Are business objectives same as business goals?
I’ve seen several entrepreneurs become so totally lost in the huge onslaught of tasks, which they keep treating like business goals, that they eventually become overwhelmed and get derailed from their real business objectives.
The topmost smart objectives for a startup business should be kept very streamlined.
While there are huge numbers of tasks that can be treated like business goals, in my opinion the long-term business objectives are few.
Like for instance, even creating a business website can be treated like a goal, and it can be a big goal for the teams that are working on it. Still, for the entrepreneur it is just a mandatory task. And, it should be treated like just an immediate goal.
If you decipher your long-term objectives for your startup business, then you will keep yourself in check. There are only four smart objectives that work for any startup business.
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There are only four smart objectives that work for any startup business.
1) Expansion Objectives:
These are essentially the vision related objectives. They are indicative of where you wish to take your business in the next 5 -10 years.
For a startup it is necessary to have such an objective because many times this is their lifeline. Such expansion goals keep the rest of your goals on track.
2) Financial Objectives:
Financial objectives are a kind of waterloo for many startups. This is because most people never learn to treat money wisely in their lifetimes.
This is a hard remark to make. But most businesses fail because they never develop a clear understanding of how to take care of their financial obligations.
You need to hire a good accountant. Consider this as an investment. Keep a close watch on your account receivables and spending.
If you’re interested in attracting outside investment, then keeping clean financial records is mandatory.
3) Team Building Objectives:
Gathering a team with people from different skill sets is the prime objective of any startup.
Keeping the team together according to their varied motivations is a tougher task. And, is an ongoing objective, which every entrepreneur should pay very close attention to.
It is also seen that when people from various skill sets come together, that is not really a team. Team building happens with time, when the individual motivations of all members are aligned with the bigger goals.
This emotional integration of the team members is the real long-term team building objective, and it needs to be worked upon continuously.
4) Leadership Objectives:
Every entrepreneur wishes to emerge as a leader, and so this is one of the smartest objectives of every startup business.
Your startup is your business. So all the responsibility of making your business a success is yours. You can’t blame the changing market forces. You can’t blame your team. You can’t blame anyone or anything if the business fails. You’ll have to take the full responsibility for your business.
The flip side of this is that you can bask in the glory of the success of your business also. Yes, you can’t take all the credit for success. But, giving the credit away will seal your position as a true business leader.
Conclusion:
If you focus on the above objectives, you will see that all the goals that you set in the short-term and long-term fall into one of the above categories.
Business planning requires deep thought and effort.
If you keep these perennial smart objectives as your guiding roadmap, goal setting will be easy and you will also save a lot of time by knowing exactly how much time to allocate to each goal activity on the way.
Let me know your thoughts on this simple, yet strategic guideline.
