Focusing on Results

The Art and Science of Tracking Your Goals to Achieve Success

I once heard a story of a very successful entrepreneur who ran more than eight businesses.  It was told that the walls of his office were filled with a “visual display” for each business.  Each visual display had three metrics that indicated if that business was succeeding or failing.  He proudly stated that he only needed to walk around his office, look at those metrics and he knew exactly what was happening and what was needed. 

In my years of coaching, I have found that goals are more effectively achieved when some kind of visual reminder is posted.  For some it is a collage of personal dreams or a new focus.  For others it is a big colorful poster of Key Goals.  Most sales organizations exhibit a weekly activity checklist along with results produced as a reminder and accountability support. 

Here is an exercise for you and your team, adapted from The Five Dysfunctions of Team Field Guide to establish your shared goals and visual display:

Establishing a Thematic Goal

Leaders, ask your team:

What is the single most important goal that we must achieve during this period if we are to consider ourselves successful?

The goal should not be quantitative, but rather a general achievement.  Examples of common thematic goals include the following:

• Improve customer relations
• Get expenses under control
• Increase market awareness
• Launch a new product
• Strengthen the team
• Rebuild the infrastructure
• Grow market share

The Time Period
A start up company will probably want to have relatively short time frames, such as two or three months, while a more established company might have longer cycles, like a year.

The Challenge of De-prioritization
Prioritizing a thematic goal does not mean you ignore other important business goals.  However, the point of having a thematic goal is to ensure that the entire team places EXTRA emphasis on a single area of priority, so that when push comes to shove, everyone understands what matters most.  

The Challenge of Specialization
Some on the team may think that their job has nothing to do with the priority.  The key to overcoming this is getting everyone to understand that they must wear two different hats when they are all together as a team.  One of those hats, and the most important one, is that of “generic team member.”

Establishment of a Team Scoreboard

After identifying the thematic goal, have the team discuss and agree upon the handful of supporting objectives that must be accomplished if the thematic goal is to be achieved.  If the thematic goal is to achieve market awareness, the supporting objectives might be to increase advertising, clarify the brand and value proposition, increase trade-show activities, and improve public relations.

In addition to these supporting objectives, a team’s scoreboard should include a few standard operational objectives such as revenue, expenses, employee turnover, or whatever essential metric is key to the business on an ongoing basis.

About the Author: Elaine Siciliano Morris is principal consultant and founder of Sea Change Inc, an organizational effectiveness firm based in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. A frequent keynote speaker and workshop presenter on leadership, corporate culture and personal growth, Elaine works with leaders and their teams to create productive and rewarding work environments. More information about her is available on her website: www.seachangecoach.com, or contact Elaine by phone at 972-407-0648.