Quick: define "goals." Did you use the word, "objective?" I sure did, the first time. But they're different.
Part of the process for improving your business - after defining your Mission and Vision - is to set High-Level Goals. For instance, if your Mission is to create a certain standard of life for you and your family, and your Vision is a CrossFit box that generates $100,000 per year in net income to you, the next step is to create HLGs to get you there.
We're going to choose three, and use a five-year timeframe for each. We'll work backward from these goals later. But for now, the three High-Level Goals need the following characteristics:
- Objective and measurable
- Divisible (they can be broken down into a step-by-step process, unlike winning the lottery)
- They have to move you closer to realizing the Mission.
Look familiar? They should to a CrossFitter.
Most businesses will choose High-Level Goals that are number-centric. The Consultant was surprised when I chose "Keep The Family Culture" as one of my three. "That's part of your strategy," he argued.
"No, it isn't. It's my goal." He relented.
My other two were more related to my personal income and Catalyst's gross revenues. I chose very specific numbers; I also realized, during the process to choose those numbers, that I'd have to backtrack and ask, "Where do I want to be - and where does my family want to be - in five years?"
I realized I'd have to go through this process personally, as well as for the business, and in that order. I said as much. "You're right," said The Consultant, "it's impossible to complete this process without involving your wife. You have to make sure you're both moving toward the same end point. If not, you're violating your psychological contract with her."
In the background, I could hear the creaking sound of a can opener. A whole new can of worms was being opened......
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