Central Comm has won many awards over the past years, and one reason we consistently win those awards is we set goals. Our staff sets goals for service and we make sure we recognize them for achieving their goals. It’s important to them to know we appreciate their work, and it’s even more important to Central Comm as a company to have people who take pride in what they do, and strive to keep getting better.
Setting goals for yourself either personally, at work or at your company, is something we all should to do in order to make measurable changes and push ourselves to achieve more. But how do you know where to set those goals?
Setting goals which are too high can set us up for failure. But setting goals which aren’t high enough can also set us up for failure.
What to do?
If you are what they call a Type A personality, there’s no goal too high. The sky’s the limit and you will do whatever it takes to make things happen. But what if you are part of a team, and the other people on the team don’t have the same drive and stamina that you do? It’s important to challenge ourselves, that’s a given, but overloading and pushing too hard can cause some people to feel defeated even if they are doing great work. Not meeting lofty goals can be discouraging.
The other side of the coin is setting the bar too low. If the goals you set are easily achievable and not far enough outside your comfort zone, then what do you do when the goals you have set have all been met? There may have been more you could have achieved, but won’t. It’s just as important to stretch yourself as it is to not overwhelm yourself and your staff.
Being Specific
Being clear and understanding what it would take to achieve the goals you set is another important factor. Trying to navigate your way to a vague goal is like trying to drive with a blindfold on. Once you set a goal, it’s important to define as many of the milestones as you can anticipate. What does that do? For one, it let’s you and your staff know you are on track. Two, it gives a clear sense of the direction you need to be heading in for the goal to be met. Third, if you fail to meet the goal in the prescribed time frame, at least you and your staff know the building blocks are there. Or, conversely, you know which steps along the way did not work as your planned, and you can change those before moving forward.
Last but not least, make sure you have a buy in on your goals. Don’t’ pick them out of the air because you think that’s the direction you should be heading in. Rather, take a little time to reflect on your personality, your corporate culture, and try your best to find goals that get people excited, that get you excited.
Don’t think there won’t be bumps in the road. Sometimes our goals can depend upon things happening a certain way. If you set a personal goal to run a marathon, and you are injured, then running a marathon might not be achievable. But getting stronger and working other parts of your body might still be something you can achieve.
The same goes for business goals. If you have set your mind to achieving a larger market share, but things falter in the economy, you have no control over that. Not feeling defeated and looking for alternative ways to work towards your initial goal could still bring in some amazing results.
Central Comm
