How to Set Clear & Actionable Goals in Your Business that You’ll Stick To

Set Goals that are Meaty and Manageable

You’ve probably heard the advice to set S.M.A.R.T. goals, and that’s great. But, to stick to a goal, it needs to be tied to an objective that moves the needle forward.

Here’s how:

Start with the why - I call this Value Driven Planning. You can’t set a goal in a vacuum, without thinking thru why that goal matters. Otherwise, you risk living out someone else’s version of success.
Think big picture - what do you want to accomplish and is it realistic given the season you in, your finances, access to support, etc. I call this Year at a Glance and it’s what keeps me and my clients in a space to set realistic, strategic goals that align with our lives.
Break that big picture into Quarterly Goals, and within each quarter break each goal into micro moves. Quarterly Planning ensures you have goals that are meaty enough to take three months, yet manageable enough to be accomplished within three months.

Here’s an example:

At present, I value: gatherings, impact and flexibility.

When 2023 kicked off and I mapped out Year at a Glance, I allocated a chunk of time towards nurturing HLAM Inner Circle and releasing the State of Mom Entrepreneurship Survey.

Both these big goals were slotted around my personal and professional aspirations. Both these big goals aligned with my Value Driven Planning. Both these goals were broken down and accomplished thru Quarterly Planning using the Edit to Expand Planner.

Put Milestones in Place

Determining milestones is a crucial step to sticking to a goal. It’s like signing a contract with yourself, and putting the flag in the ground. It makes it manageable, and you stay on task as you notice progress.

For example:

Once I mapped out my Year at a Glance, the ideal timing for releasing the State of Mom Entrepreneurship 2023 survey became clear.

I then reverse engineered, to determine what other milestones needed to be set for that release to be plausible.

Monitor Your Progress

Even if you do have milestones, it’s imperative that you keep track and monitor your progress. Otherwise, it’s easy for you to fall behind.

Make a date with yourself to review your progress at least once a month.

Facts On Goal Setting

People that write down their goals are 20% more likely to achieve them than those who don’t.
Of those who set goals, only 46% of people made it past six months.
Data from Harvard MBA study shows that have specific goals, linked to an important why and a through plan that can be broken down into micro actions, ensured higher success of goal completion.