GOALS IN BUSINESS WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT?

BY: CAROL LIVELY

REVIEW

• LEADERSHIP• WHY IT IS IMPORTANT• HOW TO BE A GOOD LEADER

• VISION• WHY YOU NEED VISION• WHERE YOU ARE GOING WITH YOUR BUSINESS, LIFE

GOALS

• DEFINITION• THE END TOWARD WHICH EFFORT IS DIRECTED

WHY DO WE NEED GOALS?

• GOALS ARE THE ROAD MAP OF OUR VISIONS• OUR VISIONS ARE THE BIG PICTURE – GOALS ARE THE PATH WAYS

• WE KNOW WHEN WE HAVE ACHIEVED SOMETHING• % PROFIT• NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS• AVERAGE TICKET COST• SUCCESSFUL

HOW TO SET GOALS

• FIRST – LONG TERM GOALS• A 3-5 YEAR TIMELINE• THE BIG PICTURE

• SECOND – SHORT TERM GOALS• FROM 1-8 MONTHS TO COMPLETE

• SPECIFIC• DETAILED – TRACKABLE• MEASURABLE

TYPES OF GOALS

• SERVICE – GOALS RELATED TO IMPROVING CUSTOMER SERVICE SATISFACTION OR CUSTOMER RETENTION

• SOCIAL – GOALS THAT FOCUS ON GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY, THROUGH PHILANTHROPY OR VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATIONS, ETC.

• PROFIT – GOALS SET TO INCREASE PROFITS BY A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE• GROWTH – GOALS RELATED TO THE EXPANSION OF THE COMPANY,

THROUGH NEW EMPLOYEES, NEW CUSTOMERS, ETC.

SHORT TERM GOALSHOW YOU ACHIEVE YOUR LONG TERM

GOALS• SPECIFIC – IN ORDER TO WORK, OBJECTIVES NEED TO BE CONCRETE AND

HIGHLY DETAILED• NOT AS ABSTRACT AS YOUR LONG-TERM AIMS

• MEASURABLE – PUT A FIGURE OR VALUE, SUCH AS A DOLLAR AMOUNT OR PERCENTAGE TO THE OBJECTIVE

• ACTION-ORIENTED – LAY OUT WHICH ACTIONS NEED TO BE TAKEN BY WHICH PEOPLE AND WHEN

• REALISTIC – MAKE GOALS CHALLENGING, BUT CONSIDER YOU RESOURCES SO THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY ACHIEVE THEM REASONABLY

• TIME SPECIFIC – SET A DEADLINE TO KEEP THINGS ON TRACK

SAMPLES OF SHORT TERM GOALS

• I WANT TO INCREASE MY BUSINESS BY 2% EACH MONTH IN 2016 • I WANT TO RAISE MY HOURLY TO $205.00 BY DECEMBER 31, 2016

HOW DO YOU GET THERE?

• SOLICIT EMPLOYEE INPUT• ASK SOMEONE TO TRACK A SPECIFIC GOAL YOU ARE WORKING ON

• INCREASE AVERAGE TICKET• HOW MANY NEW CUSTOMERS PER DAY, WEEK, MONTH• ARE YOU INCREASING YOUR SALES OVER THE PRIOR YEARS?

• A GOOD BUSINESS OWNER NEEDS TO HAVE HELP

BE CONSISTENT

• MAKE SURE YOUR GOALS ALIGN• KEEP TRACKING YOUR PROGRESS, IF YOU ARE NOT HITTING YOUR GOALS YOU

MIGHT NEED TO REEVALUATE

EXAMPLES OF GOALS

• REVENUE • CUSTOMER SERVICE• EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION • COMMUNITY OUTREACH • WEBSITE TRAFFIC GOALS• NUMBER OF SERVICE CALLS• NUMBER OF CALL BACKS

DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS

• GOALS IS HOW YOU CAN TRULY SEE WHERE YOUR BUSINESS IS GOING• THE PATHWAYS TO WHERE YOU WANT YOUR BUSINESS TO GO