2015 Business Goals – How to Accelerate Through the Finish Line

You’re at a track and field event. The leading runner anticipates the finish line, slows down, and allows the would-be second place finisher to blow past.

That’s all of us in November.

Are you already pulling out your post-Thanksgiving fat pants and planning a holiday getaway?

It’s definitely not too late to accomplish those important business goals you set up last January.

So re-tie your sneakers, step away from the pumpkin pie recipes, and let’s soar through the finish line tape of 2015 with our arms spread, victorious.

Step One: Look at the Goals

First of all, you should know exactly where your goals are, and where you stand on them, if you’ve been doing quarterly check-ins, right?

If any of your 2015 goals were “overtaken by events” or don’t make sense anymore, just strike a line through and forget about them.

Did you set any goals that were out of your own control to accomplish? Gather up the team and review those goals together.

Step Two: Celebrate the Victories

There’s no point in having goals if you don’t give yourself the joy of celebrating when they are achieved.

For any of the goals on your 2015 list that you’ve already accomplished, set aside some time to bask in the glow. Take your team out for lunch, high five, and savor a job well done.

If any specific colleague deserves credit for the accomplishment, be sure to recognize him/her with a thank you.

Step Three: Focus on the One Big Goal

For any 2015 business goals that are still in play, winnow it down to the one big one. Which project will make the biggest difference to your business if you were to buckle down over the next two months and get it done?

Take that one big goal and make it your total focus through the end of the year. Do you need to break it down into smaller bite-sized steps in order to get moving? What’s in your way? Has something stopped you from moving forward with it? Do you need to enlist additional resources? Gather the team and rally around your One Big Goal.

Make sure you have metrics in place for the “big goal.” Know when you will have achieved it!

Use your lessons-learned from this year’s goals as you think about your 2016 goals. Were you overly ambitious? Were you not ambitious enough? Do you need to tweak your work habits or methods to get a different outcome next year?

 

Let’s all work together to avoid coasting into December 31. Let’s accelerate together and go into January with momentum!

I’d love to hear about your 2015 goals…how did it go?