Setting goals sound simple, but it’s really so much more than just writing down a list of things that would be nice to do in the new year. In the article below you’ll find some tips on how to set goals for 2017 that you will actually achieve.
Know Where You Are Going In 2017
You have probably heard or read this already: you need to formulate your goals clearly. It’s not enough to say you want to increase sales or acquire new customers. By how much do you want to increase sales? 1% or 20%? Both represent an increase but one is significantly higher than the other. How are you planning on increasing sales? By investing more in PR, classic advertising or by developing a new product? Vague goals leave too much room for interpretation and make it more difficult to stay focused. That’s why you should do yourself and your team the favor of being clear and concise when it comes to stating what you want to achieve next year.
Monitor Your Progress
If your goals are clear, it’s easy for you to monitor your success. How many new publications should feature you in 2017? If your answer is 50 and by June you’ve already been mentioned in 30, you know you’re on track. If your answer was something like “several” or “a lot” then you have no way of knowing how you’re doing and chances are you’ll put in less effort because there is no concrete number to achieve and no way to know how far along you’ve come.
Prove the Value of Your Work
Monitoring your progress is not just good if you want to know whether you’re moving in the right direction or not. It’s also great when you have to show your managers or your shareholders what you’ve been up to. They want to know how you are getting the word out about the company and how you will contribute to making money for the company. If you can show them great coverage you’ve gotten and point to sales increases that resulted from a campaign you ran, you are proving to them that your work is valuable and beneficial to the company.
Set a Variety of Goals
Goals are useful in all areas of your business. Financial goals probably seem like the most obvious to most people but there are other parts of your business that could benefit from clear-cut targets, too. Think of the following questions and how setting goals in these areas could benefit your company. Who do you want to build new/stronger relationships with next year? This could be industry thought leaders, media representatives or your customers. Which mistakes did you make in 2016 and what did you learn from them? This could be a bad business deal, an argument you got into or a poor HR choice you made. What is something you and your company did well and you are proud of? This could include achieving the year’s goals, reducing employee turnover or getting the front-page newspaper feature you had dreamed of for so long.
Be Realistic
This is something that sounds quite obvious, but many people still don’t manage to follow this simple piece of advice. Setting goals is great, but they need to be achievable. If they are too lofty your staff or partners risk being discouraged before they even start working on them – probably one of the worst ways to start a new project, let alone a new year. This doesn’t mean that goals shouldn’t be ambitious. Use them to push yourself and your company to work hard because you know you can do it. That way you keep motivation levels high and make achieving your goals truly rewarding.
Challenge Yourself with Personal Goals
While it’s important to set goals you want to achieve with your company and your team, take the time to set personal goals for the new year too. Decide what is important for you in your personal life, what new skills you want to learn or what you really want to accomplish in the new year. Just as with your professional goals, you should make sure they are challenging yet achievable, and really reflect how you want to grow. Draw up an action plan that outlines exactly how you will go about achieving your goals and make sure you break them down into suitable milestones that will help you track your progress. Encourage your staff and management to do the same. That way they can accomplish things that are important to them and find a sense of fulfillment and happiness which will also help them perform better at work.
To get a very special insight on personal development, stay tuned for an exciting event we are organizing in collaboration with Guillaume Gauthereau early next year. A former CEO with 20 years’ experience in the world of business, he is now a coach and mentor that shares his valuable knowledge about leadership and is coming to Bangkok in March 2017 to host his Awaken the Leader Inside You Conference and a series of his popular Find Your Inner Balance Workshops.
If you want to know more about these special events or have a set of goals you would like to achieve in 2017 but are not exactly sure how to do it, get in touch with us by e-mail or have a look around our website www.midas-pr.com to learn how we can help you.