Have you noticed words like strategy and tactics, which were originally used in planning war, have become part of our vocabulary as business owners? But what does it really mean to utilize strategy and tactics to achieve your business goals?
When it comes to making your business goals a reality, both are essential. According to Chinese philosopher and general, Sun Tzu, “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”
Let’s start with your strategy. A strategic goal is a long-term goal that’s in line with your overall mission and purpose as a business owner. In order for your goal to be strategic, you need to look at the big picture and figure out how this particular goal will help you serve your ideal clients. Without taking the time to be strategic, you could be spinning your wheels and getting nowhere fast!
Now let’s take a look at your tactics. This is where many entrepreneurs drop the ball. They have a really worthwhile, strategic goal in mind but they don’t have a tactical plan to make it a reality. The “slowest route to victory,” or a goal without tactics, leaves you constantly catching up with your competitors rather than leading the pack.
Let’s take an example of a goal and walk through what it will take to make it a reality.
Let’s say you are a consultant and you’ve been working with individuals and small businesses, but you’ve decided it’s time to jump into the corporate arena. You’ve thought about your strategy by thinking about your mission as a business owner. You’ve carefully considered the value you could potentially provide to corporate clients. So, your goal is to make corporate revenue account for a significant portion of your business by the end of the year.
The next step is to ensure that your goal is tactical. Have you heard of SMART goals? This is a great formula to help you set and maintain tactical goals.
1. Specific
Being ultra-specific with your goal is critical to your success. Too many goals are vague and therefore impossible to achieve!
Let’s look at our example. I want to make corporate revenue account for a significant portion of your business by the end of the year.
It sounds like a specific goal, but it’s still too broad. You need to break it down further so you know what steps to take. If not, you’ll end up floundering right out of the gate.
The key is to ask yourself questions like these to break your big goal down:
What 3 specific companies do I want to target in my local city? What size of company should I target just starting out? What specific types of coaching/consulting services or professional development workshops should I focus on?
Come up with your own list of questions to help break down your goal. Remember, the more specific you are, the better your results will be.
2. Measurable
Measurable goals help you track your progress so you can see how far you’ve come. This also enables you to determine whether or not your tactics are even working. If they are, you know you’re on the right track, if they’re not, you know it’s time to try a different approach.
Let’s go back to our example. I will aim to speak at one association meeting a month where my ideal audience of corporate buyers is attending. I will contact three former private clients a month that work for my target companies and ask them to make an introduction for me.
3. Attainable
I always encourage my clients to choose a goal that will stretch them out of their comfort zone. However, you don’t ever want to have a goal that’s completely out of reach. You want something that will motivate you because deep down you believe it’s possible.
Let’s look at our example again. Don’t set the goal of getting booked by five corporations in the first quarter. Start small, perhaps by targeting organizations where you have colleagues, or friends who work there. You may want to start with offering a professional development training, and then as you gain more experience move into consulting later in the year.
Having attainable goals will help you gain momentum. As you reach your goals, it’ll fuel your desire to keep growing and expanding.
4. Relevant
As you deploy your various tactics, you need to take time on a regular basis to go back and think about your original strategy. Sometimes we get so bogged down in the day-to-day that we forget why we’re doing what we’re doing.
Back to our example, let’s say you’ve been speaking at various associations. You’ve received a great response and even a few new clients, but no corporate buyers. Is this tactic really relevant to your goal to get into the corporate arena? If not, it may be time to try something else.
Make sure that daily/weekly/monthly you are reviewing your tactics to make sure they’re in alignment with your strategy.
5. Time-bound
Without deadlines, goals become unfulfilled dreams. Get out your calendar and put in some concrete deadlines for yourself.
In our example, these deadlines might look like this:
By the end of first quarter, I’ll have completed my corporate research and be reaching out to 1-2 people a week for introductions into the corporate market.
I’ll get booked to speak once every two months at an industry or association function to showcase my value to corporate buyers.
I’ll design a new corporate brochure outlining my services and the value I can extend to organizations by 2/28/2018.
Hopefully, you’ve already given some careful thought to what you want to achieve in 2018. In my experience, people often excel in being either strategic or tactical, but really you need both qualities to be successful. So, take a close look at your goals and ask yourself some tough questions to see how they can be improved. The SMART formula has been around for decades and it works!
I work closely with my private coaching clients on their goals to make sure they’re both strategic and tactical. If you could use some accountability and support to make 2018 your best year so far, please contact me 800-267-3245 to schedule a complimentary 30-minute consultation.
Predictable Results™ Assignment
Identify a goal you want to achieve in 2018. Work through the SMART formula to make sure your goal is geared for success.
As a pioneering and visionary innovator, Sarah is a certified professional image consultant and brand strategist, speaker, trainer and author. Her company, Illustra Business Coaching, provides leading-edge business building strategies for small business owners & entrepreneurs who wish to take their company to the next level.
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Copyright © 2018, Sarah Hathorn, AICI CIM
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