“Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I’ll give you a man who will make history. Give me a man with no goals and I’ll give you a stock clerk.” — J.C. Penney

Greek philosopher Plato underscored the importance of goal setting when he said, “The beginning is the most important part of any work.”

Master sales trainer Zig Ziglar believes, “Unless you have definite, precise, clearly set goals, you are not going to realize the maximum potential that lies within you.” He adds, “When you set goals, something inside of you starts saying, “Let’s go, let’s go,” and ceilings start to move up.”

The Bottom Line: Leaders use the discipline of effective goal setting to get focused, motivate themselves and maximize their potential.