How well have you done with the goals you set for the year?
Different governments, corporations and individuals are taking deliberate steps to move on from the global pandemic that rocked the world in 2020. If you are yet to begin making moves for the next season of your life, wake up! Don’t let the world leave you on your knees.
So, let’s look forward even if the first quarter of the year does not hold much for you to brag with. If you have been able to do something you’re proud about for the first quarter, don’t rest on your oars. You too should read on.
Let’s put the second quarter into focus.
The second quarter has arrived, and it’s time to prepare your list of objectives. Before you do that, here are some points to note;
Learn from the past:
The first thing is to look back at what you as an individual or the business have accomplished in the preceding quarter. Go over your wins from the last three months and take stock. It will be definitely failure in waiting to just set another set of goals entirely when you have some waiting in your note pad to be re-visited.
If you are tempted to just write a new set of goals without visiting the pervious, then you should read this piece on stock taking published earlier on this platform.
It is crucial to understand what worked in the last quarter and what didn’t. What goals were achieved? How where they achieved? Which ones should you carry over into the next quarter? How should the strategy be adjusted?
Don’t feel terrible to revisit your goals even if you have failed. This is because as humans, most times, we may be tempted to focus only on successes. Successful entrepreneurs agree that failures are just as important no matter how tough to swallow they might be. Take a look at them for evaluation purposes so you can avoid making the same mistakes in the future.
Prioritize your goals:
Using the past quarter as a guide, you can start planning the upcoming one by determining which goals will take priority on the list. This can be done as an individual, companywide or executive-team exercise — whichever fits the goal in question.
Start by making a list of everything you should work to achieve. Then, go through the list and organize these objectives as first, second or third and so on priorities. Next thing is to assign each priority to specific weeks, days and actions to take to achieve it. This move will help you focus and be responsible for accomplishing that task or objective by the end of the next quarter.
Establish accountability:
This is where most people probably have the most challenge because it has a lot to do with discipline. To hold yourself accountable, each goal should be broken down into a weekly schedule. For example, say I should prioritize closing 50 new deals during Q2, 2021. Your weekly breakdown might look something like this:
- Week one: Identify 500 potential prospects.
- Week two: Present prospect to my manager for feedback.
- Week four: Upon approval, email those prospects.
- Week five: Follow-up with phone calls, emails or visits where and when necessary.
You could also extend the accountability responsibility to a trusted boss, friend or family member. They should help keep you on your toes.
Measure, measure, repeat:
Hold a weekly meeting with your note pad/calendar to review the progress of your priorities. If you can, make a visual chart that shows the completion percentage. This way, you will understand the progress that has been made toward those goals; and early warning signs and red flags will be evident while there is still time to fix them.
Use the chart or excel sheet, word document (whatever works for you) in connection to your priorities and your larger goals, to remind yourself what they’re working toward.
If you have investigated and realised that one of the reasons you couldn’t hit your target is because of change of work environment you should read this piece on how to be productive while working from home.
Do you have any questions or contributions? Do share with us in the comment section.