Blue Elevator Blog

Setting Goals

This isn’t an article about why you should be setting goals.  But, rather how to set goals.

As the saying goes, “A dream or a goal without a plan is only a wish.”

Typical Goals

Here are some typical goals for a business or organization:

• Start a business, and grow it until it reaches $100 million in revenue in 5 years.
• Become the industry’s leading provider of X.
• Achieve EBITDA equal to 20% of gross.
• Do an IPO sometime in the next 3 years.
• Make enough money to pay your salary plus the salaries of five critical employees.
• Or, simply make enough money to break-even.

These are all fine goals.  And, there’s probably something in there that most of you can relate to.  Whether your business is big or small – or a startup or Fortune 500 company – we should all, God willing, be setting goals.

Setting Goals Is A Three-Step Process

Setting goals is a three-step process.

Step 1: Write them down.

If you haven’t done it lately, take some time and write down all of your various goals.  Grab a cup of coffee.  Sit down.  And, write down what comes to mind.

Step 2: Separate the ends from the means.

Now, go back through all of your various goals.  And, for each one, ask yourself this question:

“Is this goal something that creates change, or is it something I am hoping to realize?”  Here’s another way of looking at this.  Separate your goals into two groups: Resultant goals and causational goals.

For example, let’s say one of your goals is to grow annual revenue by 10%.  And, let’s say another goal is to develop three additional, viable sales channels.

I would submit that the first goal (e.g., increase revenue by 10%) is resultant.  And, the second goal (e.g., develop three sales channels) is causational.

Step 3: Develop an action plan for causational goals.

Now, for each of your causational goals, develop an action plan.

Separating The Ends From The Means

As you engage in this process, it’s important to identify the key drivers of success.  And, often times, it’s helpful to reverse-engineer the process.  This means you should begin by identifying what you would like to see.  Next, you should go backwards to identify the real causational activities or drivers.  Here are two additional articles you may find helpful:

• Identify the Key Drivers
• To Move Forward Think Backward

One More Way Of Looking At It

1. For every dream, you should have at least one goal.
2. For every goal, you should have a plan.
3. For every plan, you should have something actionable.

Contact us!  We’d love to be involved in helping you set your goals.