GoalMaker Software Solutions

Testimonials

"In 15 years using various approaches to setting and monitoring goals, GoalMaker is by far the best tool I’ve come across."
Gordon Hang Gong, Financial Controller, Arthur Andersen & Co.

 

"I found GoalMaker easy to use, motivating and helpful all the way. I think it’s a tool anyone can use for setting long term and short term goals, from home users to business, young or old."
Sandi Rainey, Training & Development Consultant, Dalteq - People & Technology

 

"I can now, for the first time, graphically interpret where I was, where I am and where I’m going. GoalMaker has assisted me in designing a fresh and exciting business plan that will help me track and monitor my achievements and ambitions."
Selwyn Favish, Business Insurance Consultant, Sun Alliance

 

"Never, have I been so impressed and deeply moved by a single software progam, and I have a few very advanced ones. GOALMAKER confirms the most humane use of the computer and its purpose to enlighten, to help bring individuals out of obsure thinking into clarity and personal responsiblity ... Good Luck with the best product I have seen, bar none."
Paul Lloyd Warner, Composer of classical and healing music, Author of poetry, Business Owner

 

"After using the GoalMaker program for only two weeks, my productivity increased by over 35%. I get more done, in less time, and I feel better, because I know I am achieving my goals."
Mark Davis, Marketing Manager, Spectrum Marketing

 

"Easy to use, hard to avoid. GoalMaker politely, but insistently, guides you towards seeing your goals, clearly enough to make them real."
Chris Gymer, Director, Power Systems Pty Ltd

 

Reviews

THE NEW YORK TIMES
21 DECEMBER 2003
BY ABBY ELLIN

The Rewards Of Persistence

Extracted from the article...

I'VE never quite understood New Year's resolutions. Why designate just one time of year to pursue ambitions you should be chasing all along?

Who knows how many will actually meet their goals next year, or thereafter? What I want to know is why some people, especially young adults, can follow through on their goals and zoom to the top, while others can keep to a plan for only a few minutes.

Some people, however, may need a nudge from an outside source, and they can get it for a price. For $75, you can buy GoalMaker software (www.goalmaker.com), which trains you to ''identify, set, organize, manage and reach your goals.''

For a copy of the full article go to http://www.nytimes.com and search for GoalMaker.

 

THE COMPUTER PAPER
GREATER TORONTO EDITION, 3 JANUARY 1998
BY CHUCK CALLOZZI

Goal setting and success

It's often said that just three percent of the population sets goals. It is this three percent that are the big achievers, the dream catchers. The rest of us are like rudder-less ships drifting in the sea of life. Our destination? Who knows? We arrive wherever the currents and tides take us.

Why don't more of us take charge of our destination? Although there may be many reasons, I believe the main explanation is that no one taught us how to do so. Goal setting programs can teach you how to set goals and manage them. To understand how they work, let's watch our hypothetical subject, Joey, working through a goal setting program.

Joey takes control

Joey's new program suggests that Joey set goals in all areas of life: family, business, financial, spiritual, health and more. Being young, Joey's chief concern now is career, or lack of one. So, Joey decides to start with a career goal.

Currently, Joey waits tables, but dreams of succeeding in the entertainment business, so Joey sets a career goal of entertainer! Granted, the goal does appear a bit vague, but at least it's a starting point. It can always be edited and refined later.

The program now forces Joey to reflect on what steps are needed to move closer to the goal. So Joey makes a list of the things that first come to mind:

Join a Toastmasters' club
Write comedy routines
Participate in amateur comedy night at clubs
Audition as a stand-up comic
Take rnodeling courses
Become a model
Get an agent
Take acting classes
Work as a movie extra
Work in TV commercials
Join relevant associations for networking
Build a portfolio
Next, the program directs Joey to break down each of the above sub-goals into tasks, and show the dates that they will be performed. Joey thought the first sub-goal, 'join Toastmasters,' would be a good idea to develop speaking skills and gain experience speaking before groups. Joey then divided this sub-goal into the following tasks:

Check my community newspaper for Toastmaster meetings in my area.
Visit three clubs as a guest.
Choose one club to join.
Join in the training program
Join in speech contests.
Become a member of the executive committee.
After scheduling the above tasks, Joey continues by adding and scheduling tasks for each of the remaining 11 sub-goals (write comedy routines, participate in amateur comedy night at clubs, etc.). Joey will have the chance to further refine and embellish the goals when reviewing them each day. As goals are completed, new ones will be regularly be added, always advancing toward the ultimate career goal.

