"Although many small firms have short-term objectives, which are seldom written down, often what they don't have is objectives for the medium and long term, which is a mistake. Setting objectives is a process. It enables you take stock of what you've achieved, assess your strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities, and weigh up your market, so you can determine where you want to be in the next one to three years.
"Objectives should be set for all key areas of your business – it's not just about sales. If applicable, focus on parts of the business that are experiencing change or need strengthening. Involve your staff, because giving them a sense of ownership can ensure that objectives are met.
"Make sure your objectives are SMART [ie specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely]. If your objectives are unrealistic it can be really demotivating when failure inevitably comes. However, if you want your business to progress, your objectives should provide a challenge.
"You should be able to measure – easily and frequently – whether you are on course to achieve your objectives. That's why breaking them down into weekly and monthly targets helps. It could be weekly sales or new customers each month. Performance against objectives should be reviewed regularly – at least one a month – with all team members involved in trying to find solutions to under-performance against objectives.
"Businesses cannot control external factors, and significant changes can mean that achieving your objectives won't be possible. In that case, go through the process again and set more realistic objectives. You must have short-term, medium-term and long-term goals in business. They enable you to judge how well you are performing, stay on course and hopefully take your business forward."
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