When Your Business Goals Fail
In ”It Always Starts With Vision“, we clarified what you intend your business to become. And that’s all well and good but having goals that leave you spinning your wheels or sending you in different directions will leave your small business in limbo. Goal writing can be harder than it sounds. Without clear specifics, measurements, deadlines or accountability embedded in the written goal,
it’s a bit like driving your car in the fog. The road is there but it’s not clear what’s ahead of you. In fact, without clear and focused goals, you may as well let your business fail.
Badly written goals lead to failure. Failure lies in 2 parts. The first is when the goals are too vague so you can’t execute. A good example is “We’re going to connect with my target market.” You know what you mean, sort of. It probably is some kind of combination where you network or speak to groups. It can also mean someone in your organization is doing something in social media or doing a media interview. All of these are really separate goals. The problem with just saying, “We’re going to connect with my target market” is that there is no clear beginning point. Do you connect in print, online, or in-person? What kind of connection? When? Who cares?
This is a good way to set the stage for procrastination. In organizations, this can look like endless meetings where people come up with reasons why one thing will work better than something else but no one will be responsible for leading the action. In sole proprietorships, it can look like a lot of busy work without any movement towards getting in front of more people who might be interested in your business.
The second part is when the goals having nothing to do with the “why” of your business. You pursue something that is tangential to your business. Maybe you’ve been thinking about adding a service or product to what you already offer your clients and you’ve run across this wonderful opportunity. It’s important to evaluate if the opportunity is completely consistent with the purpose of your business. I made this mistake a few years ago when I decided to offer a program that could have focused on women business owners and how they think about money and success. Sure it had to do with managing beliefs and anxiety about performance (big part of my coaching) but I attracted professional women (not small business owners) and it didn’t focus entirely on building a business (business results are crucial to my coaching process). It was an almost match and I didn’t listen to my gut. My “why” is to use short-term coaching cycles and collaborate with my clients so they feel confident in identifying and developing strategies to be more effective leaders, plan more creatively, innovate, and overcome the fears and obstacles that interfere with building the businesses they truly want. Yeah, the program didn’t work and I had to pay for a license that was a bad investment.
Limbo stinks! No matter the size of your small business, limping along while you are wishing you were doing something more exciting or fulfilling is a waste of time! What would happen if you sat down (or even stood up) for a scheduled length of time and the only agenda item was to write one goal fully out so it is specific, measurable, time-limited and a no-brainer to put into action. Last but never, ever least, who would provide the accountability for you (or whoever is assigned) to see how the goal has been followed through?
How are your business goals failing to produce the results you want?
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I particularly like the why part of this. With all the effort it can take to come up with specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely (SMART) goals, it’s important to look within to be sure you fully understand WHY you do what you do. I think this speaks to my own preference for the compass over the map, as the passion and belief systems driving vision provide a pretty solid foundation for why I might do (or not do) anything in particular.
Finding someone to hold you accountable for such pursuits when you’re running solo can be tricky. I’m still in the process of developing a couple SMART goals for 2011 for my venture, but as excited as I am about what I’m doing, I’ve told enough people about it to help keep me motivated. If I can complete a goal for no reason other than to avoid embarrassment, I’ll take it!
Brian,
I hear you on how finding someone to hold you accountable can be tricky unless you include that in your initial plan or even in some kind of master plan if you are well into running your business. There are a number of possibilities…who in your network do you admire? Sometimes it is as simple as asking someone if he/she would mentor you. Or you can partner with a peer and schedule weekly check in phone calls to report to one another. Other options are to meet with someone at SBA and use that person as someone with whom you can check in. (This is a free resource.) It is best to have one person as an accountability partner because it encourages action and keeps us honest. Finally, it is also good to join a mastermind group (there can be a fee for this) or hire a coach.
Bottom line- you don’t have to go it alone. There are low cost or no cost options as well as options that do cost money. It’s up to you to decide whether simply having an accountability partner is worth the investment of your time, energy and money (if applicable).
~Elli
Good points, Elli. Smart goals are likely less powerful when there is no one around to hold you accountable for them.
Rather than pay to join a mastermind group, I’ve actually been discussing creating one with a friend elsewhere in the country. Either that, or schedule a monthly conference call with the other people helping with Gearbox.
Hmmm… I need to get moving on this.
Brian,
Need an temporary accountability partner? LOL It doesn’t come as a surprise that you already have more than 1 option ready to use. Often when we look at our networks, we find we have the resources.
Yes, it’s time to get moving!
~Elli