All businesses regardless of their size and market should have goals. This sounds obvious enough, but some entrepreneurs don’t take the time to focus on setting goals for the company. They just go around selling their products or services, chasing every customer that shows the slightest interest without any clear direction of where they should actually go.

You’ve heard of people working five, ten, twenty years at a job just to be promoted, right? Okay, how many of those people actually like their jobs? The same is true for entrepreneurs, some people just set out wanting to make money, without even thinking about what they really want to accomplish in the long term. This is a recipe for disaster.

Organizational goal setting helps entrepreneurs and companies create goals that will steer the business to a specific direction while addressing the holistic needs of everyone involved. Financial goals aren’t enough; other facets of the business should be nurtured as well.

Why is this important?

I hear you say, “I have no time for this. I have bills to pay and orders to process”

Creating goals does take time and a bit of introspection.  There is no getting around this. Taking the time may seem like a waste of the little bit of time you have available.  But devoting time to this will give you clarity and make it easier to achieve your personal and professional goals.

Organizational Goal Setting 101: How to Develop Goals for the Organization

1.  Pick the right goals. Too many businesses in the US start out with the wrong goals, for them. They may not be right considering the business’s position in the market or available resources.  They may be too lofty or unrealistic.  They may even be goals that aren’t significant in the overall growth and development of the business.

 2.  Always start with long-term goals, not the other way around. Short-term goals don’t factor in the bigger picture, starting with this won’t give you a clear pathway of where you want to take your business. People who start with short-term goals are also more likely to jump from plan to plan without accomplishing anything.

 3.  Name the business’s long-term goals. Long-term goals could have a timeline of three or five years. It should take your company’s vision and core values into consideration. Goals that are driven by emotion and needs are helpful.  If you can’t get behind the goal at an emotional level you aren’t likely to achieve it or have the success that could be realized.

Make sure the long-term goals also cover every facet of the business or your area of responsibility.  Consider staffing, process and procedures, training and development, social responsibility, and growth, to name a few.

 4.  Set short-goals that are in-line with the long-term objectives. Let’s say one of your long-term goals is to set-up three branches in different cities, how do you create short-term goals to support that? It doesn’t have to be complicated, just think of what needs to be done on a daily basis to achieve that goal.

In this example, one of the short-term goals could be to establish brand awareness.  What would you need to do to create brand awareness?  What would occur that would indicate you are moving towards creating awareness.   Another short-term goal could be to scout different locations or find business partners willing to help you set up another branch.  What are the steps you need to take?  What do you need to know to determine if this is a realistic goal at all?

Lastly, get employee buy-in. Organizational goal setting doesn’t stop at listing long-term and short-term goals. What good is that if you can’t get your employees to buy-in to your vision? Present the goals to everyone involved and welcome their comments. If they have better ideas, be open to including those in your goals. If they have questions, answer them. It’s important to make people feel they are included in this process because that gives them “ownership” of the goals.  

One of the challenges with creating goals is not knowing how.  We’ll help you solve that problem. 

Download The Guide to Creating Goals and Milestones and get the resources you need.