Don’t drive your business without a destination!

How many times do you get in your car and drive out to nowhere, with no specific place to go, just driving aimlessly? Yes, sometimes people do that simply to clear their heads but it’s definitely not the most efficient way to reach a desirable destination. Usually when you hop in your car, you have some sort of a plan on where you will be going, how you might get there, expected duration, pit stops along the way etc… If you regularly plan your routes to run errands, why wouldn’t you also systematically plan for key business activities and projects?

Whether planning for a car trip, an event, a product launch, a new business or a growth strategy, the thinking process is essentially driven by solving a series of ‘How to’ questions (ie. how to quickly get from point A to point B, how to commercialize a product, how to grow market share etc…). But before solving the ‘How to’ questions, it’s critical to clearly define the goal.

In my opinion, business leaders that fail to articulate clear goals or create specific plans leave success up to chance. If the desired outcomes are not defined, how can someone confidently claim or convince others of their success?

When working with clients to facilitate the process of defining and planning their business strategies, I strongly advocate for setting goals that will:

1. Focus the attention and efforts on a direction that matters most

2. Clearly define and measure success

3. Engage and motivate everyone on the team to make a difference

4. Build momentum for sustained achievements

5. Foster accountability

Whatever the method you choose (ie. S.M.A.R.T. or any other goal setting approach) to define and plan your goals, taking the time to do this thoroughly will prove to be a worthwhile investment of your resources. If you need help to get started, consider hiring someone with experience to facilitate the process.