Creating goals is only half the battle. Accomplishing them is what counts.
“Finishing” is a common term used in sports which usually refers to the ability of an athlete to score – slam dunk a basketball; score a soccer goal on a breakaway; or strike out the last batter in the World Series.
Keeping score is easy in sports, there are clear rules and methods for measuring success. The individual or team that scores the most points, the most goals, the most runs – wins.
In business, we need to think the same way and set the right goals and then finish – achieve them. Here a five key elements of relevant goals and metrics of success:
- Measurable: Quantifiable goals include sales volume, manufacturing volume, shipping or installations. This keeps you focused on what’s measurable.
- Achievable: Take your “conservative” forecast and chop it in half. If you think you’ll sell 1 million units this year, set your goal at 500,000. There’s nothing worse than setting a “conservative” goal and falling short. Instead, make your goal 50 percent of your forecast and blow it away.
- Important: For a software company, don’t worry about inbound phone leads; it’s the number of downloads of your demo version, and ultimately, conversions or sales.
- Rathole-resistant: A goal can be measurable, achievable and important but still send you down a rathole. Let’s say your (measurable, achievable, relevant) goal is to sign up 10,000 new registered users at your website in 90 days. But what if 10,000 people register, visit once and never come back?
- De-emphasize touchy-feely goals. Touchy-feely goals like “create a great culture” are nice but are usually a by-product of executing on measurable goals. Companies that do are happy, and those that don’t aren’t.
When you have the goals in your sights, here’s how to finish:
Communicate. Goals have to be clearly communicated to every single employee.
Measure progress weekly. The optimal frequency of reviewing progress is weekly. Monthly is too little pressure; daily is too anal.
Establish a single point of responsibility. If you ask employees who is responsible for a goal and no one can answer you in 10 seconds, there’s not enough accountability.
Reward achievers. The achievers become even more excited about doing their jobs, and everyone can see the company takes execution seriously.
Establish a culture of execution. The best way to establish a culture of execution is for you to set an example of meeting goals, responding to customers and measuring employee progress.
Cold, brutal reality is the ally of execution. Make sure you find and surround yourself with at least a few people who see things as they really are and are persistent about finishing. You need dreamers to set audacious goals, but you also need taskmasters to make them happen. Make sure you have both.
Have a great week.
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