Ready, set, goals
Is it time for a mid-year check-in? Making time throughout the year to review and reassess the goals you set at the beginning of the year is just as important as setting the goals themselves. Now is the perfect time to reflect on what you’ve achieved to date and determine whether you’re still on track to achieving some or all of them or whether you might need to readjust the goal posts a little.
You may have set business goals that focus on sales, improving your business cash flow, new product development or streamlining business processes but whatever it may be, you need to ensure each goal is reviewed regularly to help keep you on track for success.
The path to success can change
With the Olympics taking centre stage this month, there are plenty of lessons we can learn and highlighting why reassessing and resetting goals is important. Professional athletes train hard to achieve glory in their respective sports, but as part of their ongoing training, they will also need to factor in what will happen if they sustain an injury, become unwell or their performance plateaus.
The same can be applied to setting professional or personal goals – you cannot always predict what happens on a day-to-day basis. Some things will be completely out of your control – as an example, what would happen if there was a data security breach to your business or you needed to take time off to attend to a family emergency? Situations like this could potentially derail your entire day/week/month which means less time spent working towards achieving your goals.
It's important to keep in mind that circumstances can change in a heartbeat, so it’s crucial that you factor this in and don’t be too hard on yourself, if you’re not exactly where you expected to be at this time of year.
Reflecting and resetting goals
Using the SMART goal strategy (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) can help you to define your goals and stay focussed. This method is used by many businesses to help keep projects on track.
If you don’t want to use the SMART strategy, another practical way to help you achieve your goals is by:
- Assessing whether your goals are achievable - are you setting unattainable goals? Be realistic about what you are trying to achieve. Think about each of the goals you set at the beginning of the year and why you set them.
- Accounting for setbacks – as mentioned previously, life can throw unexpected curveballs, so it’s important to factor this in or have a contingency plan in place.
- Choose the right framework - while using the SMART method is popular, it may not be the best tool for your business. There are other goal-setting tools available so do your research to find out what works best for you.
- Incorporating ‘Stretch’ targets – stretch goals, KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) or targets are designed specifically to be more challenging. While they may take people out of their comfort zone, they can help to boost results.
- Take time out - this generally means having a good work/life balance but the same can be applied in the workplace. Team building activities are a good way to reduce stress in the workplace, increase job satisfaction, and incorporate better collaboration within the workplace.
- Refocus your goals - once you have reassessed your objectives and goals you can refocus on each of your priorities. Break down each objective so you can focus on achieving smaller goals to begin with – this will seem less daunting and more than likely set you up for success.
What does success look like?
Success is more than the end result, it's also about the journey you took to get there. You may be in the exact same position in three months but sometimes it takes baby steps to achieve goals. Everyone's path is different, so be flexible and make the necessary adjustments along the way to help set your business up for long-term success.
