MBG                            

Paradigm
                                                      December 2009
Dr. Joe Mayer
Joe Mayer Ph.D.
216-408-6324
 
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Greetings!

As we end this challenging year, we need to set our expectations and implement our strategies for 2010. 
 
Past newsletters have focused on the necessary tools. From defining and communicating a compelling vision, getting the right word out, managing your time and staying focused, to keeping employees engaged, to name a few.
 
 This newsletter will expand on how to describe and define goals to ensure that they are being met. 
 
To a successful 2010 for all of us!  
 
 
Joe
 
 
 
 
How to set Meaningful Goals?
 

The headline in a September Newsweek magazine was: "The recession is over. Good luck surviving the recovery". When I asked the audience during a recent speech in Chicago what their strategy was to guarantee survival, most of them gave me a blank stare. Why will it be a problem? Consumers will again consume and the only thing to do is to hang out our shingle again and all will be good. Right? Dead wrong - from what I see happening. The consumers have changed in the last two years and now it is even more important that we develop sustainable strategies for profitable growth. In this environment, however, just having a strategy without a detailed goal on how to get there is just a wish and not a strategy. And as we all know, wishes do not always come true. In order to assure that our strategy will lead us to success, we have to set plans.  Meaningful plans with clearly defined goals are center stage for all successful activities. Without goals and timelines it is close to impossible to get anywhere or judge how one is doing.

For me the only meaningful way of developing plans is the use of so-called SMART goals. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, and Achievable, Really desired and Timed.  Let's take a look at these ingredients for success:

 

Specific:         

What exactly do we want to achieve and what outcomes do we desire and expect? The more specific we can be the easier it will be for others to understand, align with the goals and support its implementation.

 

Measurable:

From experience we know that what we measure get's done. It's that easy. Finding meaningful measurements however, is not. For me the most important point is that measurements need to be fact based and not "measurements" of "gut feel". The best measurements are predicting the future outcomes, thus are leading indicators versus measurements looking backwards measuring the past. It takes some doing to find meaningful leading indicators. I have seen measures like customer satisfaction, employee engagement, purchase requests or quoting activities to work well. If we just focus on the lagging indicators - like all financial measures- we are missing the opportunity to proactively adjust our strategy.

 

Achievable:

This seems to be the toughest issue of all. I have sat through endless board meetings and strategy sessions where lofty goals were set. Everybody was excited that "this new product" or "this new approach" will solve all the ills of the past without checking if they were realistic or if the organization could possibly achieve them. Consequently most of the goals were never met. Don't get me wrong, a goal needs to be tough to meet and stretching the stakeholders and to require a new and different approach to be meaningful. However, to set the goal too high so that the stakeholders resign from reaching the goal without even trying is not.

 

To be brutally honest and to ask a lot of questions will help:

 

         Why would consumers/customers want to buy this?

        Why would they buy it rather than the competitors'

     offering?

         What is our market share and how would it affect our

     market share if we would make the goal?

       How many sales channels will we use and how many are

     our competitors using?

         What is our competitive advantage of our sales strategy

     and our sales team?

         Why do we know our potential and current customers

     better than our competition?

 

Don't get me wrong; asking questions like these is not about dismissing or minimizing ideas. It is all about thoroughly thinking through the strategy and goals to ensure success.

 

Really desired:

Where is the heart of your leadership and organization? Does this line up with your vision? Too often I see companies focus on goals which consume a significant amount of resources without truly adding to a company's success.

 

Timed:

Like with finding meaningful measurements, setting milestones and timelines can make or break a plan's success. Most opportunities are very time sensitive. Miss the deadline for a new product and the competition might enjoy the high margins associated with it. So, developing mile stones, checking them religiously and ensuring that targets are met is the leader's #1 job. And never postpone milestone reviews because of lack of progress! A lack of progress tells you more about priorities and desires of the organization and the leaders. And always be open to opportunities to change course or to refocus if market conditions change.

 

So the next time you develop plans ... make sure you use SMART goals to set yourself up for success.