It can be easy to get caught up in the daily activities of starting a business and not have a plan of where you want to be in the next 3 to 5 years. This month I have been posting about strategic alignment and making sure you have SMART objectives that align with your goals and vision of the business. I also mention KPI’s, which are key performance indicator that will give you a good understanding on if your business is heading in the right direction.
Mission and Vision statements.
These all contribute towards one thing ….. your goals.
These are your more high-level goals as they’re not SMART; they are, however, business-focused, ambitious and motivational for the team behind the scenes who make those goals happen.
Start with your mission and vision for the business before honing in on the SMART objectives and ensuring they are strategically aligned. The objectives need to feed the mission and vision for the business to see results.
SMART Objectives
We all like ticking tasks off our to-do list, which is why SMART objectives work so well. They let us focus; drive us forward and clarify the end vision by making it happen.
SMART means having Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Trackable objectives. Whilst having our high-level goals are the first point of call, these five contributing factors will remind us of our priorities and allow us to create and delegate projects to achieve these goals.
Do we need to talk about deadlines? SMART objectives will ensure we start to meet those dreaded deadlines, just like ticking something off your to-do list, such a good feeling.
Goals vs Objectives.
Do you think these are the same? Or perhaps get them mixed up? It happens, so don’t worry.
A goal is a result that you’re looking to achieve in short to long term, so where you want to be. However, the objectives are how you’re going to get there. The objectives will clearly define a plan of action using the SMART model. Your team will need these SMART objectives to achieve the company goal.
Strategic Projects.
Each business will have a list of ongoing projects; some will be on a small scale while others will be larger over a more extended period. However, all projects should link back to your mission and vision statements.
There isn’t much point having a vision if you don’t have a plan of action on how to get there.
Key Performance Indicators
Also known as KPI’s, these are the outcomes that will determine if you’re on track to achieving your goals, especially if your goals are metric-driven.
Businesses usually have on average between 5 and 7 KPI’s and should be tracked at least monthly.
Make sure you’re tracking the right KPI’s for your business.
I hope you found this blog useful and if you need to discuss anything on this topic, just drop me an email on sian@ineedmarketing.co.uk
