Making Your Business Goals Happen

What are your goals for your business?  What sales goals do you have?  What about profits? Have you put your goals in writing?

As I discussed in my post about commitment , active commitment is much more effective than passive. Research has shown that a commitment that is written and publicly stated is more likely to be taken seriously and worked on.

Making Goals a Reality. Some suggestions for making your business goals a reality:

• Use the SMART principle to create your goals; make your goals Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.
• Get input in writing your goals. If you have a board of directors, they should be involved.  Some of your shareholders might be good resources to help you figure out the details.
• Put your goals in writing. Make the written goal statements into a poster or brochure.
• Make your goals public. Put them on the company bulletin board. Call an employee meeting and let all your employees know your goals. Tell your CPA, your attorney, your banker about your goals.
• Keep goals front-and-center.  Reconfirmation helps us recommit, which is why certain prayers or mantras are effective.  A reminder about your goals at the start of every board meeting helps keep you, and your board, committed to the outcome.
• Put your goals in your business plan. A business plan is a fluid document; next time you review it, add your goals.
• Keep track of progress. Make one of those thermometers, if you want.  Or just stop every month or so to check progress.
• Celebrate the small victories along the way. If your employees are working along with you toward your goals, stop every few months and recognize individual and group efforts toward progress. All of this publicity helps keep you committed and less likely to ignore your goals.

We are all human, and we naturally tend to start out strong on a commitment then backslide as we go along.  Using these techniques to keep re-committing to your business goals will help you make them happen.

Image: sxc.hu