I scorecard each key area of the business with metrics in place to measure results on a weekly, monthly and quarterly basis. A master scorecard consistently drives how each goal is simplified and tracked.
—Jeff Bevis, co-founder, CEO, FirstLight Home Care
In order to simplify my goals, I’ve started working in a sprint structure. This is a technique I learned from my technology team, but I’ve adopted it for my personal use. I set out a list of tasks and commit to finishing everything in two weeks, and then reassess and start a new two weeks. It keeps me on track and breaks down my monthly and yearly goals into bite-size, manageable chunks.
—Suneera Madhani, founder, CEO, Fattmerchant
I do values, skills and attitude checks on where my time is going. Values: Does the goal align with our company values? Will what we are working on create a measurable impact? Skills: As a systems thinker and CEO, my job is to bring together the moving parts of my organization into a cohesive unit. Am I prioritizing that or getting roped into tasks someone else is better suited for? Attitude: Am I seeing the world in terms of obstacles or opportunities?
—Rebecca Devaney, co-founder, CEO, Hunter Creative Labs
I like to use a loss aversion technique to help me figure out what goals are most important to me. I imagine myself 5 or 10 years down the road, looking back on this period in my life, and I consider each of my goals one by one while envisioning how I would feel if I failed to accomplish it. The worse I feel, the more important it is to me and the more time I’m going to dedicate to it. This technique is one of the main reasons why I sold my company—so that I would be able to dedicate more time to being a father.
—Aaron Michel, CEO, PathSource
When I have a goal, I start by thinking about the end result and what that should look like. This allows me to visualize what we will achieve and map the most direct route to accomplish that goal.
—David Thomas, CEO, Evident ID
Related: 4 Tips for Setting Powerful Goals
This article originally appeared in the December 2017 issue of SUCCESS magazine.
