{"id":27684,"date":"2020-01-14T22:51:35","date_gmt":"2020-01-15T04:51:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salesv4.aligntoday.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-guide-to-effective-goal-setting\/"},"modified":"2023-07-20T06:53:13","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T11:53:13","slug":"the-ultimate-guide-to-effective-goal-setting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aligntoday.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-guide-to-effective-goal-setting\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ultimate Guide To Effective Goal Setting"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the start of a new year and a new quarter, individuals and organizations are writing goals to plan what they hope to accomplish.<\/span><\/p>\n

Writing goals down is an extremely effective exercise.\u00a0You\u2019re <\/span>42% more likely<\/span><\/a> to achieve a goal if you write it down.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, writing down \u201cI will lose 20 pounds\u201d doesn\u2019t burn that many calories. You\u2019ll need to structure your goals in a way that sets you up for success.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Goal setting is essential regardless of industry – while marketing and sales teams may have goals<\/a> that revolve around a specific quota, other industries may set goals that vary from quarter to quarter. In this post, we\u2019ll break down how to develop, structure, and track your goals to maximize the likelihood that you not only accomplish your goal, but that the goal pushes you to achieve your full potential. Whether your team is using Scaling Up, OKRs, EOS,<\/a> or some other system for strategic planning, using the proper structure and guidelines for your goals will help you accomplish more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While we\u2019ll focus primarily on goals for an organization, these tips equally apply to personal goals. Whether your goals are related to health, personal finance, or another part of life,<\/span>\u00a0the same principles behind a well-structured goal apply.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How should I come up with my goals?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

A goal dissociated from a bigger vision may not provide enough motivation to keep you focused on achieving it. Planning for ultimate success provides the underlying motivation for achieving a specific priority. As <\/span>Start With Why<\/span><\/i><\/a> author Simon Sinek says, \u201c<\/span>Achievement happens when we pursue and attain what we want. Success comes when we are in clear pursuit of why we want it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

We recommend capturing this ultimate vision with a Big Hairy Audacious Goal<\/a>, which provides the guiding north star for your organization. After that, it becomes easier to break down the target metrics you need to achieve in the next year to put you on track to achieve your BHAG.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In fast-growing companies, planning typically needs to be done on a quarterly cadence to account for the speed of change. Quarterly goals should address the most important work for achieving your targets<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Download our free Quick Start Guide to Goal Planning today!<\/a><\/p>\n

How should my goals be structured?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

We recommend structuring goals in a way that focuses on flexibility and iteration. This reflects improvements to the conventional to SMART Goals advocated by Donald and Charles Sull of MIT Sloan called FAST (see With Goals, FAST Beats SMART<\/a>)<\/em>. Let\u2019s break down the components of each of these types of goals and how they can work together to ensure your goal structure supports your overall vision.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SMART Goals<\/h3>\n

SMART Goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Bound. Let’s break down what that means.<\/span><\/p>\n