Goals are what gives direction for you and your organization. Setting goals to achieve in business keeps you focused on where you want to be and helps to create a plan for getting there. How to achieve a goal successfully? How to set goals and how to achieve goals in business specifically? Check out the list of the top strategies summarized by the Goals team at KeepSolid. 

Strategy 1: Set SMART goals 

The concept of SMART goals is a helpful goal-setting technique that increases the probability that you will achieve company goals. The SMART acronym defines what a good goal should be like. SMART stands for:

• Specific

• Measurable

• Attainable

• Relevant

• Time-bound

To set a SMART goal, you need to be highly specific about what result you want to get. Describe your goal in detail and make sure it is measurable and achievable. While high-level, long-term goals are acceptable, truly SMART goals are set for up to a year. It should be something that is a bit out of reach but still accessible. 

Relevant implies that your goal must be in agreement with your or your company’s values and beliefs. Time-bound means that there is a deadline for achieving your goal. And as the work goes on, be ready to re-evaluate and adjust your plan to reach the goal. 

Strategy 2: Create a clear action plan

Planning is often considered one of the most important stages on the way to achieving your goal. Whatever your business goals and objectives are, a well thought-out plan is what drives your goals to successful realization. 

A professional planning tool like Goals by KeepSolid can assist you. It is a perfect solution for setting and achieving your business goals. 

Whatever project you create in the app includes a number of goals you need to reach. Each goal is then split into manageable tasks that all together pave the way to success. These tasks are your plan of action on how to achieve your goal successfully. 

In the goal-oriented app by KeepSolid there can be no tasks, or activities, not devoted to reaching the project goals, which completely eliminates any inefficient work. Just define your objectives, craft a detailed plan, and start bringing all your business goals into fruition! 

Strategy 3: Mitigate distractions when you’re trying to achieve goals in business

Distractions are everywhere. Smartphones, social media, different information noise, and so on… Given this, it becomes harder and harder to stay productive all day. 

What you need to do is to become aware of your distractions and make conscious efforts to cut them off. Getting rid of distractions is certainly among the helpful strategies to achieve goals.

Have trouble focusing or face too many distractions? Switch off your phone (unless you’re waiting for a call, of course) or at least turn off notifications of social media apps, and plunge into the world where you’re entirely focused on the task ahead.  

Strategy 4: Employ efficient time management

Another strategy to achieve goals in business and life is effective time management. Those who efficiently manage their time, can achieve the highest results. 

When you make your time organized, you not only manage your daily tasks more effectively, but also increase the likelihood of spending time on what really counts. This could very well be achieving the big goals you cherish.

To improve your time management, try the Eisenhower Matrix. It helps to prioritize tasks based on importance and urgency, which, in turn, lets you easily figure out what to do first and, in certain cases, what not to do at all. 

The matrix basically splits all your activities into four priority levels: Important & Urgent, Important but Not Urgent, Not Important but Urgent, and Not Important & Not Urgent. The last one should be immediately dropped, so just the three remaining categories are worth your attention and show what you need to focus on. 

Strategy 5: Use the “Eat That Frog” technique

Mark Twain once said, “If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first”.

The “Eat That Frog” technique implies that you have to do the biggest or most important task first thing in the morning. After you have “eaten” your “frog”, a.k.a. got the most important task out of the way, you can tackle the other, smaller, and less important assignments. 

While you may not see immediate results, this method does add up to achieving your company goals and objectives over time. 

Strategy 6: Apply the Pareto Principle

The Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 rule, declares that 80% of the results derive from 20% of all your efforts. In sales, for example, this means that the major part of the sales, 80%, comes from the key 20% of the customers. 

How to apply this to achieving goals in business? Figure out and focus on the small set of efforts that produce the biggest results as opposed to going completionist-mode and trying to check off 100% of everything. 

Strategy 7: Track progress

To make sure you are on the right track to achieving your company goals, it is essential to constantly monitor the progress. When you do the monitoring, you can evaluate and adjust the plans to reach your goals. 

Progress tracking gives you an overview of how much is done and how much more is left to do. If you employ the Goals by KeepSolid, you will be able to easily monitor how you and your team are progressing. 

Bottom line on setting and achieving goals in business

Achieving your company goals is what determines the overall success of your organization. It may be difficult to always stay on track, taking into account the fast-paced business environment, numerous distractions, and other factors.   

Deploy the right strategies, use professional goal-oriented tools like Goals by KeepSolid, and you’ll easily achieve all your company goals and objectives!

Original article