Setting Strategic Plans that include S.M.A.R.T. Goals

1. Understanding the Problem
   1. Many business owners fail to understand how significantly setting goals affects controlling costs, productivity, achieving desired profit, and attracting and retaining top talent in Kentucky.
   2. Some business owners don’t fully understand what they should be selling (product vs. concept/idea/feeling)
   3. Business owners often do not organize their financial systems to provide the needed detail and concurrently the big picture as well.
   4. Some business owners become too tunnel-visioned and only look at limited financial numbers.
   5. Many do not forecast industry trend probabilities and, therefore, don’t create a realistic budget or adjust operations/production to meet the new market demands.
   6. Many business owners fail to implement the classic quality principle for continuous improvement: PLAN ???? DO ???? CHECK ???? ACT. This process begins with setting Strategic and S.M.A.R.T. Goals.
   7. Many owners are too busy reacting to current problems and only deal with tactical issues rather than developing a strategic plan implementation that includes avoiding typical problem situations.
2. Solving the Problem

   Goal setting is a powerful way of motivating people and yourself. The value of goal setting is so well recognized that entire management systems, like management by objectives, incorporate goal-setting basics.

   Goal-setting theory is accepted as among the most valid and useful motivation theories in industrial and organizational psychology, human resource management, and organizational behavior.

   We look to Dr. Edwin Locke’s pioneering research on goal setting and motivation. Studies are cited demonstrating that:

   1. Hard (or complex) goals produce a higher level of performance (output) than easy goals.
   2. Specific challenging goals produce a higher level of output than a goal of “Do your best.”
   3. Behavioral intentions regulate choice behavior.

   The theory also views goals and intentions as mediators of the effects of incentives on task performance. Evidence is presented supporting the view that monetary incentives, time limits, and knowledge of results do not affect performance levels independently of the individual’s goals and intentions.

1. Think the big picture firsta. The market environment
   1. Your niche within the market
   2. What customers want & need
   3. How you serve their needs
   4. Your talent and assets available
2. Become a strategy-focused business and join the most successful businesses of the 21st century.

   The most successful companies of our day all tend to be strategically focused businesses. In order to lead your business to its greatest competitive advantage, there must be a mechanism to focus the organization on what it will do best and keep it from getting distracted by other opportunities that come along. This mechanism is the strategic focus of the business.The strategic focus is an intersection of three critical elements of the business model:

   1. The organization’s passion — its compelling purpose composed of values, mission, vision, and goals that inspire and motivate the members of the organization,
   2. The value proposition of the business — what the customer values in the offerings and rewards the organization for doing, and
   3. A distinctive competency — what the organization can be best at in the world; however, the primary goal is to become your client’s favorite provider rather than wasting time trying to prove the subjective judgment of who is best.
      1. Develop your operations’ processes to produce quality, accurate, and productive results and include client value-added features such as ease of working with your team, responsiveness to questions/issues, available customization, etc.
      2. Also include Team–Client Engagement steps ???? readily available and regular communication between your team members and the clients, provide expert business coaching in Hebron, Kentucky, one-on-one when possible, become known personalities to your clients, discover what is most important to your individual customers, prove to be reliable and indispensable, become considered joyful by your clients, etc.
      3. Insinuate your product/service into your customer’s Process

   See our paper, “15 Strategies That Will Drive the 21st-Century’s Most Successful Companies.”

3. Set meaningful goals (S.M.A.R.T.).a.
   1. Specific (Also Strategic)
   2. Measurable
   3. Achievable
   4. Relevant
   5. Time-bound
4. Plan, then act implementing the plan, measure your results, adjust your plan, and take revised action.
5. Communicate the plan thoroughly.
6. Measure and share performance data (project, team, and individual).
7. Discuss goal achievement regularly.
8. Ask for input from team members.
9. Strive for continuous improvement.

See our White Paper, “Setting Meaningful & Effective Goals.”

Contact DIAD Consulting, Inc. to help with your business improvement in Kentucky.