In recent posts, I have written about a productivity framework and the time management skills…
Setting Business Goals
Setting business goals requires a careful balance of many factors. Goals need to be stretching, but also realistic. They need to account for both the current and future outlook.
Importantly, when setting business goals, you need to account for your available resources. Crucially, and often overlooked, is the time you and your team have available to do what is needed to achieve the goals.
Unrealistic goals are a waste of time. Some will argue such goals are needed to drive innovation, but in my experience, they do the opposite. They are demotivating, lead to resources being misapplied, and snuff out the spark needed for creative thinking.
In a world where customer expectations are increasing, we are being expected to do more, for less, and in a shorter time-frame. Working longer is not the answer as this comes with a huge price tag:
Setting Business Goals – the Time Bucket.
When setting business goals, consider how much additional time commitment you and your team will need to pursue those goals.
We cannot create more time. Everyone has the same amount of time in their “Time Bucket”.
In my experience, most people involved in business today, (including employees), are time poor and work exceptionally hard to meet client expectations.
So when setting business goals we can’t just keep adding more and more to our” Time Bucket”, without taking into account existing time availability.
If we keep adding more, the “Time Bucket” overflows! As a consequence, fractures occur, standards slips, motivation falls away, and realisation of our goals becomes ever more distant.
Setting Business Goals – Start With a Time Audit.
One of the most valuable exercises I undertook in a former life in the corporate world, was to complete a “time audit” to find out how I was using my time.
This involved manually recording the start and end time of all tasks over a 3 week period.
The results revealed:
It is important to stress, this wasn’t a punitive exercise to find out how I was wasting time. It was to do a reality check to provide me information, so I could implement changes based on data, not my distorted perceptions.
Priorities! Stop Doing! Letting Go!
The end result was, that to create more time for high pay off activities, I needed to make room in my “Time Bucket”. This was largely achieved by choosing to:
Tracking how you and your team are using their time, (in a positive and non-punitive way), is worthwhile to identify opportunities to create more time to pursue your business goals.
Tools to Help You Track Your Time.
ATracker
I use ATracker daily. It is my favourite time tracking tool. It is a low cost (A$7.99) iPhone/Android App and easy to use.
You create a list of colour coded tasks and track your time simply by tapping to start or stop. You can manually record activities if that is your preference. It also integrates with your calendar.
Toggl
Toggl is like ATracker, it works both on iPhone and Android, plus desktop.
They have a free plan, and beyond that, pricing ranges from US$10pm to US$20.00pm for more advanced options.
Use the Right Business Goal Structure.
When you know how much time you and the team have available, you are then in a position to set goals that are realistic.
When setting business goals I use the S.M.A.R.T framework – that is; ensuring the goal is:
Action Plans – Moving Towards Your Goal.
To maintain motivation and momentum, I recommend creating Action Plans for the coming 90 days.
Next, prioritise the steps for the first 30 days, and then, select those you will complete in the coming week.
At the end of the week, select the steps for the next week etc.
Breaking the actions down this way to “bite size” chunks helps ovoid overwhelm and makes the process far more manageable!
The idea is to create practical steps to move yourself towards realisation of your goals. “Bite size” steps creates momentum, and if you persist, momentum builds.
Overcoming Challenges and Doubt: Four Critical Questions.
At times, when faced with stretching business goals, we,(or our team), can find ourselves hesitating, uncertain, and doubtful.
A framework I came across a number of years ago I find helpful in these circumstances is:
That is; to ask yourself:
A helpful approach to thinking that is holding you back is to ask – “If my thinking was in another language I couldn’t understand, what would I do?”
In most instances, the answer would be – “I would take action a, b or c.”
Summary.
Setting business goals in the way I have outlined does involve a bit more work, however the difference in terms of the outcomes you enjoy, can be significant.
The keys are to ensure the goals are stretching, but realistic. That, if you and the team are already overextended, you look for opportunities to create more space in the “Time Bucket” by removing/reducing low payoff tasks.
If during the journey, you encounter doubt, or motivation begins to flag, go back and reconnect with WHY you set the goal in the first place. Use the framework provided to identify what is holding you back.
To learn more about goal setting or managing your team, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Bruce Hall.
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