If you’ve ever set goals for your business or for your life, you know how difficult they are to keep. You also know the joy that comes when you complete a goal … and the stress and frustration that comes when it stalls. The year slips by so quickly and without a plan in place to make your goals stick, you will find yourself eating dry turkey and wondering where the year went.
Here are three exercises to make your business goals stick: delegation, outsourcing, and accountability.
Getting Started
Before you begin implementing your goals, there are a few tools to help evaluate the effectiveness of each goal. You definitely don’t want to invest the small amount of time available on the wrong goals, or on unclear goals.
Your goals should be simple, concrete, and measurable.
A simple goal doesn’t mean you are cutting yourself short or aiming low. Rather, as Chip and Dan Heath explain in Made to Stick, it’s about “finding the core” of the goal and “stripping (it) down to its most critical essence.” We can set up excellent systems, but if our goals are impossible to achieve at their core, we are doomed to failure. A simple goal is also concrete, meaning it’s easy to understand and remember. This is very important, especially if you have other team members involved in accomplishing your goals.
The final recommendation before getting started is to map out how you will measure your success. Breaking down your goals into smaller, achievable steps is a great way to start. In order to accomplish a goal, you will have to accomplish several sub-goals, or milestones.
So, let’s look at 3 exercises that will help make your business goals stick this year.
Exercise #1 In Making Your Goals Stick: Delegation
Unfortunately, there’s only so much time available each day and for most of us, that is spread across many responsibilities. So, how do we get everything done when our time is so limited?
It happens through delegation.
This has been one of the most important aspects of our business over the last few years and has been instrumental is allowing us to spend more time working on our business, in areas such as staff development and internal processes, and spend more time with our families.
One of the most difficult aspects of delegation is trust. You must be ok with handing off certain areas of your business to other people, which means you should also be in the habit of training and empowering your team to make decisions. As you lay out your goals and break them into smaller sub-goals, spend time assessing the strengths of your team and determining which of your goals can be delegated.
As you prepare to delegate, take time to assess your weaknesses. You can’t do everything well, but you can hire team members with sharp skillsets that offset your weaknesses.
Once you evaluate your goals and asses your team, you may find that some aspects require outside assistance.
Exercise #2 In Making Your Plan Stick: Outsourcing
Once you’ve determined who will be responsible for each aspect of your goal, you may find that some areas will be better achieved through outsourcing.
It’s also important to think through the best uses of your time. While you may be capable of managing your social media, is there something else your time could be spent on that generates a higher value to your company? Outsourcing not only frees up your time to focus on your greatest strengths, but it also expands your team. One of the best decisions we made was outsourcing our accounting. It freed up our time and also brought in an expert who could provide valuable information about our numbers and has led to us making better decisions.
We also work with a lot of clients who outsource various aspects of their marketing to our firm, whether it’s social media, Google advertising, content development, web development, or design work.
Outsourcing can also cut costs. An outside company will often provide a higher level of service at a lower cost than if you were to hire someone internally.
Exercise #3 In Making Your Plan Stick: Accountability
Each of these exercises are easy to understand but difficult to implement. They require trust, transparency, and reliance on other people. If there’s anything business owners struggle with it’s the relinquishment of control. We are natural leaders and for many of us, we created the business we are running.
Accountability is the process of bringing in someone to help you stay on track and has permission to challenge you on your progress. This can be someone on your team or a colleague. Whoever it is, they need to have a good knowledge of your business and operations. Accountability does not share the responsibility of the task but helps you stay on track.
When your goals are simple, concrete, and measurable, it will be easier to receive accountability. So, how do we get started with accountability?
Picking an Accountability Partner for your Business
The first place to look is within your business. Do you have a business partner or a member of your leadership team that can hold you accountable? If so, this creates a natural partner; they are aware of the company and the goals and are likely very familiar with the steps required to achieve them.
If you have a smaller team, you may need to look outside your company for accountability. Maybe you have a colleague that you trust or there is a local business consultant with a strong reputation. Once you have decided on a partner, it’s important to establish clear expectations and a meeting schedule.
Setting clear expectations will be much easier to do if your goals are measurable. This will establish the areas that need to be discussed to keep the plan on track.
You should meet with your partner at least once a month and the meeting should be focused on the progress of your goals. When you break down your main goal into smaller sub-goals it will add value and structure to your meetings.
Ready to Get Started?
Making your goals stick requires determination. Our time is limited and if this process is not a priority, the goals will likely not be achieved. Now, go delegate, outsource, and find an accountability partner!
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