Well it is that time of year when many companies begin to take an introspective look back on the year.  It is the unique company and team that is on-target to hit the goals that they established at this time last year.  Most realize that they haven’t achieved their yearly goals and are looking at ways to do a better job next year.  Finally, there are a few out there still confusing vibration with forward momentum and justifying their lack of goals attainment by detailing all the “other’ thinks that they got done.

To be painfully simple, there are two things that are vital to achieving your company goals.  The first is actually creating them and writing them down.  The second is actually implementing them.

It is surprising today how many companies are out there without an internal (strategic) and an external (marketing) plan.  The widespread belief is that plans are hard to put together and take months of work.  This is just not true.  A truly implementable plan can be put together in a few long days of focused work with the team.  Of course, an experienced facilitator can make this process more efficient, effective and productive but that is a discussion for another day.

With regard to implementation, there are a few tricks that help organizations actually achieve what they detailed in their plan.  The first is to have those executives responsible actually build the plan and be vested in the construction process.  Seems logical right?  Many companies don’t do it this way.  Locking the team down, creating a consensual vision and sharing in the benefits and accountabilities of execution are all key factors in building an implementable plan.  Once you have a plan that the team is aligned with (no not everyone agrees with every goal but all of the executive team must be aligned with the company’s vision and direction,) then the individuals that are responsible for goals and tasks must meet regularly with the team members that they are accountable to so that there is visibility in achievement and in roadblocks.  When combined with the buy-in that is built with a team-constructed plan, this visibility is the secret sauce to achieving your company’s goals and the successful implementation of this years plan.