Goal-setting for 2012 - Plot your business growth critical path

By Mike Battersby

Goal-setting for businesses is not easy at the moment. You just have to look at the business confidence surveys. It’s no wonder many businesses are still procrastinating about setting their 2012 goals.

How would you feel if you could achieve a significant goal for your business in 2012? Well, you’re in luck, 2012 is the Chinese Year of the Dragon, considered to be auspicious for success and wealth. Rather than just relying on luck however, the better option to move your business forward is to improve your goal-setting process. This makes achieving great results much easier, meaning more dollars in your pocket.

Why is goal- setting important? We all know businesses don’t stand still. You are either going forward or going backward. If you are not working towards a goal then more than likely you are going backward.

There are lots of good reasons to just do nothing:

haven’t got the time
don’t know where to start
don’t know who to trust
suffering from information overload
can’t afford to get it wrong

Are any of those you? And why is a lawyer writing about goal-setting? The reason is that all business goals have a legal element. Trying to achieve goals can either mean increased value or permanent damage to your business. Lawyers see plenty of examples of the latter, many of which could have been avoided with a bit of thought.

Successful results invariably follow a disciplined goal-setting process. And it’s important to remember business goals don’t stand alone. Just think of them as milestones on your business growth critical path, your most efficient route to business growth.

Here’s a simple five step process for constructing your business growth critical path:

1. What is your goal?
2. Identify the relevant foundations needed to reach your goal
3. Establish the ideal order to proceed
4. Decide who you need to consult
5. Itemise the costs

So how does this work? Let’s look at a practical example, a business with the goal of finding an investor to fund international expansion.