Best Practices For Annual Goal Setting Sessions

Bad goal setting can cripple your business (I know from firsthand experience). Here's how to set goals that propel your business forward. Step 1: Analyze last year’s performance. You can’t set the right goals without the correct information. So, take some time to gather data from the previous year to find areas of strength and weakness. Look at your: Revenue streams — what are your most profitable areas? Your biggest cost centers? Sales & marketing — can you spot trends in customer acquisition or marketing ROI? Operations — where is your business bottlenecked? Where might you be overstaffed? Employee performance — look at productivity and churn. Which direction are things going? — Step 2: Brainstorm areas for improvement. Write down all the possible things you could work on. This is a great group activity for your leadership team or even the whole company (depending on your size). The data you’ve collected in step 1 should give you some idea of opportunity areas. One tip: don’t discount an idea just because it’s hard. Often the biggest impact things are hard to do. But you should be realistic about the effort required to get something done, and its chances of success. — Step 3: Set SMART goals Specific: Define clear and precise goals. Instead of saying "increase sales," say "increase sales by 12% in the next 6 months." Measurable: Ensure each goal has quantifiable metrics. E.g. "Reduce customer acquisition costs by 15% by the end of the year." Achievable: Set realistic goals based on your resources, budget and other constraints. E.g. if you have limited cash, avoid goals that would severely impact your monthly cash flow. Relevant: Align goals with your overall business objectives. Ensure they address the key areas for improvement identified earlier. Time-bound: Set deadlines for each goal. E.g. "launch a new service by Q3." — Step 4: Develop an Action Plan For each goal, create an action plan that outlines: Steps and Milestones: Break down each goal into smaller, manageable tasks. Set milestones to track progress. Resources: Identify the resources needed (time, money, personnel) and ensure they are available. Responsibilities: Assign tasks to specific employees. Ensure everyone understands their role and what is expected of them. Timeline: Establish a timeline with deadlines for each task and milestone. Doubling down on one point there: always assign tasks to a single person. They can still bring in other people to contribute, but it’s one person’s responsibility to get it across the finish line. — Step 5: Monitor and Adjust Goals are not static. Regularly check your progress, and adjust based on new insights or changing circumstances. Schedule monthly and/or quarterly reviews to keep everything on track. Having a simple KPI tracker is a good way to keep tabs on things. Make sure you’re regularly checking in, and ask people to flag any roadblocks or necessary adjustments as soon as they identify them.

Setting Growth-Stage Goals for 2024: A Leader's Guide Growth-stage leaders face constant pressure to push boundaries and scale our businesses. But without well-defined goals and a clear North Star metric, navigating this rapid growth can be chaotic. Here's a process-oriented approach to set ambitious yet achievable goals for 2024, including establishing a North Star Metric that unites your entire team: 1. Review 2023: - Reflect on achievements, challenges, and room for improvement. - Examine 2024 industry trends and roadblocks. 2. Vision Setting: - Visualize your business in the next 3-5 years, guided by your core values. This vision steers your goals and North Star Metric. 3. Identify Key Drivers: - Understand 3-5 factors impacting your growth: customer acquisition, product development, operational efficiency. 4. North Star Metric: - Define your primary value proposition (CAC, LTV, Profit, etc.) - Choose a metric that measures customer value. - Ensure it aligns with your growth objectives and is easily comprehensible company-wide. Examples: - Spotify: Time spent listening - Airbnb: Nights booked - Slack: Daily active users 5. Goal Setting: - Define clear, motivating, and achievable goals. - Encourage team discussions to build understanding and buy-in. - Incorporate stretch goals to push beyond comfort zones. 6. Goal Cascading: - Break down goals into departmental and individual objectives. - Ensure all understand their role in achieving the bigger picture and contributing to the North Star Metric. 7. Continuous Improvement: - Regularly track your progress. - Adjust your goals and metric based on market changes and in-house data. - Celebrate victories and address hurdles transparently. 8. Prioritize Well-being: - Maintain a healthy work-life balance and foster open communication. By following this process and focusing on a shared North Star Metric, you can set meaningful goals that propel your business forward while creating a positive, united, and high-performing team. Remember, the journey to achieving your goals is just as important as the destination itself. So, embrace the challenges, celebrate successes, and lead your team with purpose and clarity into 2024!

