When it comes to setting goals, especially those having to do with your sales and revenue for the year, experts say business owners often don’t set them at an appropriate level. Instead, we should be thinking about Goldilocks, who was looking for porridge that was “not too hot, not too cold, but just right.” In the same vein, business owners need to set business goals that are not too high, not too low, but just right!
According to Intuit’s blog, setting “appropriate” goals is critical to achieving them. In fact, says contributor Robert Moskowitz, setting goals too high can actually do more harm than good.
But we’ve always been taught to stretch, right? Don’t far-reaching goals push us toward working harder, being more creative and persevering? Not necessarily. Setting goals too high and asking your employees for more and more can have the opposite effect of motivating them and can actually deflate and de-motivate. To motivate, goals also need to be realistic and achievable.
Appropriate goals should be based on past performance and current market realities. It’s also a good idea to involve your employees and get their buy-in upfront. Along with clearly communicating goals and the reasons behind them, make sure their easy-to-access communication channels in place that allow for real-time feedback. Goals may need to be adjusted; you need this kind of direct feedback to do it effectively. Another important component: Articulate how individual reward and compensation are tied to achieving the business’s goals.
Would you believe that the opposite can also be keeping you from setting your goals at the right level—and achieving them? It’s true: On Biznik.com, consultant Richard Gabel says that small business owners and entrepreneur frequently miss big opportunities because they’re not setting their goals high enough! This school of thought is built on the notion that “If you shoot for the stars, you might make it to the moon.”
Gabel says that those who launch and run businesses just can’t be timid, especially in goal setting. But with increasing confidence, you need to kick your goals up a notch, to get out of your comfort zone. And in the process, surround yourself with people who bring skills you don’t have. And don’t hesitate to tap the expertise of coaches and consultants in everything from visioning to strategic planning to goal setting, and particularly to make sure your business goals are high enough to carry you to success.
How do you set goals for your business that are “just right?” On the Empowering Small Business blog, contributor Dave Kauffman advises business owners to set goals the really SMART way. Evaluate each of your written goals (Write them down if you haven’t already), Kauffman says. Every one of them should meet these criteria:
- Specific. Goals should be straightforward and expressed in detailed, actionable terms.
- Measurable. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it, Kauffman says.
- Attainable. Back to the discussion above, goals that are too high or too low can both have the effect of keeping you stuck and not doing your best.
- Realistic. Closely related to attainable, realistic doesn’t mean easy but instead means doable.
- Timely. An endpoint is necessary because now you have a clear target to work toward. Time, too, must be in specific and measurable terms.
Setting goals at the right level for your business, regularly reviewing them and adjusting as necessary will help keep you on track, achieving everything you set out to this year.
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