Set Goals: Know where your Business is going!

30.JAN.09

If you know where you want to go it is always easier to get there. This is true for your personal life as well as for your business. Having goals not only helps you to stay focused but also to develop the right strategies to keep you on the right path.{{more}}

Goal setting must be done in the context of your business. Here are some things you should bear in mind when setting your business goals.

1. Set fewer goals that are more realistic. This may mean selecting only the most important things the business wants to accomplish in a given period. In so doing you avoid having yourself or employees wasting time on things that are not important.

2. Establish short-term as well as long-term goals. Distinguishing between goals helps you to focus and set priorities.

3. Set goals that fit in with the mission of your business. You must, therefore, have a clearly articulated mission, preferably written in a Mission Statement.

4. Make certain that goals are clear. Everyone reading them should understand what your expected outcome is.

5. Ensure that each goal has a measurable outcome. If you cannot measure your goals, then you should consider changing them.

6. Provide the necessary resources that would lead to the achievement of each goal. Before setting goals you should check to see that you have the funding available to do what you want to do. Having lofty ideals without resources to accomplish them may only lead to frustration.

7. Be specific about the activities that must be completed to achieve each goal.

8. Identify all the likely obstacles or threats that may hinder the achievement of your goals.

9. Assign responsibility for the achievement of goals. There must be someone you can hold accountable for the achievement of the goal. If you have no employees, of course, that someone is you!

10. Place deadlines by which these tasks are to be completed. It is easier to measure progress if you know when the task is to be finished.

11. Review and follow-up regularly to determine if things are on target.

Setting goals and achieving them are important to the success of your business! It’s time you get the process going.

Centre for Enterprise Development Inc. Ground Floor Singer Building, Lower Bay Street, P.O. Box 2343, Kingstown. Call us at 784-451-2235-6 or email cedsvg@vincysurf.com or cedsvg@gmail.com .