“The way up and the way down are one and the same,” an ancient philosopher said. What he meant by that is a little less clear. Still, at the start of this new year, contractors can take this odd thought as a word of caution – as well as a word of encouragement.
First, the caution – you should know where you are. Are the same things you did to get “where you are” the things you need to do to stay where you are – or much preferred, move higher than you are?
In other words, don’t recycle old goals because you’re eco-friendly. Old goals could be a slippery slope if they don’t address current opportunities and drawbacks. So, take a fresh look and make sure your goals are in line with your current set of market realities and possibilities.
Second, the encouragement – goal setting is still the best practice among all best practices for focusing your company’s energy and effort in a direction that will pay off. Setting goals and putting steps into place to reach those goals provides direction and motivation as well as a way to measure how far you’ve gotten. Basically, it’s your GPS for the new year – and you don’t want to say goodbye to last year without goals in place.
The popular acronym SMART is a highly useful tool. Effective goals are Specific – what you want to accomplish is clearly defined; Measurable – you can view results/data/snapshots of how much you’ve accomplished; Attainable – with the right plan, you can get it done; Relevant – it fits your business model; and Time-based – you can accomplish these goals within a certain time frame.
To get from where you are to where you want to be, start your journey by setting good goals.