What are your goals for 2022? Do you have a plan in place to achieve them? If not, don't worry. Goal setting is a critical continuous process for a small business, and foundational to your business plan. It's important to create, track and adjust your goals on at least an annual basis. Whether this is just a refresher to last year's goals, or you're brand new to formal goal setting, this article will explore 5 best practice goal setting steps to set you up for a laser focused, results-oriented, powerhouse 2022!
Step 1: Start with the end in mind
The best way to set effective goals is to start with the end in mind. What do you want your business to look like in 2022? How will it function? What are your key objectives for the year? Once you have a general idea of what you want, you can begin drilling down into more specific goals.
Step 2: Hone in your Objectives & Key Results (OKR's)
There are many different frameworks out there for goal setting, but we at Impact Management Group recommend using the Objective & Key Results (OKR) framework. OKRs were originally used by larger businesses with more complex operations, but they can be adapted for any company size. Let’s take a look at how to set OKRs for your business.
The Objectives & Key Results (OKR) framework helps you create measurable annual goals that are both strategic and actionable—perfect for achieving success in any size company.
Objective: The bigger picture, more aspirational end-result (e.g. exponentially increase net profit for 2022)
Key Results: Smaller, measurable outcomes that give you a sense that help you tangibly see that you're making tangible progress toward your objective (e.g. increase online sales by 30%, or decrease Operating Expense by 10%)
Creating measurable key results is essential for visualizing your progress and determining whether you're on track to reach your objectives. Use numbers, percentages, or other quantifiable metrics whenever possible. For example, "increase website traffic by 25%" or "reduce customer support call time by 50%."
Step 3: Brainstorm solutions & initiatives
The next step is to brainstorm what key initiatives/solutions you think will help achieve the key results you set. Examples could include hiring key staff, launching a new website, and so on.
At Impact Management Group, we try to steer our clients clear of big monolithic projects or 'big bets' where all conditions need to be met, for success to be achieved. Where possible, we encourage breaking things down into smaller experiments or outcomes that can be achieved within a maximum three-month time period. Smaller efforts within a more condensed time window allow us to test and validate hypotheses (educated guesses) quicker, get feedback more real-time, and make decisions to punt, pivot, or persevere much faster. As an end result, we remain nimbler, more responsive, and have a higher likelihood of achieving our key results and associated objectives.
Step 4: Prioritize & roadmap key initiatives
The final step is to prioritize your key initiatives, and then map them out in a timeline/Gantt chart. This will help you see when each initiative needs to start and finish for you to achieve your objectives by the end of the year. To prioritize we at Impact Management Group take our clients through a Weighted Shorted Job (WSJF) exercise. This is an extremely simple and effective prioritization exercise where you rank each initiative based on the following criteria: (Weight) (Importance to Objectives) x (Feasibility & Time). We will explore WSJF in future articles or can train and take you and your leadership team through the process.
Step 5: Regularly check & adjust
Regularly revisiting your goals is important to ensuring they still align with your overall business objectives. As your company grows and changes, so too might your goals and objectives. The key is to constantly be reassessing and systematically adjust as needed.
Wrapping up
The best time to start setting your 2022 goals is now! Use the tips outlined in this article as a guide. Remember to revisit and adjust as needed. And don't forget to enjoy the journey along the way.
If you're having trouble getting started with goal setting or want some more assistance putting together an actionable plan for your business, feel free to reach out to us at Impact Management Group. Our team of experienced professionals can help get your business on track for success in 2022!
Let us know how it goes or if you'd like some help. Happy goal setting!
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