Are your business goals crystal clear? This is not an easy question to answer, but it is the most important one that every business owner should ask themselves. We are living in a time where fast-paced markets and fierce competition are commonplace, and many people fall into a line of thinking that convinces them that they must be agile enough to change courses to keep up with the volatility of various markets.
What they are failing to see is that business success is a byproduct of perseverance, which is to persist in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for adjustments and pivots, but continually changing one’s course altogether is a sign that clear goals are not the compass that is guiding the voyage. Therefore, the difference between business success and failure often can be traced back to one single element – clarity in goal setting.
Why Clarity Matters
Are your dreams so big that they scare you? Does your definition of business success keep you up at night at times because it seems so far out of your reach? If so, good! Welcome to the club. People like us are always reaching for the stars, but the reality is that only a small portion of us are going to bring our full vision to fruition. That’s right! Only those of us who can see it and believe it will be able to achieve it. The difficulty is that we must first see our vision when it is merely a little seed. The clearer that you and I can see the fully grown tree that our little seed will become, the more likely it is that we will nurture it to maturity.
Research confirms the power that we can draw from clear goal setting. Many studies indicate that people who write down their goals are 42% more likely to achieve them. However, this does not describe a haphazard slapping down of a few milestones that would be nice to achieve. When writing down your goals, think of yourself as a bestselling author who is drafting the outline of another masterpiece that is expected to hit the shelves soon. You don’t rush this process, but you are patient, thoughtful, and introspective. There is an editing process that includes a first, second, and even third draft before you embark on the work. In short, the process of clarity matters because it is the fuel that will supercharge your business success aspirations.
The S.M.A.R.T. Approach
Business success is a subject that I often discuss with friends and colleagues, and healthy debates are commonplace when considering what the best goal-setting approach is. I often joke with them and accuse them of using the D.U.M.B approach, which stands for Don’t, Understand, My, Business. This always gets a laugh. Yet, in all honesty, I am partially joking with them. Often, their goals indicate that they have not taken the time to get a clear understanding of their business, how they will measure their success, how realistic their aims are, how important success in the field is to them, and how much time they are giving themselves to achieve their goals.
Please don’t unwittingly take the D.U.M.B approach. Instead, go with one of the most straightforward and effective goal-setting approaches out there: the S.M.A.R.T. approach. This is a simple way to ensure that all of your goals are actionable and achievable. The idea behind this acronym is to remind you that effective goals must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. When all of these boxes are checked off, vague aspirations will be transformed into concrete plans that will propel you to the business success that you are striving for.
Translating Vision into Action
Great entrepreneurs can see clearly. They have the ability to seemingly see into the future with 20/20 vision in a way that most people can’t. I mean, take a look at Jeff Bezos and his foresight to turn online shopping into the norm before it was hardly even a thing. Then, then there was Steve Jobs, who took what was already a thing, the desktop computer, and used his operating IOS system to take his ever-expanding, interconnected line of products to a level of communication and entertainment that the world had never seen. Finally, we have Elon Musk. . . need I say more?
One thing that all of these entrepreneurs had in common is that they all had a great vision for their products. Yet, what is not often reported on in the sensational stories that are written about these men is how they translated their monumental visions into bite-size, digestible, short-term, clear goals that they could act upon. Those who fail to understand that a long chain is made one link at a time will have great difficulty mobilizing a team or properly measuring progress. For example, a new tech start-up that has a long-term vision to “revolutionize digital communication” can create short-term goals as stepping stones like “develop a beta version of the software within 8 months” or “secure partnerships with two key industry players within a year.”
Balancing Flexibility and Commitment
Business success is reserved for those who know how to pivot and adjust to the market in which they are competing. Agility is a competitive advantage, but there is a fine line between being agile and indecisive. Successful people have the ability to make decisions quickly and stick with them. Unsuccessful people tend to take longer to make decisions and they frequently change course. So, what is the solution? The solution is to strike a balance between flexibility in adjusting your goals while being careful to stick with the overall plan.
Being adaptable is admirable because markets are volatile. Shifting goals often, on the other hand, is detestable because it leads to confusion, distrust, and the risk of losing the confidence of your employees or customers. This is why goal clarity is so important. Not only is it a precursor to success, but your reputation hangs in the balance as you set out to bring your vision to fruition. Those who take the time necessary to refine their goals before they embark on the journey are those who will have what it takes to dig deep during difficult times to inspire those around them to stay the course until victory is achieved.
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Conclusion
Clarity is power! He or she who can see it and believe it will achieve it. Yet, in our microwave culture that seeks instant gratification at every turn, many aspiring entrepreneurs treat the long-term goal-setting phase of their business like a race. In their eagerness to embark on their journey, they fail to look within to understand the WHY behind the vision.
Therefore, it is safe to say that clear goals are a result of inner clarity. Such clarity comes from patiently looking within, examining your motives, and counting the costs. Once these elements are aligned with your WHY, your vision will become a definite purpose that propels you to greater heights than you ever thought possible. From there, use the S.M.A.R.T approach to manage the short-term goals that lead to your long-term vision, learn to translate your vision into actions, and balance flexibility with commitment.
