How Can You Make Your Yearly Business Goals Actually Stick? 29 Mar 2019

Everyone likes to make business goals, but they never seem to stick. After spending a few months working on them, other concerns gradually creep in and take over. The result? Your goals get pushed to the side and forgotten. How can you stop the ugly cycle of discarded business goals?

Business goals should be easy to keep in the forefront. They’re your motivation for the new year. They’ll get your business to the next level. You know you need to work on them. Despite trying so hard to follow through on your yearly goals, however, they just don’t seem to stick.

What’s even more frustrating is that your business goals slip away from you while everything you dislike sticks like glue. Things like chewing gum on your shoe or that extra weight you picked up around the holidays are hard to get rid of regardless of how much you try. Why do things you dislike stick around, but your goals don’t?

The reasons annoying things stick around aren’t as complicated as you might think. Fortunately, you can use these reasons to make your business goals stick around, too. First, let’s find out what the reasons are. Then, we’ll see how to use them to accomplish your yearly business goals.

Are Your Goals as Stretchy as Chewing Gum?

If you’ve been around kids, you know that gum is nearly impossible to get out of hair or anything else. It’s relentlessly sticky because polymers in gum form tight bonds with oil. These chemical bonds don’t separate easily. They stretch rather than break, giving gum its characteristic stickiness. How can gum’s stretchy bonds help you keep your business goals?

Make your goals as stretchy as gum by creating a tight bond with them. Bond with your goals by making them part of your everyday life. Keep in mind how much your yearly goals will help your company. Get your team involved by explaining why these goals will benefit both them and the business.

If you discover that your goals aren’t working out as you hoped, don’t give up on them. Stretch your goals by making adjustments to them or your method of attaining them.

Once your goals are as stretchy as gum, what else should you do to get them to stick around? Let’s see how your bad habits can lead the way to persistent goals.

Are Your Goals as Automatic as Your Bad Habits?

Anyone who’s tried to break a bad habit knows how hard it is. Bad habits are difficult to break because they’ve become established routines. They form when you do a repetitive activity, for example, waking up every morning and having a cup of coffee. The brain associates a specific activity with a stimulus, such as waking up with the toasty scent of coffee. Feeling more alert after your first cup of joe, your brain links your habit to a reward.

Eventually, your routine replaces active thinking and decision-making. Who hasn’t stumbled into the kitchen on autopilot and still managed to brew a hot pot of coffee? Your routine is so fixed that you can make coffee without having to think about the steps. The same process that makes habits automatic can also help your business goals persist throughout the year.

How? Make your goals part of your daily routine. Start by working on your goals at a specific time, such as when you come into the office. Then, associate the goal with a trigger or stimulus. For example, work on your goals after checking your email. Finally, connect working on your goals with a small reward, like taking a break, eating a snack, or surfing the web.

By following this pattern every day, your goals will turn into habits. However, your goals still aren’t as sticky as they need to be. To get your goals to stick around, you need to feel comfortable reaching them.

Are You as Comfortable With Your Goals as Your Family Is With You?

Do you have relatives that just don’t know when to leave? If you’re like millions of Americans that do, then you know that your family members overstay their welcome because they’re comfortable. They’re comfortable because they don’t have to do any chores at your house.

Going back home means more work. To go home, they’d have to travel, wash clothes, clean their house, and go back to work. That makes staying with you very, very appealing. How can you get as comfortable with your business goals as relatives that linger too long?

Goals can make people uncomfortable, especially if you don’t feel like you can reach them. A negative mindset can make you give up on business goals before you even start. To avoid feeling uncomfortable with your goals, they need to be attainable.

The key to having attainable goals is to be realistic about what you can achieve. Create a timeline to set separate short- and long-term goals. Then, track your progress to keep yourself motivated. Now that you have goals you’re comfortable with, are you doing everything you can to reach them?

Do You Want to Keep Your Goals as Much as Your Body Wants to Keep Your Weight?

Your body hates losing weight. Because it’s hardwired to think that food is scarce, it’ll do anything to keep your weight constant. It slows down your metabolism to create fat reserves. It tricks you into feeling hungry when you’re not. It even stops your brain from registering how much you’re eating. Your body uses everything at its disposal to prevent you from losing weight, and this gives us a fourth key to reaching annual business goals.

To ensure you achieve your goals, use all your available resources. Employ everything you can to reach your goals, like your work tools, employees, and cash. Get your staff involved by delegating goal-related tasks. Follow up regularly to keep track of your progress. By using all available means, you won’t lose your goals another year.

Now that you’ve got a handle on how to make your business goals stick around, what else can you use to achieve them?

This Is a Sticky Situation

We’ve all been stuck with something before, whether it’s chewing gum on your shoe or a bad habit you can’t break. While these annoyances are frustrating, they’re not as vexing as not achieving your business goals.

Make your goals stick by making them a part of your everyday life. Get your goals into your routine by working on them at a specific time and associating them with a reward. Analyze your goals to be sure they’re attainable. Then, use all the resources you have at your disposal to keep them on track. Doing this will help you stick to your goals and improve your productivity during the year.

If your business goals for this year include making some new hires, you may wonder if your hiring process is up to the task. If it’s not, how can you improve your hiring process?

At Trusted Employees, we can assist you in revamping your hiring process. We’ll update your hiring process so it’s legally compliant and helps you reach your goals. Contact us today to learn more.