8 Steps for Achieving Your Business Goals & Objectives Post Covid-19

The coming months and years will provide plenty of opportunity for both the UK and international businesses that are ready to accept new challenges and the new arena that will evolve following COVID-19. After any major downturn or crisis throughout history, that has always been the case. New opportunities will open and for those brave enough, there will be new ventures, new products, and services to meet clients needs.

But there is still a challenge.

Some years ago, the University of Scranton published a study in the Journal of Clinical Psychology which evidenced that 92% of people failed to achieve their objectives! That leaves just 8% of us who will make goals and achieve them. 

The 8 steps that will help you achieve your goals & objectives, allowing you to bounce back after COVID-19

Put pen to paper, or iPad, tablet or PC and write down your goals, and objectives, your plan for success. Whatever you do, make your ambition visible to you and your team. Create key steps with a roadmap to your destination. Without a clear destination and plan, you probably won’t achieve your goal!

Define your goal and make sure your plan is very specific in terms of its scope, duration, and achievability. Use either SMART or CLEAR goals to help you. Just the process of thinking about your business goals & objectives in more specific detail helps make your goals more real, more achievable, and more likely to happen. 

How will you know when you have arrived without a clearly defined SMART or CLEAR objective?

You are probably not going to be alone on this journey, so make sure that your team, colleagues, employees, advisors, etc know what you are trying to achieve. Communicate your plans, ambitions, and goals, when everyone knows the direction of travel it is more likely that you will get there. Build your team to support, challenge and advise you, listen to them, do not be afraid to ask for their opinions and input. 

Invite and include your team, welcome their input - their creativity will surely surprise you!

Great teams and great leaders have great coaches, advisors, and mentors in the trenches with them. Having a sparring partner, business consultant, advisor, or coach to support you will give you an independent sounding board and hold you accountable. They will help keep you on track, focussed and provide objectivity when times are tough, or your procrastination gets the better of you. 

We all suffer at times from a lack of belief or put off difficult or unpleasant tasks. Having someone by your side is a lifesaver if you want to achieve your goals.

The saying that “Rome was not built in a day” is true, break your goal down into smaller bite-sized chunks that enable visible wins or progress to be made. Small but recognisable successes motivate, encourage, and keep you on track. Celebrate these small wins and share that positivity around your team. 

Every journey begins with a first step, every step brings you closer to the destination, your goal or objective.

When you know your “WHY” and it is your passion things start to fall into place. Delivering your why, becomes meaningful, focusing your mind on the things you need to do to deliver becomes easier and more fun, your how, and what seems clearer. The COVID-19 pandemic has in my view enabled many to reevaluate their why, how, and what with much more understanding of what they are truly passionate about. 

In my case, I truly believe that Raising The Bar is not just an idea it’s an essential part of my thinking and daily life.

Nobody said this was going to be easy! Pushing through the difficult times, challenges and blocks to success requires persistence, determination, and belief. In sport, in life, in business you don’t just need clear goals, you need the power to push through the pain of failure and learn from it, distraction and avoid it, diversion and refocus. 

Having persistence is not optional, it is a core reason that successful people are just that. They do not give up, or at least not easily. Some might call it a stubborn streak, but however you define it, staying power, stubbornness or persistence is a prerequisite for success.

Not a clever acronym although I am sure there is one, it is just simply saying that WHAT you do as much as how or why you do it will define your success. It’s what you write down in your plan, what your specific goals are, it's what your team does, what you will be held accountable for, what steps you will take, what passion you show and what you persistently do to achieve your goal. Simple! 

Those that achieve success, make their goals reality, they don’t just dream they make it happen by WHAT they do. So, what will you do when you bounce back?

My final tips - don’t multitask; by all means, work on many things but complete one before moving to the next. Instead, work smart, develop a routine, retain focus, take breaks, and ask for help.

Here at EXALTA, we specialise in providing expert business consulting services and strategic planning. If you're interested in finding out more about setting and achieving your business goals & objectives, call our team today on 01865 238 100, alternatively, you can fill out our online enquiry form, and we'll be in touch.