Goal setting is a fine art. The very best businesses are the ones that have learnt to master it. Goals help you drive your business forward. They give you vision and inspiration. They keep you on track and help remind you why you started in the first place. There is a fine line when it comes to goal setting. Ambition with no set plan will be disastrous. But, not enough ambition will see you struggle to get off the start line.
We’re here to help you find that perfect balance. Let’s make 2015 the year you set ambitious, achievable and realistic goals. It’s all about framing your goals correctly. Great ambition works on a number of levels. Firstly, there’s the lofty ambition that keeps you driving forward and gives you inspiration. It’s a vision of where you want to be in ten years. Secondly there’s the large milestones that you want to achieve. Finally, there are the small things that you’ll do everyday to make all of this happen.
A Mission Statement is the very first thing you need. This is your overarching ambition and goal. This is your dream and your vision for the future. What do you want your company to be? How should it be perceived and what influence will it have? You should be able to distil this into two or three sentences. It should be a declaration of intention. It should be a manifesto of how you will do business. You should be able to glance at this and remind yourself of why you are pursuing this goal.
Goals are what you set based on this mission statement. If your mission statement is to be the defining authority on hiking equipment, then shape your goals around this. It could be to increase the awareness of your brand among all hiking enthusiasts. It could be to position yourself as an expert in the field. It would be to improve sales of hiking equipment and guides. These are still vague but give a bit more detail on how to achieve your mission. It could be a milestone event like a launch or award nomination.
Objectives are next. These are the specific day to day activities that will help you work towards your goal. As you can see, this all works by maximising small chunks. Set big goals and break them down into small daily tasks. This is the only way to give you vision. Using the previous example, the following are some ideas for objectives. To raise awareness, your objectives could be to increase web traffic by producing content. It could be to use conversion rate optimisation to increase signups and sales. It could be to employ an SEO company to improve your search rank.
Finally, the only way to ensure you stay on track is to reassess your goals and objectives regularly. Your mission statement should never change. Just make sure you are constantly assessing your progress against the objectives and goals. Stay up to date with changing developments and trends. Don’t be afraid to change goals to adapt and move forward.
