The right goal can give you focus and direction, but without a clear path to success, they’re little more than fantasy. Achieving your dreams requires a roadmap.

Success means achieving a desired outcome, but unless you are clear on what that outcome is, you are highly unlikely to get there. When you set goals, they are the road map to achieving your dreams. Your business dream may be very clear, but the route is not so obvious. If you set a goal and already know how to complete it, it’s not a goal; it’s a task.

Your goals should create some fear or anxiety, challenging you to consider, “how am I going to get this done?”. You shouldn’t be entirely sure how you’re going to achieve it. If they don’t instil that fear, they’re probably just tasks. 

When it comes to setting an overarching business goal, the best place to start is to consider what your business will look like when it’s finished, and what you’re going to do afterwards. This will give you the destination you are working towards; it’s an important stage and should not be missed before you start planning your route. 

You should design your goal to serve three purposes: 

  1. To create direction and focus
  2. To create movement and momentum
  3. To supply the direction for personal growth.

Write your goals down and make them visible – a wall planner is a great way to do this. Start by writing down where you want the business to be in 12 months’ time to limit how far ahead you’re looking. Next, break the year down into quarters (90 days) to provide some real clarity on what needs to be done to move the business (and your personal life) forward.

Creating your 90-day plan

Sit with your team to review the last three months and look at what’s gone well and what hasn’t. Reflect on each and consider what needs to change to move you towards your 12-month goal. 

Determine what your three main goals are for the coming quarter based on your notes and reflections. Write each goal on a post-it note and add it to your wall planner. If you have more than three goals, you will need to decide which can go into the first quarter and which can wait until later.

Next, write a list of actions required to achieve each goal. Assess whether it will move you towards your quarterly goal. Assign each goal to a week on your wall planner and stick the post-it note to it. 

Initially, be careful not to have more than one to two actions per week, so you don’t overwhelm yourself – you still have a business to run! Remember the planner must be visible to keep you on track.

 

There you go, it’s no more complex than that!