Each month this page will provide hot tips & articles from our experts in business related areas or topical business issues.

For past tips and articles see our Resource page (left hand Navigation)

This month our tips are from Wendy Buckingham, a leading small business and personal coach and author of Ready Set Goal! 

For over 15 years, Wendy has been presenting workshops and "Goals Clinics" for individual and organizations that address not only the choosing and setting of goals but handling all the less obvious obstacles or "stuff" that can get in the way.  

Wendy is also on our Panel of Experts Chat Forum this month.(link)

Here are Wendy's Hot Business Goal Tips for this month:

Clearly defined goals are the corner-stone of any good business plan.  They are the implementation of your business vision and their achievement is the measure of your progress.

The thing to remember about goals is that they need not be set in stone. As your business grows you may change your mind about some goals or abandon others. Without giving up on your goals, flexibility can be the key to success.

 When coaching her clients to set their business goals, Wendy uses the following questions to help them achieve clarity, certainty, motivation and results.

1.   Is your goal a SMARTY goal?
SMARTY goals are worded so they are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, and Realistic and have a time frame.  They are also checked out to make sure they are truly Yours and not an influence from somewhere else.

'Our company is going to make a big profit this year' is not a SMARTY goal.  'Our company is going to increase its net profit by 30% this financial year' is SMARTY.  However if you are investing in new equipment, staff or have loans to pay off that would be offset against profits, this goal may be achievable, but not realistic. 

2.  Why do you want this business goal?

Now this may sound like a silly question, but it's not!  You need to be really clear as to why you want the goal - what it means to you to achieve it and where it will lead.

List everything you can think of: big, small and seemingly trivial, that are driving you to achieve your business goal.  What will you have in your life when you have achieved the goal?  What will you have proved?

Make sure there is something on that list that really turns on the lights for you and will keep you going when the going gets tough.

3.  What may you have to give up to achieve this goal?

Focusing on a challenging business goal can be both physically and mentally demanding and time consuming.  The much-lauded  'balanced lifestyle' may have to go out of the window for a while.

Are you willing to confront and make the necessary sacrifices?  Can you forego things like lifestyle, security, travel or family time to achieve this goal?

A good way to get to the heart of this one is to make two lists:  the first lists the benefits of achieving this goal and the other lists all the things you may have to give up or have less of in the short term.

4.  Is this goal Yours?

Back to the Y in SMARTY.  If your business goals are riding on the back of someone else's ideas, ambitions, inspirations or hope, you may indeed achieve your goal but be headed for frustration and disappointment down the track.  Your personal needs and values should also be met.  Although the major goal of a business is often to make money, there need to be other more esoteric visions and goals in place for ongoing personal satisfaction.

5.  Make sure your business team can regard this goal as their own.

In business situations where you may need to set goals for your team, it is important to make sure each person can identify what's personally in it for them.  Where possible, after you have decided on the 'bones' of the goal, involve them in the process and in making decisions on the SMARTY goal factors.

If you can uncover the personal benefits for each member of the team in achieving organisational goals and remove any considerations and resentments, you will be ahead of the game in intention and synergy.

For more information, articles & tips see www.wendybuckingham.com.au.

To view previous Hot Tips select from the links below:

Robyn Henderson's Networking Tips