How many times have you started a new year with personal resolutions that quickly fall by the wayside? In business, it’s no different.

The goals you set for your business might be lofty and well-meaning, but if they fail to translate to a plan and action, they mean little.

So, let’s look at how business owners can action their goals, incorporate them into their plan and then build on and compound achievements.

Make them SMART

Whatever goal you set, ensure that it is SMART. A SMART goal is one that is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.

Now each of those words in that acronym is important and when you set a goal you should run it through the SMART goal framework.

In other words, it’s no use to say, I have a goal to make my business 30 per cent more profitable this year.

As a business owner that might be your aim, but you need to break it down into highly specific goals and objectives that help you achieve that result within a specific time frame.

Write them down and refer to them often

Once you’ve determined each SMART goal, write them down and refer to them often.

Highly successful operators often note they refer to their goals daily or weekly and then use them to work out the specific tasks they will undertake that day or that week to help them achieve that goal.

This strategy also allows you to plan out your day or week in advance, allowing you to be proactive about the tasks you need to achieve to attain the goals you set.

Your long-term goals should also be incorporated into your business plan.

Create the action

On that note, consider the activities that need to occur in order to achieve your goal. What specific actions need to happen, who is responsible for them within your business operation, and when will these tasks occur?

Then tie in the systems, procedures and time slots that allow those actions to happen.

It’s important to remember, success is created through micro-habits that occur regularly and consistently.

These frequent habits then add up and compound to achieve a desired result.

Measure to manage

As you set goals, plan for them and create actions, measure the results you are achieving along the way.

This helps you determine if you are on track to achieve your goal, or the activities need to be altered in order to get where you want to be.

Measuring also helps hold you accountable, and provides the impetus to keep undertaking all the activities and tasks that will help you attain the ultimate goal.

Build and compound

Once you have achieved the goal, look at what actions led to that success, then double down and build on that activity while shifting the ‘goal posts’ further.

This then enables your goals, your activities and your achievements to compound, creating action that leads to improved results consistently over time.

Looking to set goals, plan and create action?

If you’re looking to set SMART goals, plan for them and create action, I’m available to assist, and you can book a discovery call with me here.

In the interim, we have handy tools available for business operators looking to plan for success in 2022.

The Business Life Planner is designed to help you set and reach goals throughout the year, allowing you to establish major milestones then break them down into manageable tasks, all while undertaking the running of business day-to-day.

You can get your copy of the Business Life Planner here.