Business Goal Setting... Setting SMART Goals in Business.

A large number of companies recognize the benefits of effective business goal setting and will offer corporate training workshops on setting business goals. 

Smart goal setting is very common practice in business...  and can be an effective tool for a companies corporate annual review of performance and or strategic planning when focusing on a specific business unit or department. 

Part 1:Business Goal Setting... in order to achieve Your Goals…

With reagrds to Setting business goals...it's rather interesting to learn.... the majority of top performing sales people.... take the time to establish clear goals and identify their targets. 

Goal setting for small business does not have to be complicated or take a lot of time. One of the more common and effective ways to formulate your goals is to use the Smart Goal Setting approach. 

The SMART goal setting formula assures your goals contain all the essential elements in order to maximize your goal setting success. 

More on goal setting for small business 

Be certain that each of your goals flow in line with the SMART goal setting concept: 

SMART Represents: 

Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic/Relevant and Time Bound.

Specific: Know exactly what you want to accomplish, include all the fine points and details.

Goals must be well defined. They must be clear and unambiguous.

Measurable: Are you able to measure your progress in order to track it?

How and when will you know when you’ve reached your goal?

Be specific in defining the criteria for measuring progress towards reaching your target, accomplishment of each goal…it is important to be able to measure and  keep track of your progress.

Attainable: Is your goal a challenge but still possible to achieve?

Goals must be achievable. The greatest goals are those that require you to reach and push yourself a bit harder to achieve, however they must not be impossible to achieve.

Realistic: Are your goals realistic and within your reach? Will you be willing to commit to your goal?  

With the most certainty your goal is realistic when you really believe that it can be accomplished.

Relevant: Is your goal relevant and or in line with your life purpose? Is it parallel your beliefs and values?

Be sure your goal is consistent with the other goals you’ve established, fitting your immediate and long-term plans?

Time Bound: Have you determined a deadline for your goal?

Goals have got to have a clearly defined time frame together with a start date and a target date. Not having a time limit will eliminate any need for urgency to start taking action towards achieving your goals.

For more on smart goals

Smart Goals Example:

Bad example: 

“I want to lose some weight”.

Example of a Good SMART goal:

 “I want to lose 10 lbs by September 15th 2017. I will do a 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of strength training each day, 5 days a week and I will limit my consumption of simple carbohydrates to 3 times a week.”

1) After you have clearly defined a SMART Goal, it's time to detail and outline your action plan…how are you going achieve your goal? 

2) At last it’s time to take action… start the pursuit of reaching your goals. 

          

Your goals will not supernaturally just take place just because you’ve documented them. 

You’ve come up with a incredible SMART goal, but remember nothing will happen until YOU act…take action and go get them.

You’ll need to be consistent.

Additional tips:

Be sure to set goals that push you beyond what you typically think you can accomplish... Surprise yourself….. 

1) Determine a realistic deadline. A goal without a deadline is simply a dream. Attach a realistic yet challenging deadline for accomplishment and post this where you can review it regularly.

2) Express your SMART goal as in the present tense and always think success.

Example: Don't say, "I want to." Say, "I will." 

A positive subconscious mind tells you that you have already achieved your goal, and in turn helps by preparing you for the reality; working to help the goal become a reality. 

For the Key elements like: attracting right the people, places, situations and circumstances you need to achieve that goal will be on auto-pilot.

1) Document your SMART goals in writing.

This straightforward step will help provide clarity with your goals allowing you to visualize them more effectively.

 It is recommend recording each goal on its own individual index card and review them twice daily….when you first wake…and again prior to turning into for bed. 

This process strongly reinforces your SMART goals, acting as a empowering reminder driving deep into your subconscious in order to stay focused on your target.  

As a matter of fact…this step may even prove to be your most powerful goal setting technique you can use to achieve your targets.

2) Listing the benefits you aim to obtain by achieving each SMART goal.

This technique will help keep you strong and focused, predominantly when you are facing the inevitable barriers and road-blocks.

 When I made the decision to finally quit smoking years ago… it was recommended that I write a list of benefits associated to quitting…this way when I had a craving or urge to smoke a cigarette I could resort to this list to help support my desire to quit and get passed the craving. 

Tip: the greater the list of benefits you can list for your goals, the greater the desire and motivation for the goals will become.