Business Planning - Acknowledge the Old Goals First
Business Planning - Acknowledge the Old Goals First
There’s something about the cold blast of January air that motivates us to start something new. With each new year comes a fresh, clean slate. There are countless opportunities on the horizon, and we’re enthusiastic to begin.
But before you call everyone into the boardroom to share your inspired resolutions, you might want to take a few moments to strategize on how you’re going to address the residue of the unfinished ones. Because to keep everyone focused on getting the results you desire, you first need to acknowledge what might be holding the team back.
Which reminds me of a story.
Years ago I was talking to a public relations colleague about some of the issues she was managing. She quickly launched into the latest crisis. It involved an overpass that had been started years before. Through a combination of poor budgeting and poor planning, the project had come to a halt. Now her client was stuck with a big slab of concrete, suspended in mid-air with no clear end in sight. Unfortunately, the company hadn’t been proactive in communicating their plans for the half-built structure. People couldn’t help but notice it and eventually, they started to ask why.
Most organizations have at least one bridge to nowhere. We make goals, we get busy. We make new goals. We get busy. We see the shadow of one of those old goals as we pass a colleague in the hallway. Is that still a goal? Too busy to bring that up. Too much work to do already. It doesn’t take long for these half-built bridges to start distracting everyone and productivity can start to suffer.
Progress takes focus. And focus means acknowledging what’s getting in the way of success. Successful organizations are responsive – sometimes that means revisiting strategies, abandoning the ones that no longer fit and forging ahead with new ones. If you don’t address them, unfinished goals can cast shadows on new strategies, and muddle your attempts to motivate your team.
Employees are much more productive when they can see how their daily tasks fit into a bigger plan and how they will be supported to get the job done. If you’re crystal clear on the core goals and objectives of your organization, then you empower yourself and your team members to prioritize daily tasks so that the ones that no longer fit into the greater plan can be delegated, modified, or relinquished.
Try starting with the end in mind. If you can paint a picture of the destination (preferably through a compelling vision statement) then creating a roadmap with clear goals, objectives and milestones will give your employees something to hold on to. Establishing guiding principles to measure your goals against also helps when it comes time to determine what no longer fits. One popular method is creating SMART goals. For those of you who like acronyms you can play with whatever version works for you. Here are some examples:
S - specific, significant, stretching
M - measurable, meaningful, motivational
A - agreed upon, attainable, action-oriented
R - relevant, rewarding, results-oriented
T - timely, tangible, trackable
Whatever method you choose, it helps to make it a habit to step back and ask yourself if what you’re putting your time, energy, and focus on is fitting into a greater plan. Because if you’re not clear on why you are doing something in the first place and how it fits into the big picture, then you’re wasting your time, resources and focus - and it’s time to start working on another bridge.
Questions for Reflection
1. What are the top three goals you’re working toward this year? Why?
2. What’s your intention in achieving these goals?
3. What’s your role in making it happen?
4. How will you instil the clarity necessary for every member of your team to be able to identify their role in making it happen?
5. What’s getting in the way? What needs to be delegated modified or let go?
6. How can make addressing the energy drains part of your regular way of doing business?
7. What’s one goal that if achieved, would make your year?
Business Planning Acknowledge the Old Goals First - To learn more about this author, visit Karen Kelloway's Website.
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Building new bridges? Try acknowledging the unfinished ones first
There’s something about the cold blast of January air that motivates us to start something new. With each new year comes a fresh, clean slate. There are countless opportunities on the horizon, and we’re enthusiastic to begin.
But before you call everyone into the boardroom to share your inspired resolutions, you might want to take a few moments to strategize on how you’re going to address the residue of the unfinished ones. Because to keep everyone focused on getting the results you desire, you first need to acknowledge what might be holding the team back.
Which reminds me of a story.
Years ago I was talking to a public relations colleague about some of the issues she was managing. She quickly launched into the latest crisis. It involved an overpass that had been started years before. Through a combination of poor budgeting and poor planning, the project had come to a halt. Now her client was stuck with a big slab of concrete, suspended in mid-air with no clear end in sight. Unfortunately, the company hadn’t been proactive in communicating their plans for the half-built structure. People couldn’t help but notice it and eventually, they started to ask why.
Most organizations have at least one bridge to nowhere. We make goals, we get busy. We make new goals. We get busy. We see the shadow of one of those old goals as we pass a colleague in the hallway. Is that still a goal? Too busy to bring that up. Too much work to do already. It doesn’t take long for these half-built bridges to start distracting everyone and productivity can start to suffer.
Progress takes focus. And focus means acknowledging what’s getting in the way of success. Successful organizations are responsive – sometimes that means revisiting strategies, abandoning the ones that no longer fit and forging ahead with new ones. If you don’t address them, unfinished goals can cast shadows on new strategies, and muddle your attempts to motivate your team.
Employees are much more productive when they can see how their daily tasks fit into a bigger plan and how they will be supported to get the job done. If you’re crystal clear on the core goals and objectives of your organization, then you empower yourself and your team members to prioritize daily tasks so that the ones that no longer fit into the greater plan can be delegated, modified, or relinquished.
Try starting with the end in mind. If you can paint a picture of the destination (preferably through a compelling vision statement) then creating a roadmap with clear goals, objectives and milestones will give your employees something to hold on to. Establishing guiding principles to measure your goals against also helps when it comes time to determine what no longer fits. One popular method is creating SMART goals. For those of you who like acronyms you can play with whatever version works for you. Here are some examples:
S - specific, significant, stretching
M - measurable, meaningful, motivational
A - agreed upon, attainable, action-oriented
R - relevant, rewarding, results-oriented
T - timely, tangible, trackable
Whatever method you choose, it helps to make it a habit to step back and ask yourself if what you’re putting your time, energy, and focus on is fitting into a greater plan. Because if you’re not clear on why you are doing something in the first place and how it fits into the big picture, then you’re wasting your time, resources and focus - and it’s time to start working on another bridge.
Questions for Reflection
1. What are the top three goals you’re working toward this year? Why?
2. What’s your intention in achieving these goals?
3. What’s your role in making it happen?
4. How will you instil the clarity necessary for every member of your team to be able to identify their role in making it happen?
5. What’s getting in the way? What needs to be delegated modified or let go?
6. How can make addressing the energy drains part of your regular way of doing business?
7. What’s one goal that if achieved, would make your year?
Business Planning Acknowledge the Old Goals First - To learn more about this author, visit Karen Kelloway's Website.
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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