Insight
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Long- and Short-Term Business Goals for 2023: Will Your Resolutions Outlast the Groundhog’s?

We all know this guy.

What many of us don’t know is that statistically speaking, most of our New Year’s resolutions won’t make it past February 2nd (that’s the Groundhog’s big day).

So, how do we set business resolutions that will last?

We break them into long- and short-term goals!

Knowing how to set goals for your business is vital to its success. The following will help you create small, attainable steps to guide you toward your long-term vision.

Determine your long-term goals.

Long-term goals are the things you want to accomplish in the future.  They take time to achieve—think months to years—and require considerable planning and revision.

Long-term goals:

  • Generally, have a timeframe of 3–5 years.
  • Fulfill your business’s mission statement.
  • Are ongoing.

So, how can you go about setting long-term goals for your company?

  • Brainstorm. What do you want to see in your business’s future?  Where would you like to be five, ten or even fifteen years from now? Brainstorming goals meaningful to you will help you stay motivated and committed long-term. 
  • Prioritize.  Which goals are you most eager—and able—to achieve?  Before you can accomplish your goals, you have to prioritize them by looking realistically at what you’ll be able to do and when you’ll be able to do it.  Create a master list. Goals that you care about most and can do easily should be at the top.  Goals you care about less or which require time or assets you don’t have should be prioritized lower.
  • Track.  Once you’ve decided which goals to tackle—and in which order—you need to come up with a plan to regularly monitor and update your progress. Schedule a recurring time each week to evaluate where you’re headed, update timelines, fine-tune existing goals, and add new ones.  The point is to keep moving forward with each goal in play, consulting your master list, and adjusting as necessary.

Break your long-term goals into shorter SMART goals.

You’ve figured out where you want to go, now you need to figure out how to get there. Short-term goals are the smaller, “bite-size” tasks you need to accomplish in the current day, week, month, or year in order to attain your bigger, long-term goals. An easy way to do it is to make them SMART.

The SMART formula helps you create clear, measurable goals by getting specific about what you want to accomplish. It ensures your goals are:

Specific. Short-term goals need to be concrete.  They work best when they are highly detailed and answer the following questions:

  • What needs to be accomplished?
  • Who’s responsible for it?
  • What steps will it take to achieve it?

Measurable. Short-term goals are action items whose results can be quantified.  When your goals are measurable, it’s easier to track progress and know when you’ve achieved success. Keep a record of your progress to help you remain on track, stay motivated, and meet deadlines.

Achievable: Goals should be realistic. When setting short-term goals, ask yourself if this is something you can reasonably accomplish with the resources you have in place. If it’s not, you need to reevaluate.

Relevant. Short-term goals are the building blocks of your long-term vision and need to align with your values.  Ask yourself why this goal is important to you and how it will contribute to your long-term objectives.

Time-bound.  Every goal should have a deadline to work toward.  Establish a realistic timeline and keep your work on track.  To properly measure success, you need to be able to quantify when a goal has or will be reached.  Ask yourself:

  • What’s my time frame?
  • When can I begin?
  • When will I finish?

The bottom line? Knowing how to set goals the SMART way can help you succeed in attaining goals long-term, short-term, large, or small and will help you fulfill your business resolutions for 2022.

So, what’s an example of a SMART goal?

“I will exit my burrow early on the morning of February 2nd.”

You’ve got this, Mr. Groundhog!

docstrats works as a partner to understand your needs and goals. You reap the benefits of our 40 years of experience and the collective knowledge of our in-house experts. Anytime you have a need, we’re here to help. 

Call us at (518) 432-1233 or Contact | docstrats and let us know what we can do for you.