Houston Texas –2/3/2017
The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.
-Helen Keller
A dear friend of mine went from a large white collar corporate job to a micro family-run blue collar business a few years ago. She was used to the corporate ritual of setting annual goals for the company and her department, and enjoyed the bonus structure that was transparently tied to the achievement of those goals. The new company was more laid back and did not follow that structure.
I was telling her one day about the lofty revenue goal my client had set for his team in 2016, and how his team ultimately wildly surpassed it. I shared the excitement of that milestone and remarked how motivating it was to his employees, and how they were determined to reach even higher in 2017. My friend looked over at me with a sad look on her face, sighed a deep sigh and remarked, “I miss goals.”
Whether you call them stretch goals or BHAG’s, setting a lofty vision with specific goals in any size organization can do a great deal to focus, motivate and challenge your employee population, and attract results-oriented job candidates. Employees want to know their work has purpose and impact, so it’s also important to be transparent about regular progress towards those goals. Whether your company is a Fortune 100, a micro family-run operation or anywhere in between, start each year with a challenging vision and a set of goals to see just how high your teams can fly!
It always seems impossible, until it’s done.
-Nelson Mandela