Achievable Business Goals
How to Set Achievable Business Goals
Set specific, challenging goals to realize the best results.
, Senior WriterSetting achievable goals is one of the key skills necessary for managing a business. However, as leaders try to envision their future, they can often stumble in determining what goals are achievable within a given time frame. They can also go wrong by being too vague or too easy.
No matter their industry or offerings, all companies need realistic goals to fuel business growth and success. By setting goals, organizations can allocate resources appropriately and get team members on the same page about priorities. Established businesses may have long track records to guide them on realistic goals, while startups must employ more guesswork.
We’ll explore how to set specific, challenging, and achievable business goals to help organizations map their blueprint for success.
What are achievable business goals?
Achievable business goals are targets an organization sets for a specific period, such as a quarter or year. They’re realistic, not vague or hopeful expectations. When setting achievable goals for your business, it’s crucial to make them specific and challenging.
Many organizations use frameworks to help them set detailed, precise business objectives.
1. SMART Goals is a common goal-setting framework.
A popular business goal-setting framework is SMART Goals. SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based. The SMART Goals framework aims to help organizations stay on target with systematic goal achievement.
For example, say your business wants to expand its operations. It’s unhelpful to set a goal of “make more money” or “have 10 times as many clients this year.” Both goals are too vague. Additionally, the first goal is too easy because making $1 more could count, while the second goal is difficult and overreaching. All three factors – being too vague, easy, or difficult – decrease the likelihood you’ll follow through as planned.
The SMART Goals framework urges you to consider your goal as an action plan. Be as specific as possible about what you will do, when it will happen, and how you’ll work toward it. Motivate yourself by aiming for achievements that are challenging but feel possible.
For example:
- I will have a blueprint for a new workshop written out by March, test it with my local chamber of commerce in April, and start selling regionally in May.
- I will improve my media presence by signing up for HARO and responding to three to five queries per week.
- I will finish my e-book by March, send it to an editor in April, and start selling it on my website by June.
- I will pitch three new clients every week until I have doubled my client load.
Widely cited research on goal setting and task performance states that 90 percent of the time, setting specific, challenging goals leads to higher success rates…[MORE]
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To read the entire article by Alex Halperin at the Business News Daily website, visit: How to Set Achievable Business Goals