2019: Set your goals

For many of us, the new year means new goals. Whether it is a personal resolution to lose weight or learn a language, or a business objective to increase revenues or lower costs.

Unfortunately, in most cases, both business and personal, these aims, or resolutions are often forgotten about within the first few weeks or months of the year. More often than not, we fail to reach these objectives not because we are unable to but because the goals we set in the first place are too vague or unrealistic. 

It doesn’t have to be this way, however. With thorough planning, it’s possible not only to set realistic business goals for the year ahead but also to increase your chances of achieving them. Here’s how:

Step one: Gather ideas
The first step to setting (and achieving) your goals for the year is to consider all options before you decide on your objectives. This means including as many people as possible in the goal setting process. Take suggestions from staff members of all levels in all departments – drivers, sales people, HR, and finance alike, before deciding on your aims for the year. You should also review customer feedback to check for common complaints and areas of your business that could be improved.

Step two: Set your goals
With feedback from your staff and customers, you should now have a clearer idea of the specific areas of your business that can be improved upon. Now you need to decide which goals are going to have the biggest impact on your company as a whole.

To do this, take each goal suggestion and place them in order of difficulty – from easy through to impossible. Next, rate each goal in terms of the potential impact it could have on your business if achieved. Those that can be realistically achieved and have the potential to bring the most value to your business are now your goals for the year.

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Step three: Make them measurable
Now that you have your goals for the year laid out, it is time to refine them. The key here is to add extra detail including an objective that can be easily measured. Essentially you want your goals to include the what and the how. What is the objective? How will you achieve it?

For example, if one of your goals is to lower fuel consumption, add an action, so it becomes: Reduce idling time to lower fuel consumption. Wording your goals in this way helps your teams keep both the goal and the action that will help them achieve it in mind at all times.

Step four: Review your progress
It’s important not to let your business goals fall by the wayside as the year goes on. Make sure to periodically review your progress and if necessary refine your strategy to give yourself the best chance of hitting your targets.

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