What one habit makes your business successful? A valid and thought provoking question. There are many facets to a successful business owner. Leadership, time management skills, the ability to outsource tasks, providing a positive work environment, customer service skills, knowledge of technology, clarity, vision, and the list goes on. When asked, my response is goal setting.
Simply put, do the things we measure improve? When we clearly define and track goals, we know if we are achieving our desired results or not. Goal setting is not difficult, but if not executed properly, it can be a futile exercise that does not produce any results.
Goals should be specific. Keep it simple, but focus in on exactly what you want to accomplish. Remember that your goal should be something you control. It should not be dependent on other people. A poorly written goal would be, I will increase profits. That is a wish, not a goal. It’s not focused. There are many ways to increase profit margins. What will you focus on? How can you measure your goal? There is no way you’ll be able to attain that goal the way it is written. You’ll feel frustrated and defeated. That’s definitely not the environment for success.
A more specific goal would be, I will increase profits by 5% in the 4Q by outsourcing administrative tasks to free up more of my time for sales. This goal is clear, focused, measurable, qualifies when the goal should be achieved, realistic, and attainable. Now that the goal is clearly stated, how can you be assured you will achieve it?
There are a few ways to assure you will achieve your goal. First, write it down. There are a lot of statistics about the power of writing your goals down with pen and paper. According to inc.com, you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. Review your goal daily. Write it somewhere where you’ll see it every day. Read it out loud. Store your goal in your calendar, daily reminders, etc. Do what it takes to see your goal daily.
Break your goal down into monthly, weekly, and daily tasks. This is very important. When you write down the steps you need to do every day, week, and month, you make yourself work on achieving your goals daily. The best way to achieve this is to work backward. In this case, you want to increase sales by 5% in the 4Q. How much time will you need to devote to sales? Let’s say it’s 5 hours per day. Determine what tasks you do that take up 5 hours and make a list. Next, determine how long it would take to hire a contractor to complete those tasks. If hiring a contractor will take some time, you can adjust your goal to the 1Q of next year. That way you won’t be defeated. You’ll be working on achieving that 5% of sales, but now you know it will take you longer to achieve it. But, and this is big, you’ll be consistently working on your goal.
By breaking your goal down into smaller goals/tasks that you are constantly working on, you’ll be moving in the right direction. It will help you to know if you are on target or not and what you will need to adjust. Goal setting is a powerful skill. It will help you achieve more success with less stress.
