Setting business goals inside an organization is a typical technique practiced by all firms worldwide.

Executives establish corporate objectives that help enhance desire and determination, as well as those that provide key learning methodologies for training purposes.

However, unless you have specific goal-setting knowledge and leadership training tailored to the corporate environment, you may develop ill-defined goals. Follow these 5 steps for successful goal setting whether you are just starting to examine your goals or are in the midst of re-evaluation:

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Be Specific

You need to be very specific about what you want to accomplish. In your quarterly action plan, you would select the top three goals you wish to accomplish that quarter. Assume you want to improve the amount of prospects you get into your sales funnel this quarter. SMART goals expand on that concept by limiting it down to a very specific emphasis.

So, instead of thinking, "I want more leads in my sales funnel," you'd say, "I want 20% more qualified leads interested in our product X into our sales funnel."

The latter is far easier to devise a strategy for.

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Measure Everything

Assume your sales team wants to close more sales this quarter and you want to make it one of your quarterly action plans goals. While that is an excellent beginning point, how will your team know when they have achieved success?

Instead, include a number in the goal. For example, you intend to increase revenue by 15% this quarter. Alternatively, you may wish to engage three new sales people to assist you in achieving a 15% increase in sales.

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Make it Achievable

Consider the preceding example. Is it possible for your company to enhance its closing rate by 15%? If you had previously witnessed a 2-3% gain quarter over quarter, a 15% increase may not be achievable and may leave you and your staff feeling like you failed. However, if you set a goal of 5%, you may be more successful. So choose your objectives properly.

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Relevant

Then there's the issue of relevance. This is something I see a lot, especially with new business owners. You may have grandiose objectives to conquer the world, but you may not consider how they fit into the larger picture. Do the goals on your quarterly action plan align with your company's long-term objectives? What role will they play in moving the needle? If they do not meet those requirements, they may not be worth inclusion in your quarterly action plan.

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Time Based

Finally, consider whether your objectives are feasible in terms of time. Does your aim make sense given the size of your team and the limited amount of time and resources available to you? Would your one-person IT staff be able to remodel your website and database in one quarter? Or does it make more sense to divide it into more attainable targets over the following few quarters?

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These goals combined with a quarterly action plan is a wonderful method to achieve progress and stay on track in your organization.