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Reaching Your Goals

Written by: Tom Long

Article Overview: Why do so many business owners and managers fail to meet the goals they have in mind?

Reaching Your Goals

Reaching Your Goals

Why do so many business owners and managers fail to meet the goals they have in mind? All too often, it starts with the fact the goals are “in mind”. If you are serious about setting and reaching goals in business the following steps have been shown to be effective:

1. Choose a goal which is realistic and measurable. While it is fine to set a “stretch” goal, one that is really impossible most often results in the goal just being abandoned. And if the goal is vague or general, not measurable, it is too easy to simply forget.
2. Write the goal down on paper. For some reason, the simple act of putting a goal on paper causes us to be more serious about it.
3. Identify and document specific action steps you will take to reach the goal including a schedule of when you will take each step.
4. Share the goal with someone who will hold you accountable – a goalkeeper. Most often this is a peer or a mentor, someone you trust and someone who will not be afraid to tell you the truth.
5. Establish a schedule of meetings with your goalkeeper specifically to review progress on your goal. Include a discussion of action steps you have taken to reach the goal.
6. As you review progress on your goal, revise the goal if business conditions have changed making the goal no longer relevant, but not just because you are having trouble reaching it.

With thoughts of a better, future state, setting goals is often enjoyable. Reaching those goals, however, takes the management disciplines of planning and control. Entrepreneurs may not have set out to be managers when they founded their businesses, but management is what will make the difference between success and failure.

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Article Tags: action steps, better future, business conditions, business owners, future state, goalkeeper, management disciplines, mentor, planning and control, reaching goals, reaching your goals, setting goals, success and failure, truth



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Re: Alexa Ranking Goals - Thanks GT! This is still the right post for Alexa Goals but everything else can go to Kevin's Mastermind post! Cheers!
Re: Alexa Ranking Goals - Hi Timothy, It's good to see a new "competitor" on our Alexa Ranking Goals list. Good luck in your efforts to improve your website Alexa rankings. David
Re: Quote of the Day - Ted Turner - Hi Evan, I mentioned on another thread that I'm reading Saint Joan of Arc by Vita Sackville West. I think Joan of Arc set some pretty high goals, for an unknown peasant girl from an unimportant village in the middle of nowhere much... Goals: 1. Go and see the Dauphin! 2. Help him relieve the siege of Orleans!! 3. To lead the Dauphin to his coronation at Rheims!!! The first time she tried to put this plan into action, by seeking permission from her local feudal lord to travel, he told her minder to "reduceret eam ad domum sui patris et daret ei alapas" which is to say, "take her home to her father and give her a smacking". The rest is history!
Re: Should you hire ambitious workers or employees with no goals - [quote="BuzzAroundBooks":2ijq3b5e]As a small business owner, should you hire ambitious workers or employees with no goals? My friend's father is a relatively successful entrepreneur and it's his belief that you should primarily hire employees with no ambition because you can get away with paying them less and they're less likely to leave (thus saving you money from a high turnover rate). "Grunts" are the way to go, even though ambitious workers are typically smarter. What do you think?[/quote:2ijq3b5e] I say YES to hirin employees with no Goals!!! they make great "front-line" employees as long as you have carefully documented your process for them to follow. They typically are open to perform routine administrative tasks and they work for a much lower wage. I know what I've said is pretty gloomy but it's reality from my experience. Occasionally one of the "employees with no goals" will stand up and say, "I love working here". You pluck these individuals and promote them to tasks which require more decisions.


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