4 Tips for Small Business Leaders to Set Effective Long-Term Goals and Win the Week, Not the Year

Yearly goals are overrated.

It’s the weekly priorities that count. Now, calm the inner bear — I’m not saying toss your annual, 3-year, or long-term goals out the window.

But, your fixation on these distant points is possibly closing your eyes to the steps needed right now, this week, to get there. Progress is made right now. Not tomorrow or a week from now.

Small businesses are notorious for burning out.

They have long-term dreams but are constantly caught in short-term fires. These aren’t always wildfires; they’re more like the annoying kitchen grease fires that pop up when you’re cooking bacon for Sunday brunch.

You can’t ignore them, but wow, they divert your attention quickly and leave a lingering smell.

To make real progress on anything that matters, you have to condense your timeframe, and you can do that by adopting these four tips.

Tip 1: Be clear on your one main objective.

You might have an annual goal, but you should only have one significant objective to pursue.

In the article, Growth Without Goals, the author gives an excellent example of what this is:

“In the famous 1997 letter to shareholders, which lays out Amazon’s philosophy, Bezos says that their process is simple: a ‘relentless focus on customers.’ This is not a goal to be strived for, worked towards, achieved, and then passed. This is a way of operating, constantly — every day, with every decision.”

For my business, our core objective is “Making it ridiculously easy to do business with us.” That’s our North Star.