Setting goals

Set SMART business goals and make a SMART business plan for achieving them:

SPECIFIC
Goals should be specific and emphasise what you want to happen. Being specific helps us to focus our efforts and clearly define what we are going to do. Instead of setting a goal to improve sales, set a specific goal to improve sales by 20 percent within 12 months.

MEASURABLE
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. There are usually several short-term or small measurements that can also be built into the overall goal. When you measure your progress against these, you stay on track and experience the sense of achievement that spurs you on to realise your objectives.

ACHIEVABLE
A goal needs to stretch you slightly so you that although feel you can do it - it will need a real commitment from you. Achieving regular milestones helps you to remain motivated. Mark off and celebrate your achievements along the way.

REALISTIC
This does not mean “easy.” It means that the path is not a vertical slope; that the skills needed to do the work are available and that the project fits with the overall strategy and goals of the organisation. A realistic project may push the skills and knowledge of the people working on it but it shouldn’t break them.

TIMELY
Set a timeframe for the goal - next week, three months, by year end. Putting an end point on your goal gives you a clear target to work towards. If you don’t set a time, the commitment is too vague. It tends not to happen because you feel you can start at any time and there’s no urgency to start taking action now.