Setting goals gives your business long-term vision and short-term motivation. It focuses your efforts and helps you to organize your time and your resources so that you can make the very most of your business.
At Heartland Dental, everyone from our supported offices to our leadership team writes down their individual goals for the year. We also create company goals, so that everyone knows what our company is striving to accomplish. Setting goals for your business and allowing your team to be part of those goals will not only propel you forward and provide you with direction, but it will also bring everyone together as a unified entity.
Setting Your Goals
The best way to set goals is by using the SMART format.
- Specific: Define the goal in as much detail as possible. A specific goal has a better chance of being accomplished than a general goal. You’ll want to include:
- Who will be involved?
- What do you want to accomplish?
- When will it be accomplished?
- Where will it be done?
- Why do you want to accomplish this goal?
- Which restrictions or restraints do you foresee?
- Measurable: What tools will you use to measure how successful or unsuccessful your goal is? Can you track the progress of the outcome? How will you know when your goal is accomplished?
- Attainable: On a scale of 1-10, how attainable is your goal? Be sure your goal is realistic, yet not below standard performance.
- Relevant/Return on Investment: Will your goal meet your personal needs and/or the needs of your business? Is your goal relevant to your other goals? In a business setting, we also like to look at ROI. Will this goal aid in your ROI? If not, is it worthwhile? If yes, why?
- Timely: Establishing a time to complete your goal will force you to address it. Try to be as specific as possible. By when should your goal be completed?
Achieving Goals
When you have achieved one of your goals, take time to enjoy it. Absorb the feeling of accomplishment that you feel when you achieve your goal because first of all you deserve it, and secondly, this will give you the motivation to set other goals and work to achieve them. Goal setting is not a one-time event.
If you don’t have goals set for your business, it’s not too late to start! Decide now how your business will grow over the next five years and find the tools you will need to achieve your goals. If you have experienced the joy of accomplishing your goals, encourage others to write goals and help them see how beneficial goal setting can be for their business.