Why you need to set goals, assess progress and meet deadlines
In the world of business, just as in the game of life, knowing yourself is a fundamental asset that will help you to advance in profound and deeply fulfilling ways. Part of knowing yourself (and your business), depends on knowing where you are now, what you are doing well, where you need to improve and what steps you need to follow to get there.
In other words, it is essential that you realize the immense value AND potential to be derived from setting clear and achievable goals, following through with them as diligently as possible, and constantly assessing your progress in the short, medium and long term.
● Goals define where you want to go, who you want to be.
● They are made real through clear and transparent assessment of your skills, motivations, inspirations and desires.
● They are sharpened by your resolve to tenaciously follow through with your plans.
Many of the world’s most successful individuals, organizations and firms have long realized the value of these skills. They have built them into their organizational frameworks and used them to define the social contract and thus culture of their businesses. In this way, they have built nimble and cohesive working units which realize the value of digging in and working together to achieve success together, for the good of the organization.
You may or you may not see why this matters but what applies to large and potentially spread out organizational units such as transnational corporations also applies to small and medium sized businesses as well. Part of how both large enterprise level corporations and small businesses build organizational culture is through the creation of targeted internal and external communications tools. Organizational culture matters because it is the structures and operational frameworks which will define how and what you and your business achieve. It is the way you communicate to your target market. It is the way your working units interact with or against each other. It is your approach to branding and meeting the public in the marketplace.It is the way you manage your time, resources and human capital. It is the way you have structured your life and business towards achieving success and reaching your truest dreams.
The more you are able to focus your energy towards a clear and definable purpose, which is built on an honest appraisal of your present reality, the easier it will be to move into the future outcomes which are most advantageous to you.
Vision Statements
In this sense, a vision statement might be seen as an expression of where the organization sees itself heading in the future, it’s trajectory, motivation, or goals. It is first an internal communication tool which could be made external. There is use in either approach and ultimately it will come down to what kind of organizational culture you hope to build as you consider how to handle your communications. If you are seeking to better meet the emotional needs of your target market or appeal to investors, creating dramatic and highly thematic vision statements whether in the form of documents, presentations or multimedia content could be just what you need to close the deal and bridge the gap between where you are and where you will be going in the future.
A vision statement guides you and your firm towards your true purpose, helps to shape your end game and define the things that you will need to do to get there. It is aspirational, built on the things you will achieve, driven by who and what you wish to be as an individual or organization. As a living and process orientated document or narrative, your vision statement should be modified, assessed and expanded with regularity.
Quarterly assessments are essential at a bare minimum though if you are the leader of your organization or the sole proprietor of your business venture, more frequent reappraisal may better suit your needs.
Whether you are an individual or organization, a clearly defined vision statement will be an asset to both you and the customers you are hoping to reach. As an internal idea or narrative becomes external in the form of documents, presentations, policies and operational directives, your vision of the future comes more and more to life. The idea that once lived statically in your imagination or the minds of your team mates begins to take on a life of it’s own.
Mission Statements
Alternately a mission statement may be viewed as an action orientated appraisal of who and what a firm is now, what it’s core functions are, who it’s target market is, where it succeeds and what it needs to do to advance towards the vision of the future which is most in line with their values and motivations.
As an internal, process orientated document or narrative, your mission statement will help you to build the sense of introspection which will be useful for you to accurately assess and address any shortcomings or challenges you or your business is facing. By taking a look at and defining who and what you are now, it might be easier to get a sense of the steps you need to take to move into the future which is most advantageous.
As an external communication tool, a mission statement is a near essential element of organizational culture in today’s internet and social media driven landscape. It is important to define who and what you are. It could be captured in your company profile or it could take a very privileged position on your social media accounts and website. The more the individuals that make up your target market know that you are aligned with their emotions, concerns, wants and needs, the easier it will be for you to convert passerby and lukewarm supporters into devoted fans.
Telling your story and defining who and what you are is perhaps one of the only things you really have control of in this world; no matter what, don’t give up your power and let others define you by their expectations, fears or doubts. You and your business have the opportunity to rewrite your story as many times as you want. In the business landscape it is known as rebranding. Do it as frequently as you need to match your ambitions with the opportunities you have access to.
Putting It All Together
You don’t need to have mission or vision statements, goals or deadlines. You can just plug away and see what happens. You might be happy with your results or you may find that you have wasted time working on things that are not as essential as you once thought. To future proof your dreams the Millionaire Mentor way, right from the very beginnings, work on setting up the proper foundation.
That foundation is built on honest assessments of what you are doing now, considered reflection or where you want to go in the future and strategic planning on the steps you need to get there.
Setting goals, assessing your progress and meeting deadlines are skills you and your organizational culture
need. These will define who and what you are today and deep into the future. The best way to create the future you want is to plan for it today!