In only a matter of days, Joey realizes life now has direction! Even the table waiting job has meaning - part of the salary can be used to pay Toastmaster club dues. Today Joey is moving toward a drearn - and succeeding.

Back to reality

The power of goal setting is that it breaks down overwhelming dreams into easily manageable tasks. Will Joey succeed? We can't say, but the chances are better than if Joey didn't go through the goal-setting exercise. What will Joey become? A movie star? Great speaker? Top model? Again, no one knows at this stage. One thing is certain: as long as Joey persists in the goal-setting program, success in the entertainment industry will come, in one form or another. Congratulations Joey!

Goal setting programs can help you

There's more to goal setting than I outlined above, but at least you are now familiar with the general idea. You may not need a computer to set goals, but here are some of the ways goal setting software can help you:

Teach you how to set goals
Simplify and automate goal setting procedures
Make it easy to manage, review, and edit your goals
Monitor and display your progress in the form of reports, tables, and graphs
Eliminate fear by reducing overwhelming goals into easily manageable tasks, increase confidence by displaying your successes
Motivate you to add new and more challenging goals
Help you to stay focused on your goals
Help to clarify and expand your vision
Force you to set achievement dates
Show you what needs to be done daily with a to-do list
Remind you of approaching tasks
We are now ready to introduce you to eight goal-setting programs, eight paths to success. Unlike spreadsheets or word-processors that all share similar appearances and features, goal setting programs vary widely. This is due, in part, to them not having been around long enough for a standard to be established. Moreover, the chief designer of a program may be a psychologist, scientist, motivator business-person, or computer programmer, which also explains why the programs take different approaches.

Rather than delve into each program at great length, I will concentrate on their differences. Fortunately, six of the eight programs are available on the Internet as 30-day trial versions (share-ware), so you can try them out before deciding which is the best program for you.

GoalMaker

From: GoalMaker Software Solutions (formerly Access Able Systems)

Platform: Windows

Most helpful: GoalMaker, from Australian developer Access Able Systems, is packed with more help than any of the other programs. If you're interested in goal setting and wish to learn as much as possible about the topic, this may be the program for you. Look at what it offers you in the way of help:

An Introduction to GoalMaker full-screen folder with 10 tabs jammed with useful information.
Tutorial screens that help you every step of the way.
Superb on-line help. When clicking on contents in the help menu, two screens open. All subjects appear in the form of a tree in the right-hand window. Click on a subject in that window and all topics about that subject appear as branches of the tree. Click on a topic that interests you and all the information appears in the left-hand window.
Context-sensitive help. Are you about to do something, but are confused? Hit F1 and the help windows mentioned above will automatically open at the right place to answer your question.
Eight sample files showing how the program was used by a salesperson, business-person, net-worker, athlete, counsellor, coach, student, and author.
A beautiful 165-page manual in the form of an Adobe Acrobat file that you can down-load with the GoalMaker software.
A clinical psychologist and a business/training consultant developed the program. The training consultant part of the team explains the emphasis on help in the program. The psychologist's input is likely to take you by surprise: as you are busily working on your goals in the program, a new window will suddenly appear against a plain background, and in the window, a message will point out one of your goals, ask you to focus on it and then lead you through a visualization exercise.

Both members of the team probably contributed to the great detail given to each goal. This attention exceeds that of most of the other programs. For example, after creating a goal, just click on the correct tab to add as much detail as you want on the following subjects: benefits, obstacles, strategies, the reward you will give yourself, and linked short-term goals. Included among its many other features are graphs to show your progress and a list of your victories.

One of the most valuable features is the tree view (hierarchical diagram that displays all goals, sub-goals, tasks and their due dates) because with just one click you can instantly view your overall plan. There's even a bar graph to display how you were feeling emotionally on any given day in a wide range of areas.

Our rating: highly recommended