declines. Relevance fades when we stop staying current on market knowledge, key industry players, business models, and trends. When people stop growing, even smart, committed teams hit bottlenecks, conflict, and poor decisions.
Being Intentional
- Be thoughtful with your time. It is your most precious resource.
- Be purposeful in word and action; make thoughtful choices.
- Your past does not have to set the pattern of your future. Every morning is a new choice.
- Examine yourself: know your passions, talents, weaknesses, and blind spots.
Having Focus
- Concentrate on what matters. Ignore what doesn’t.
- Decide what’s important and set your priorities.
- Stop comparing yourself to others. You weren’t born to live their life.
- Focus is a muscle. You can build it. Evaluate the environment carrying you downstream.
Taking Action
- The universe rewards action. Desire alone separates you from no one.
- Commit to learning. Curious, humble people study those they admire.
- Set goals that line up directly with your personal vision.
- Goals + Commitment = Realized Dreams.
How the rest of this worksheet works
You’ll move from the inside out: first your mission, vision, and values, then a full-year roadmap, then the network that carries you there (your 3–5, your 50, and your 500), and finally three questions to sit with. Type directly into any field. Your answers save automatically in this browser, and you can download any tab, or the whole worksheet, as a PDF at any time.
Mission, Vision & Values
My Mission — Why I’m On the Planet
To help inspire better leaders by sharing my own lessons learned through teaching, mentoring, and coaching.
My Vision — Where I Will Be in 5 Years
To be a nationally recognized coach, investor, and advisor to the businesses of great entrepreneurs and CEOs.
My Values — What Governs My Choices
My Mission
Why do I exist? A concise explanation of your reason for existence, your bigger purpose and overall intention.
- What is my overall intention?
- Why am I on this planet?
My Vision
Where will I be in 5 years? A forward-looking mental image of what you wish to achieve. It should be inspirational and challenge you to be your best self.
- Where am I headed?
- If I achieve all my strategic goals, what will I look like 5 years from now?
My Values
What behaviors do I live by? Your values create the moral compass for how you choose to live. They govern your choices.
- What values guide your decision-making and behaviors?
- What conduct will you not tolerate in your personal or professional life?
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- 3.
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- 5.
My 2026 Roadmap
My 3–5 Mentors
My 3–5 Mentors
The 3–5 people who most influence who you become.
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- 5.
How to invest in these relationships
- Set up regular check-ins. Get it on the calendar. Formal or over drinks, it depends on the relationship.
- Update them on progress. Follow up on ideas or plans your conversations inspired. Try to do it without an additional ask.
- Ask for specific, iterative feedback. Be targeted: advice on a conversation, a gut-check on a plan, feedback on a line of thinking.
- Be grateful. Never take them for granted. They offer time and wisdom, and that is valuable to many people.
My 50 Experts
Identify the core people you can turn to for expertise and to help you professionally grow across each area of your growth map.
Working your 50
- Actively follow them. Know their latest thinking and interests. Tools like Google Alerts help, alongside direct interaction.
- See who else is following them. Notice who comments on or shares their work in ways that resonate. They may be in your 5 or 50, and are likely in your 500.
- Make yourself visible. Share within their orbit. Write something. Pose a question. Keep your professional profiles current.
- Be specific in your outreach. Make sure they know who you are and what you’re asking. Provide context; keep the ask reasonable. Never ask to “pick their brains.”
My 500 Connectors
Your connectors are a loose network of people you may or may not ever actually engage. But they are a starting point when you are looking for new opportunities, insights, or broad professional development.
- Leverage tools like LinkedIn or other profession-specific networks to connect with people you find smart, creative, or compelling.
- Pay attention to conference speakers and facilitators, as well as other participants you meet virtually or in person.
- Gather names and connect with those writing in leading journals, researching at universities, or otherwise driving the thinking in your industry.
- Collect. Review. Prune. Reach out when you’re ready. Don’t be shy. That’s why you have 500.
My next 7 days
What specific action(s) will you take in the next 7 days to improve your network of 500?
Ongoing Resources
Three Questions
What do you want to achieve so much that you are willing to invest your most precious asset — your time — into it, foregoing other opportunities?
Most people are willing to settle for “good enough.” If you want to be elite, you must earn it. Every day. In everything you do.
What are you focusing on to become your best self? How will you measure your progress?
Anyone can have a great idea. It’s what you do with your thoughts and ideas that defines you.
What will you STOP doing? What are you going to START doing? When?
Every day brings you one day closer to the end of your career and your life. Don’t waste it on things that are not moving you toward your goals.
Dr. Michael Burcham · Chief of Strategy & Talent Development · Shore Capital Partners · www.shorecp.university