Looking ahead to 2003, we all undoubtedly have certain things we want to accomplish, such as containing costs, increasing sales and expanding our services. But how do we convert these objectives into concrete action? The answer is to establish goals.

Goal setting is a critical first step in business success. Goals give us a sense of direction, something to shoot for, and a way to measure our progress. Without them, we would remain reactive—simply responding to situations—as opposed to proactive—making the most of our resources to take control of situations. Goals allow us to be focused and purposeful, not disorganized and adrift.

The following tips will help you establish goals and achieve them:

Fear not.

Whether or not you meet your goals depends on your approach to goal setting. Many people view it with trepidation, afraid to write down goals (an important component of goal setting) because they think that by doing so, they will be stuck with them. In fact, less than 5% of us jot down our goals or have strategies for fulfilling them. If you are anxious about committing to goals, keep in mind that they are flexible. You can modify them after writing them down. In addition, goal setting gets easier as you do it. Once you have seen its effectiveness, you will be motivated to establish more goals.

Set short-term and long-term goals.

Consider establishing goals for the week, the quarter, the year or even three- or five-year spans. If you identify long-term goals, you can come up with short-term ones. First think of the big goals—such as securing a given amount of clients or generating $100,000 in revenue this year—then make a list of the steps you would need to follow to achieve these long-term objectives. Remember that you can seek the help of colleagues or friends if you have trouble making this list. Once you have identified all the necessary steps, break them down into goals.

Make sure your goals are specific, measurable and time-sensitive.

"Boost productivity" is an admirable goal, but it doesn't give you a way to evaluate your performance. Avoid vagueness. Make sure your goals are specific (increase productivity of assembly line in MI plant), measurable (increase productivity of assembly line in MI plant by 35%), and have a deadline (increase productivity of assembly line in MI plant by 35% before the end of the third quarter).

Include your battle plan.

Your plan of action should be part of your goal. You will "increase the productivity of the assembly line in the MI plant by 35% before the end of the third quarter" BY "using more advanced machinery." You can have more than one strategy, just make sure that you specify all of them in your goal statement. Always follow this formula: I will [specific, measurable and time-sensitive goal] BY [the strategy or strategies for achieving the goal].

Be realistic and relevant.

Make sure you do not set goals that are too difficult to attain. If you establish impossible goals, you will be ensuring your own failure. In addition, goals should serve a purpose, not just create more things for you to do. Avoid goals that just generate more busywork and do little to help the success of your company. Also, if you don't think your goals are useful, you will be unwilling to invest the necessary time and effort to accomplish them.

Don't aim too low.

While aiming too high will lead to defeat, aiming too low can lead to no gains at all. You may be able to easily meet conservative goals, such as increasing productivity by 3% or keeping sales at a comparable level to last year's, but you won't get any satisfaction or sense of achievement from accomplishing them. More importantly, your business will likely suffer as competitors pursue and achieve more ambitious goals.

Push yourself.

The key is to make sure your goals are challenging, yet reasonable. Add an extra degree of difficulty to easy goals. For example, if you normally strive to increase your client base by 5 customers a year, go for 7 or 8 instead. Difficult goals will compel you to focus and make the best use of your resources. Thus, even if you don't reach these goals, you will still feel a sense of accomplishment for having pushed yourself to new levels.

Be tenacious.

If you find that you are not accomplishing the goals that you have written down, do not be discouraged. Continue writing goals for several months and you will see an improvement in your ability to establish and reach goals.

Check how you're doing.

Put your weekly or other short-term goals where you can see them—on your desk or beside your computer, for instance—so you are constantly reminded of what you have to do. Review your annual goals every month to see how you're faring. Modify your strategy if something is not working. If your company's focus shifts, don't hesitate to adjust your goals. Keep in mind that flexibility is key to goal setting.

Keep at it.

Don't forget to congratulate yourself on your successes and learn valuable lessons from your not-quite successes. Then keep on establishing tough goals for your business and working hard to meet them.

Sources: Set Goals for Your Business
Entrepreneur, Oct. 28, 2002
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,304074,00.html

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