Goals! They invoke emotions almost as sharply as politics do. Okay. Maybe not quite that bad, but as the calendar turns to the new beginnings 2017 offers, goals are a hot topic of conversation.
Personally, I love goals. I am a goal setter. I think I always have been. You can blame or praise my parents for hardwiring that core value in me. In fact, my senior quote for the yearbook was “Shoot for the moon and you may end up in Hawaii.” However, I know not everyone shares the enthusiasm.
The Misconception About Goals
The number one thing I hear from people who don’t like setting goals is that they’re afraid they’ll feel like a failure if they don’t accomplish them. Interesting.
I suppose I can understand, however here’s some new perspective: If you set a goal and don’t accomplish it, it is an opportunity to examine why that goal didn’t come to fruition. Readjust. Renew. Refocus. Nothing wrong with that.
Why Is It Important to Set Goals for Yourself?
Goals are the path to what we want. As business professionals, we have to be challenged. We have to grow. It’s imperative to our success. Period.
Goals keep you motivated by keeping you focused on the bigger picture, and on what is possible. It provides structure and vision to the (hopefully) ever-changing and growing desire to be better, and can push you forward to heights you never thought possible, my friend.
And the best part of goals? They’re all your own. You know what motivates you. Set yourself up for success by going at whatever pace works for you.
Working Through Your Personal Goals
The best place to start working on your goals is with yourself. What are something things you want to achieve just for you? What’s going to improve your life? Your health? Your relationships? Your soul? Write them down. Make them realistic. Break up big dreams into short challenges. You can even classify each as “short-term goal” (1-3 months) or “long-term goal” (3 months – 1+ year).
Here’s how I do it. I fill in the “2016 Goals” at the beginning of the year. At the end of each year, I think through my goals and consider what was and wasn’t accomplished, and why.
These are some example of a few of my personal goals for 2016 goals along with the results:
| 2016 Goal | Result |
| Go on one date a month with my husband. | Done. We may have missed one month, but I am calling this done. Now it needs to form into a habit. |
| Run a 1:40 half marathon. | This one was a little tougher because I was injured a lot in 2016, but ran a 1:38 in November! Going to better this one in 2017. |
| Read one book a month. | Nope. I read 9 last year. So this one gets rolled over. My hang up was “paralysis by analysis” on what to read next so this year, I have all 12 books ordered and on my bookshelf. |
| Spend 30 minutes 5x/week with God. | It was more like 3 or 4 x/week, I think. The hangup? Need to be more consistent. Solution? Make time earlier in the day. Find an accountability partner. |
| Take the kids on an airplane. | Nope. Finances prohibited this one. Roll over to 2017. May even by 2018. |
| Do something fun with friends 1x/month. | Done. This has now become part of my life balance. |
| Participate in 1 outreach each month. | 8 was the number for the year. Need to calendar them all in advance. |
See, not all accomplished and that’s okay. The “goal” was to challenge growth in all areas of my life. It’s a process. It evolves.
If you’re just starting, let your small wins motivate you! You’ll see how far you can go.
Business Development Goals
You can take the same concept above and apply it to your business goals, whether it be as an organization, department, team or even just yourself.
We’ve gone through the process already over here at ViM. And you know what I love most about being on a team? Hearing other people’s visions. Here is a collective list of our team’s goals for 2017…so far:
- Be more consistent (staying the course with strategies).
- Be results-driven.
- Increase conversions on blog posts.
- Incorporate more vertical blogging.
- Complete Hootsuite certifications
- Complete Google Shopping, Display, and Analytics certifications.
- Implement more standard operating procedures.
- 3 new lead generators for our company site.
- Create more local awareness.
- Implement “Give Back” program where a percentage of monthly proceeds will be donated to local charities we partner with.
- New rebrand and website.
- Become more efficient with integrating marketing channels and communication.
- Launch 2 webinars or conferences for start-ups and small business owners.
- Implement better systems to stay up to date on important industry changes and trends, while filtering out all the noise.
- Attend monthly networking events.
- And this one is my favorite from a member of our team: Become the Inland Empire’s top marketing agency!!
While some people shy away from setting goals, sometimes I am blown away by how big people think. This happened to me twice this week with one of those times being goal #16 on the list above. This challenged me to not be so insular. You know what’s even more exciting? Goal #16 is totally attainable.
We have a roadmap of where our team members want to grow as professionals and how they want our company to grow and that is exciting.
What does your roadmap look like?
