Every business needs clearly defined goals. Goals tell you where you're going and how to get there. They give your business focus and purpose. Your goals are the roadmap that your business follows.  

Another reason goals are important is that they get everyone on the same page. Everyone knows why they do what they do, and they stay motivated as they make progress. Goals also allow you to measure your results.  

How to Set Goals If you don't already have a goal in mind, one way to get started is to refer to the values you identified in the last chapter. This might spark an idea. 

For example, if a core value is innovation and development, a long-term goal might be to develop an original new product. A good way to brainstorm goals is to think about where you'd like your business to be in the future. Picture your business's situation three to five years from now. What is different in your image of the future? Then, determine how you get to make that image a reality. A good technique for brainstorming goals is to use ACES. 

ACES stands for Achieve, Conserve, Eliminate, and Steer clear.  

• Achieve: What do you want to achieve in the future?  
• Conserve: Which aspects of your business should never change?  
• Eliminate: What would you like to get rid of?  
• Steer clear: What kinds of things would you like your business to avoid?  

Brainstorm answers to these questions and then see if you can find goals that would help you achieve what you want. 

For example, you might want to eliminate your employee turnover rate. How do you achieve this? One way is to offer incentive programs and ongoing training. You can then make developing these programs a goal.  

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SMART Goal Setting It's important to choose appropriate and well-defined goals and the best way to do this is through SMART goal setting. 

SMART is an acronym that stands for: Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time-specific.  

Specific – Your goal needs to be specific or there's no way to know whether you've achieved it. It can't be something vague like "spread brand awareness." You need to choose an indicator that tells you exactly how far you’ve spread your brand.  

Measurable – Wherever possible, make it measurable and lay out the numbers. Rather than saying you want to increase your income, which is also not specific, say you want to earn a certain dollar amount per year.  

Actionable – Choose a goal that you can then break down into actionable steps to achieve (more on that below).  

Realistic – Your goals should be challenging, but should also be realistic. Make sure each goal is something you could achieve if you put forth the effort. If your goal is unrealistic, you're setting yourself up for failure (although goals can be tweaked later if you find you've chosen one that's unreasonable).  

Time-specific – Choose a specific deadline for when you want your goal to be achieved. This will help keep you on track. Do the same for all of your smaller goals and milestones.  

Turning Goals into Action Steps  

Start by coming up with long-term goals, and then from these goals, extrapolate short-term goals, milestones, and specific action steps. This is how you turn goals into daily activities that will get you closer to them.  

For example, your goal might be to double your revenue in the next three years. In order to do this, you'll develop a new product line. To develop the new product line, you'll need to first conduct market research, then draft a proposal, create a prototype, test with your market, and finally begin production. For your market research, the first small goal, you can create actionable steps for gathering information, and these are items that can go on a daily or weekly "to do" list.  

Tips on Setting Goals  

• Get your team on board. When setting goals, get everyone in your organization involved. They might have ideas you never considered, and they'll be more motivated toward goals they helped to create.  
• Frame your goals in positive terms. This makes it easier to achieve. For example, rather than saying you want to reduce employee turnover rate, say that you want to improve employee retention.  
• Don't be afraid to think big. Even though your goals should be realistic, don't sell yourself short. Even a major goal can be achieved if you break it down into the right sub-goals and milestones, and have all of the resources you need.  
• Commit to your goals, but also be flexible and open to change. You might have to change your goals due to external market factors or internal fluctuations. A good way to keep up-to-date is to regularly conduct a SWOT analysis.  
• Reward yourself when each goal is achieved. Take some time to celebrate and make sure your team feels appreciated.  

1. Visualize where you'd like your business to be three to five years in the future. Identify a goal that would put you there. 

2. Use SMART goal setting to refine your goal and write it out as a written statement 

3. Identify the steps that will get you there and give each a tentative deadline.  

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