SETTING BUSINESS GOALS SUCCESSFULLY

Setting Business goals follows on from drafting your business plans and mission statement. Both are essential if you are to succeed in business, because without them you will have difficulty in setting any goals. And without goals your business is aimless.

Many small businesses often stumble along without goals or even if management does spend some time on setting business goals, they are so general and unfocused that they are meaningless.

Effective goal setting leads to success in achieving your set goals and that can then lead to business success.

Business plans give the overall direction of the company, but as such this direction needs to be broken down into the individual goals needed to achieve the desired direction.

Neglect your small business goals at your peril

Let’s have a look at the does and don'ts of setting business goals.

The Aims and Objects.

Goal setting of any sort, to be successful, must encourage, show direction and the goals must be achievable.

Goals are set by people for people. If they don’t meet these three criteria then, in my opinion, the chances of success are slim.

Setting business goals poorly, leads to confusion, wastes time and upsets employees. Get it right or don’t do it at all.

Setting Your Goals

There are not too many qualities that one needs to get right when setting goals, but these do need to be remembered. Here they are:-

• First things first. The first and most important rule when setting goals is to be honest.

  If you are not honest with yourself, your goals will be meaningless. Bluff yourself as to your goals and before you even start you will know that they are not going to be achieved. You need to be pragmatic in order to set achievable and challenging goals.

• Be Specific.

  Focus on your goal and word it in such a way that it means something specific. For example, the goal of “increasing the product range by 10 items on or before the 1st May” is far better focused than simply stating “Get more products.”

  Be careful when goal setting not to set too many goals, as none will then be important. Don’t mistake tasks for goals. Achieving a goal often takes many tasks.

  Be optimistic when setting business goals, optimistic in the wording of the goal that is. The goal of “hoping to make enough to pay the bills” will virtually guarantee that you don’t. “Revenues to cover all expenses will be achieved by the 20th of each month” is positive, shows optimism and helps attainment.

• Is it attainable? Be realistic when it comes to setting business goals. Only set a goal if you really think that it is achievable.

  Don’t set goals that are beyond reach, if the average annual growth rate in the industry is 10%, setting your sales goal figure at 50% is unrealistic. Unless you know something that no one else does!

  Set attainable goals that need hard work but are achievable.

• Keep score. If you can’t measure your goal, it is not a goal, but a wish! One has to be able to keep track if the goal is to be of use. You need to be able to measure progress towards attaining the goal.

  Display the company’s goals where all employees can see them and focus on the laid down targets.

• Time Frame goals. If you want it done set a time. Combine short, medium and long term goals. As the short term, a few weeks, goals are met, the medium, a few months, and long term, one year plus, become more achievable and helps keep people motivated.

  Set a time in which to achieve the goal, it’s vital.

• Still significant? Sometimes goals can become obsolete due to a change of circumstances. In particular, long term goals can often become irrelevant for this reason.

  If, for example, you are the sole supplier of a widget and a new competitor comes in and undercuts you, your set sales goals are out the window.

  If the goal is no longer relevant, change it. Unachievable goals hanging on the wall are demoralizing.

  Remember however, the reasons why you set that goal. If your reasons are still valid then maybe the goal should remain but your implementation change.

  Quick re-cap

  1. Be honest in goal setting.
  Be specific as to the goal.
  2. Be sure that it is attainable.
  3. Be sure to keep score of its progress.
  4. Do it within a laid out time frame
  5. And keep an eye on it remaining relevant to your market.

Follow these guidelines when setting business goals and your goals will be meaningful and good for business. Goal Failure

Having set goals for your business does not guarantee success. You still need to work hard to achieve the targets set.

Despite setting business goals, in some cases, the goals will not be achieved. In fact poor goal setting is the cause of much wasted time, confusion and can be very demoralizing for your employees.

Goal setting only works if the goals are good and are used positively to provide measurable direction.

Do it right and you have a winner, do it wrong and it can lead to disaster.

Bad Goal Setting Practices.

Setting and achieving goals that work and produce results is one aim of goal setting. A further and more important aim is to ensure the long term survival of the business.

Here you will find some things not to do.

• Goals are set by people for people to use. Setting good goals will always necessitate taking input from the people who will be expected to achieve them.

  So the goals are yours, but also based on the inputs of others. They must be everyone’s goals.

  Goals set top down and then imposed on staff very seldom work.

• Setting business goals solely to achieve maximum short term gain without thought to the long term health of the business is asking for trouble.

  You only bluff yourself if you use next month’s sales to achieve this month’s goal.

• Planning your goals to the exclusion of everything else. Time spent on setting business goals must be the minimum required to set the goal, and then spend time on making it happen.
• Good goals are set for the benefit of the people in the business, not bank managers, the press or outsiders. Don’t use goals to impress others, use them to guide your business to success.
• The smaller the business the fewer the number of goals that must be set and met. Why? Because goals are achieved by people and people with too many goals are simply overwhelmed. A one person business with dozens of goals is a disaster, while the same business with one clearly focused goal will survive.

  Remember for every goal set, there are many more activities or tasks that need to be accomplished to meet the goal. Set your goals very sparingly, with just enough of them to do the job. Setting business goals in business is essential for long term success.

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