As a small business advisor, I frequently work with business owners on expectations. Not only the owner’s expectations for their business, but also their expectations for themselves and most especially for their employees, partners and vendors.

Everyone needs to make their expectations crystal clear. The more clarity you have the better. The more often you do this and the sooner you do this the more favorable the outcome of whatever event it pertains to will be.

So let’s take it one step at a time.

Expectations for yourself. You may think that this one is easy. Okay, how many of you have clearly thought out and published expectations for yourself? This would include personal business performance and achievement expectations – as in a written (personal) business plan. What are your personal goals in business, what are you personally going to learn, personally going to teach, personally going to achieve?

What about your personal performance, core values, ethics, morals and manners – as in a personal code of conduct and a plan for achievement, if you will. And of course this would be written and published, albeit only to yourself.

Michael Masterson – the founder and editor of one most successful electronic newsletters, “Early to Rise” – suggests that you not only have a written core values statement that would include work, personal and individual core values.

But he also suggests that you do an annual five year plan for yourself encompassing Wealth (Financial), Health, Personal-Relationships and personal growth.

You may look at this a merely goal setting, but it also has the additional benefit of making your expectations for your own behavior and achievement crystal clear.

Now how many of you do this?