How to set strategic goals for growth

It’s great to start the year off right with a goal to grow business, but simply stating the goal without a strategic plan to achieve that goal is nothing more than wishful thinking.

A few industry consultants shared their tips on what contractors should keep in mind when setting goals for growth:

Write it down. When you set a goal for your business, always write it down on paper, a Word Doc, a Post-It note or a dry-erase board. Mike Callahan, a consultant and president of Callahan’s Lawn Care & Property Maintenance in Rochester, New York, says this will help keep you accountable to the resolution as the year goes on. Also, write down the steps to achieve the goal so there’s an actionable plan to follow. Callahan says it’s important to follow through on one goal or resolution before jumping to the next big idea.

“As entrepreneurs, there’s this sickness where you come up with one great idea, but then you come up with another great idea,” he says. “You really need to think about this goal right in front of you.”

Make it measurable. When setting a goal, make it something that can be easily tracked numerically or with milestones. Adam Linnemann, owner of the Green Executive and founder of Linnemann Lawn Care & Landscaping in Columbia, Illinois, says having a measurable goal shows you where you need to make improvements.

“Measure the success regularly and celebrate any wins,” he says. “If there are losses, understand why and move on, trying not to make the same mistake.”

Setting measurable goals also ensures they are objective rather than subjective. Judy Guido, owner of consulting firm Guido & Associates says subjective goals make it hard to find where a company needs to improve while objective goals track and show the data.

“Consider performance reviews,” she says. “If you say, ‘You get a good review because I like you,’ it’s subjective. But, if you say, ‘In order for you to get this promotion or make it to the next pay grade, I need you to get an applicator’s license and retain 90 percent of your customers.’ The numbers then back up why you’re giving a promotion.”

Make it everyone’s focus throughout the year. A companywide goal cannot be made then ignored throughout the year. Rather, contractors should be checking in on this goal regularly. Guido says a company’s annual goal needs to be discussed weekly, monthly and quarterly, too.

“Most people’s goals are: Did we make money at the end of the year?” she says. “People often just focus on this in winter. But just the opposite needs to happen. You have to be focused on this throughout the year, all the time. If your only indicator as to whether you made or lost money at the end of December is when you get those numbers in, there’s nothing you can do to change the outcome. But if you find out in March you have problems with equipment, you can make changes then.”

All employees must be on the same page with the annual goal and contribute input on it weekly, monthly and quarterly, as well. “If everybody knows what they’re supposed to be focused on and what numbers they need to hit, then everyone is dialed in,” she says.

Challenging. Don’t set a goal you know your business can easily attain. Callahan suggests setting a goal that is a bit of a stretch. “If it’s easy to attain, it won’t be a challenge to fight for,” he says.

Of course, the goal needs to be doable, but it’s great if a goal is set uncomfortably high to where your business will have to figure out how to grow to the next level.