TARGETS AND BENCHMARKS

Almost every reader of IMPACT's knows the value of defining
and writing down your most important goals. In business,
however, I often find that we fail to break our goals into
small enough chunks. We have 5-year plans and yearly goals
or objectives, but we don’t break them down into monthly
targets and daily activities. 
As a wise man once told me, "A goal without a plan is just
a pipedream."
If your goals are important, get a calendar or a notebook,
and break them down into specific targets. An obvious
example is that if you wish to save $5000 this year, commit
to saving $417 each month.
Many of my professional clients have goals for improving
quality of care, attracting more clients, and increasing
revenues, but they fail to break their goals into weekly
action steps. What does "quality of care" mean in terms of
activities and phone calls this week? What needs to happen
this week, or this month, to attract new clients? Who is
responsible for the marketing plan? What’s the budget in
time and dollars, and what are the measurable results?
Without specific benchmarks along the way, we rarely reach
our long-term goals. Have the courage to examine your goals
in terms of daily, weekly and monthly activities, then hold
yourself accountable. Are you taking steps to market your
business? Is your level of customer satisfaction going up?
Are you cutting costs? Are you doing better work? How do
you measure your progress day by day?
The answers to these questions will determine whether or
not you reach your goals, and ultimately, whether or not
you create the business and the life you really want.