“All of my traditional approaches to setting goals are falling flat,” my newest client admitted. “My team is going through the motions, but the goals we’re setting have no energy or meaning. I don’t know what to do.” I could hear the frustration in his voice. He wasn’t alone. I’ve had this same conversation with leaders across many industries. Traditional goal-setting methods—SMART goals, annual targets, quarterly OKRs—aren’t enough anymore. They look good on paper, but in practice? They often feel lifeless. Why? Because goals that don’t inspire don’t get achieved. A poorly set goal is like a malfunctioning GPS—it gives you the illusion of direction while leading you nowhere. If you want your team to not just chase a goal, but to own it—to commit with energy, creativity, and resilience—your goals need to meet four powerful criteria: 1️⃣ 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗳𝘂𝗹 – The Fire That Fuels Action A goal without meaning is just a task. It won’t ignite passion, and it won’t sustain commitment when the road gets tough. Ask the team: ↪︎︎ Does this goal represent a true breakthrough? Does it challenge us to grow? ↪︎︎ Is the outcome worthy of being our #1 focus? If it’s not, it won’t command our best energy. The most powerful goals feel personal. They connect to a deeper sense of purpose. They make you feel alive. 2️⃣ 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 – The Score That Drives Performance A goal that can’t be measured is like playing tennis without a net. You can exert tremendous effort, but you’ll never know if you’re winning. Ask the team: ↪︎︎ Can we objectively track progress toward this goal? If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. ↪︎︎ Do we know whether we’re winning or losing—both in terms of the result and the timeline? The most powerful goals have clear scoreboards—not just at the finish line, but throughout the journey. 3️⃣ 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 – The Levers That Drive Success Setting a goal without defining the specific actions that will drive it is like planting a seed and hoping for rain. Ask the team: ↪︎︎ Do we know exactly what actions, if repeated consistently, will create success? ↪︎︎ Are those actions within our control? The best goals don’t rely on luck or external conditions. They are moved forward by deliberate, focused effort. 4️⃣ 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 – The Impact That Makes It Worthwhile If you achieve this goal, will it be worth it? Will it have mattered beyond the numbers? Ask the team: ↪︎︎ Does this goal align with our deeper purpose? If not, why pursue it? ↪︎︎ Will achieving it create an impact we’ll be proud of—something that lasts? The best goals aren’t just achieved. They become stories—milestones of growth, impact, and transformation. When goals meet these four criteria—Meaningful, Measurable, Movable, and Memorable—they don’t just exist on a PowerPoint slide. They ignite teams. They create momentum. They change the game. #Heroic #Coaching #ThriveHive #4DX

Have you done your strat planning or goal planning for next year? It may seem like there is no time, but this is so important to do. It may seem tedious and there's always another part of the business competing for attention but this is so essential for a business. I schedule our strat planning session for the winery early December each year. First, Greg Frichette and I take two days early December to meet offsite. The following week we meet for a day with our leads to cascade goals and plan out the year. Prior to our meeting, we are studying the previous years scoreboard, pulling reports and reading data, and looking over surveys. Throughout the year, we've had leadership meetings with our leads each month to discuss business results and what's working and not working. We revisit those notes too. At our two day offsite, we have an agenda, which starts with reading our vision out loud to remind us of where we are going. We then do a quick recap of our current scorecard which rates us on our annual goals and how we did in relation to our vision. We talk lessons learned. Then we dive into looking forward and planning for the next year. The outcome is 3-5 SMART Goals for the organization, an action item list of SOP updates and next steps. We then communicate this to our leads so they are prepared to meet with us the following week to craft their cascading goals. By the beginning of the year, we are ready to meet with our full team to communicate the company goals and then work with each team member to craft their individual goals. This method of planning takes a lot of time. The results are great when we do this well. We are able to create realistic goals that guide our behaviors. And we are able to motivate our team with goals that tie to our vision so they understand the "why". The best part. As we meet our goals and grow, we can make a bigger impact and contribution to our team and our community. What tools are you using to plan for next years goals? Do share. #goalsetting #strategy #smallbusiness #planning #scoreboard #accountability #winery #winerygoals #growth #teambuilding