What are you working on right now in your business? I bet you’re busy….yeah me too. BUT are you busy working on tasks that are helping you achieve something really really important? Or are you just putting out fires, trying to keep up with the never ending workload that just keeps coming? Well I am going to tell you something and I want you to write it down.
Business goals are important.
Goal setting in your business is ultimately about setting an intention and working towards it so that you can have the outcomes your dream of.
Let’s take a look at the statistics around goals.
Boardview report that
- More than 80% of small business owners don’t keep track of business goals.
- 40% of people that write down goals don’t
- check whether they’ve achieved them.
- 46% of companies review or revise goals throughout the year.
So why is that? A study by the University of Texas reported that goal setting keeps you persistent in business success.
They are drivers to your progression, and provide direction for the fuel of your passion. Particularly after the proverbial spanner 2020 threw into many business plan works, it’s paramount that every business goes through the journey to re-assessing their position in the market and re-affirming their goals.
The foremost reason to fortify your planning with goals is that they trigger behaviour. Focusing towards minimums or achievements motivates you to act in accordance with potential, rather than the bare minimum or what’s right in front of you. It also allows you to maintain motivation and solidify your ‘why’ when things get hard.
Why are you putting all this extra work into moving filing online? Why are you taking the time to train admin assistants? Oh, that’s right, to streamline processes and expand X amount by Y date.
Goals aren’t just a freestanding motivator either. A large benefit they provide is to streamline your focus. Growth is always a general aspiration of any business owner, but having specific targets allows you to guide your attention to the areas that matter to you. There’s only so much you can do in any one day, it is incredibly beneficial for those to count towards the success of your business.
Manifesting goals alone won’t help you achieve them. It is the action you take and the attitude you have that will see you succeed. – -Samantha Morris
Additional to your own growth, the streamlined nature of goals allows you to synergise your whole business. Whilst you can teach employees your procedures but without discernible goals, they don’t know what they are helping you work towards. Your employees are so integral to business it’s important to share your overall goals with them as well as encouraging them to have their own personal goals within the role so that you cultivate celebration of achievements and striving for excellence.
Goals also allow you to renew your initial motivated energy daily. Having something to work towards as well as from is key in maintaining momentum. Rather than the workload slowly draining you – progress is addicting when you feel like you’re nearing a reward! Like a snowball, goals keep you in a growing state of performance.
Point your feet in the direction of your goals. – Francesca Anastasi
Having goals within your business helps you to facilitate accountability. Without clear minimums or aims for employees – underperforming becomes an easy state to be in. How would staff know they’re underperforming if they didn’t know the goals anyway. Enhance the process with outcome goals (what you want to achieve) as well as process goals (the steps you need to achieve to attain the outcomes you want) so that everything is clear.
Achieving goals is also a great way to become an expert. Whilst your initial goals may be about growth and expansion, as you achieve goals your confidence grows and you start thinking outside the box. Rather than increasing sales to X amount, they can evolve into your business becoming a world leader in innovation within an area, for example. Achieving goals builds character and your own expertise, and challenges you to always reach for more once you’ve smashed previous goals.
It was only this morning that I was sharing my goals with someone when, to my shock and horror – my goals did not align!! What?!?!
That’s right. In isolation I was proud of my goals. They mean I have to push myself and work for what I want, but when they sat side by side they were chafing. Because I had accidentally set goals with the mindset of the Top Five Things I want to achieve, I hadn’t considered how these goals would affect each other – and may even work against each other.
How did you ask?
Well, I had set a revenue target for the year and I had set a client target for the year. These numbers just didn’t add up. I had actually set my revenue goal far below what my revenue would be when I achieve that goal. Now stay with me. I have my goals sitting in front of me so I can see them every day.
This is important because in order to focus on the tasks I need to do to achieve the goals I need to be constantly reminded of what they are. They need to be in your face. However, in manifesting my goals and then taking action, your goals also need to align. So my goals are to sit there telling my subconscious two different stories. That isn’t conducive to success. A study showed that goal clarity has a direct impact on the motivation of your workplace.
Have you cast your eye over your goals – do you have any?
If this is an area you struggle with then book a quick chat with me and we can work on some goals for you to focus on and then just watch your business take on a very different persona.