It may not be the beginning of the year, but no matter the time, your company should be working toward set goals. Taking your business to the next level requires more than initial planning. The key is to strategize by setting goals and working to achieve them.
The reasons behind your goals don’t all need to be the same. The fact is there should be different types of goals with an overall company goal encompassing them. Working to create, record and assess your goals is the key component to you business plan.
Why is it important?
Ever start working on a new project and then get loaded with old work. We’ve all been sidetracked before and that’s the exact reason for setting goals. How are you able to decide when to expand your team for those new projects or simply change your focus without goals? Creating a plan for your business will allow you to better make those decisions.
Creating your goals
Write your goals down. A clearly written strategic plan is critical to achieving your goals. Reflect on your previous year and see which areas you excelled or underachieved in. Allocating your resources accordingly (that’s your employees too) with a timeline for your strategy will enable you to determine your focus during the year.
Don’t strive too high
Your goals must be specific and measurable to be accurately reviewed at the end of the year. Other than helping in the decision making, your goals will help you shape your company as it grows. So be careful not to set your goals so high that they’re unattainable. This could lead to disappointment.
Record
Creating a calendar and dates on which to record your progress during the year will help your end of the year assessment. With a dated record, you can determine when progress was the slowest and attribute it to the correct source. Some might record progress daily, weekly, monthly, or even quarterly. The frequency depends on you and your goals.
Assessment
Now that you’ve determined how to keep track and measure your goals, it’s time to review your progress. Don’t let your failures get you down, but determine how you can grow from them.
For example, the underachievement may be attributable to outside sources such as a decrease in the market. We can’t always reach our goals but gaining the insight on what we need to change and improve on is why we set them.
For more than 32 years, I’ve been working with small businesses to strategize and develop a marketing and communication strategy. If you need help with strategy and goal setting, please contact me today!
