Goals 2014

During a recent webinar that I conducted for Small Business Solver, I presented some considerations that you might use when thinking about goals and goal setting.

Of course, my starting point was that our goals should follow the SMART acronym.  That is, they should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bounded.

However, perhaps we struggle with the process of actually identifying those goals that we think are worthy of pursuing.  If I asked you to produce a list of ten goals that you’d like to pursue this year, would it be a challenge to get past number four or five?   During the webinar, I offered a list of ideas that can be used to stimulate one’s thinking about goal setting.  One of the specific suggestions was to think about some negative consequence that you would like to avoid during the year.

During the Q&A session that followed the presentation, Carla Langhorst, the co-founder of Small Business Solver indicated that she had never thought to set a goal around something that she wanted to avoid.  She asked if I had an example that I could share.  I mentioned that in my former sales company I had a line of credit with a local bank.  Unexpectedly, the bank informed me that they were no longer going to work with companies in my particular industry segment and I lost my line of credit.  Consequently, I told Carla that my goal in this example would be written as “we maintained our covenants with the bank and successfully managed our line of credit”.

For more insight into goal setting, I invite you to:

Action Planning 2014

I recently conducted a webinar for Small Business Solver entitled Action Planning.   It was the middle of January and an excellent time to give some thought to 2014 goals.

I used the opportunity to describe a process that includes goal setting, action planning, implementation, measurement and re-assessment.  Not surprisingly, this process is an iterative one.  Whether we set personal goals or business goals, we’ve likely all encountered the situation that frequently  follows as we begin the implementation process.  We hit an obstacle.  Something, or perhaps someone, presents us with a challenge that must be resolved if we are to continue towards our stated goal.  Our ability to devise strategies that enable us to overcome the challenges that we will encounter is a good predictor of our ability to succeed.

At the end of my presentation there was a Q&A session and one of the participants asked the following interesting question: “how do you know when it is time to give up on a goal?”  What a great question!

In my mind, this is a ‘one size does not fit all’ question.  Obviously, in order to have a return on our investment, we must first make an investment.  But when do we say ‘enough is enough’?  Pride and stubbornness might cause us to hang in too long.  But, fear and uncertainty might have the opposite affect.  My thoughts are captured in the audio presentation that you’ll find here:

Grow or Wither?

Growing your business is something that most entrepreneurs strive to do. The reasons that they want to grow their businesses are many and varied and they include the following: increase profit; position it to sell at a higher value in the future; provide employment opportunities; contribute back to the community; build something for their family; satisfy their competitive nature; they never quit.  Regardless of the specific reason, most small business owners are looking for ways to grow.  Without growth, the business owner runs the risk of stagnation.  You should know that 95% of all new businesses in Canada fail within their first five years of operation.  So, we can ask ourselves this simple question.  Do we grow or do we run the risk of withering?

There are numerous resources that we can call upon in order to support our business planning and decision making.  One very comprehensive source for content is Small Business Solver.  This is a web based resource that is chock full of information that can be used to help guide the small business owner to a greater understanding of how to succeed in his/her business.  Small Business Solver provides subject matter content via over 200 learning modules, webinars, tutorials, and useful financial and planning templates.  There is also a significant discount offering from Staples that is provided as part of the low annual subscription price.

If you believe in life long learning and the enrichment that this attitude delivers, then I’d encourage you to consider a $250 (plus tax) subscription to Small Business Solver.  If you purchase this subscription from my website, you will also receive a full behaviour and motivator assessment complete with a one hour orientation session, at no additional cost.  This assessment alone is priced at $499.  The return on a Small Business Solver investment is significant.

Let Small Business Solver assist you in positioning your business for a future that is bigger than your present.