It is time to start thinking about
2017 and setting business goals. We all have a tendency to over-reach as
January approaches, setting wild goals that we give up on half-way through the
month, so it is important to be realistic in our aims. Below we examine how to
set yourself realistic quarterly and yearly goals, as well as lead and lag
goals.
Setting
SMART goals
Perhaps the most common method for
goal setting is by using the SMART method, which stands for:
- Specific – be clear in what you want to achieve
- Measurable – you should be able to measure the success
of your goals
- Achievable – make sure your goals are challenging, but
achievable
- Relevant – is your goal actually relevant to your
business and overall aims?
- Time-bound – make sure you set yourself a specific
deadline with your goals
If you follow the above steps, it is
much easier to set realistic goals, stick to them and, ultimately, achieve
them. Without following a clear structure, businesses tend to set wild goals
with no deadline for realistic aims, and so employees always fall short.
Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, said “We
are the most focused company that I know of or have read of or have any
knowledge of. We keep the amount of things we focus on very small in number so
that we can put enormous energy behind the ones we do choose.”
The key here is to be simple, be
realistic and be kind to yourself! If your goal is to make your first million
then fine, but how achievable is that right now? What steps can be taken to
achieve that?
Keeping your goals time-bound and measurable is extremely important, because it makes them accountable and
allows you to critique when processes are not going right. It is useful to set
a yearly goal for what you want to have achieved by the end of 2017, but break
this down further into quarterly goals and even monthly/weekly goals to help
keep everyone focused and on track day-by-day.
Lead
and lag goals
Lead and lag goals, also called lead
and lag indicators, are two different types of measurement that you can use to
determine your business’ success.
- Lag goals:
This is the measurement of the result that you are trying to achieve, and
the end goal will lag behind all of the total results of the smaller goals
together. By the time that you get the data on the result of the goal, it
has already happened, and so will always be lagging behind.
- Lead goals: These
are goals which are used to foretell a result, and are much more easily
influenced and predictive. I.e., if we want to make more sales, we make
more sales calls. Completing one of these goals will lead to a
bigger goal.
Both are useful goals to consider
and have in mind for your business as just another way to keep your success
measured and realistic. Lag goals are easy to measure as you have either
achieved the result or you have not. They usually extend over a longer period
of time and are usually associated with the Big Hairy Audacious Goal.
Lead goals are goals which you have
much greater control over, and they usually lead on to the lag goal. It is
about setting short-term goals, usually just a week or less, which can move you
towards your bigger goal.
Keeping
it simple
Whichever way you choose to set
goals for your business or organization, the important thing is to keep them
consistent, simple, and realistic. If you have multiple employees, then it is
important that everyone is one the same page so you are all heading in the same
direction. Keeping goals clearly time-defined, measurable, and realistic will
ensure that there will be no confusion down the line, and will help you to
stick to your new year, new you business aims!
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