<\/p>\n
Strategic planning is key to ensuring every company\u2019s long-term viability, and goal setting is an indispensable step toward fulfilling those plans. Unfortunately, businesses often don\u2019t accomplish their overall strategic plans because they\u2019re unable to fully reach the various goals necessary to get there.<\/p>\n
If this scenario sounds all too familiar, trace your goals back to their origin. Those that are poorly conceived typically set up a company for failure. One solution is to follow the SMART approach.<\/p>\n
Definitions to work by<\/p>\n
The SMART system was first introduced to the business world in the early 1980s. Although the acronym\u2019s letters have been associated with different meanings over the years, they\u2019re commonly defined as:<\/p>\n
Specific. Goals must be precise. So, if your strategic plan includes growing the business, your goals must then explicitly state how you\u2019ll do so. For each goal, define the \u201c5 Ws\u201d \u2014 who, what, where, when and why.<\/p>\n
Measurable. Setting goals is of little value if you can\u2019t easily assess your progress toward them. Pair each goal with one or more metrics to measure progress and success. This may mean increasing revenue by a certain percentage, expanding your customer base by winning a certain number of new accounts, or something else.<\/p>\n
Achievable. Unrealistically aggressive goals can crush motivation. No one wants to put time and effort into something that\u2019s likely to fail. Ensure your goals can be accomplished, but don\u2019t make them too easy. The best ones are usually somewhat of a stretch but still doable. Rely on your own business experience and the feedback of your trusted managers to find the right balance.<\/p>\n
Relevant. Let\u2019s say you identify a goal that you know you can achieve. Before locking it in, ask whether and how it will move your business forward. Again, goals should directly and clearly support your long-term strategic plan. Sometimes companies can be tempted by \u201clow-hanging fruit\u201d \u2014 goals that are easy to accomplish but lead nowhere.<\/p>\n
Timely. Assign each goal a deadline. Doing so will motivate those involved by creating a sense of urgency. Also, once you\u2019ve established a deadline, work backwards and set periodic milestones to help everyone pace themselves toward the goal.<\/p>\n
Eye on the future<\/p>\n
Strategic planning, and the goal setting that goes along with it, might seem like a waste of time. But even if your business is thriving now, it\u2019s important to keep an eye on the future. And that means long-term strategic planning that includes SMART goals. Our firm would be happy to explain further and offer other ideas.<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2018<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Strategic planning is key to ensuring every company\u2019s long-term viability, and goal setting is an indispensable step toward fulfilling those plans. Unfortunately, businesses often don\u2019t accomplish their overall strategic plans because they\u2019re unable to fully reach the various goals necessary to get there. If this scenario sounds all too familiar, trace your goals back … Continue reading “Get SMART when it comes to setting strategic goals”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":751,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.excelsisaccounting.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.excelsisaccounting.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.excelsisaccounting.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.excelsisaccounting.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.excelsisaccounting.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=752"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.excelsisaccounting.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":758,"href":"https:\/\/www.excelsisaccounting.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/752\/revisions\/758"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.excelsisaccounting.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.excelsisaccounting.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.excelsisaccounting.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.excelsisaccounting.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}