All too often, I’ve felt that organizations and companies, be they great or small, nonprofit or for-profit, or in a creative versus more technical industry, lack the ability to fully reach their goals because they’ve not taken enough time to figure out exactly what they want and plan a way to get there.
I’m guilty myself. Even with my own business, I neglect the time and energy to plan goals and strategies effectively. My hangups and excuses for this range from not having the time to justifying that these items are always evolving and I’m just remaining flexible.
But never, ever underestimate the processes and tools out there for figuring out who you are, where you want to be and formulating a plan!
Step One: Where are You?
First and foremost, take a look at where you are. It’s important to reflect on what’s going on with you in the present moment and what led you to where you are. What has worked and what hasn’t worked? What are the driving factors for your goals? By identifying where you are, you can decide better where you want to be and how to get there.
Step Two: What Do You Want?
Everyone has dreams and aspirations, but how do you take these and translate them into achievable goals? It can be difficult to gain the precise focus you need to really make progress. There are different types of goals. Some are long-term, or lifetime goals, while others may be more short-term. First and foremost, start writing them down! Get out a pen and paper and brainstorm about what your dreams are.
Once you have these “big ideas” down, start categorizing them. Some may be professional or career-focused, some may be applicable to your family, while others may deal more with your finances, or your artistic goals. Some may overlap. Keep brainstorming and use this process to be more specific with your goals. You may have something broad that fits into multiple categories, but through the process of breaking down where it fits in, you can also break it down into more specific goals.
For example, a musician may first write down at first the goal of, “I want to have the best album anyone has heard.”
This could lead to multiple goals:
- I want to garner critical acclaim of my CD
- I want to sell lots of copies of my album
- I want to grow my fan base through the buzz that surrounds this awesome album
- and so forth
Once you realize the “reaches” of your larger goals, you can put them into actual PLANS.
Step Three: Devise Plans
If you’re a musician who wants to have a successful album, and you’ve determined what exactly that entails for you, then you’re ready to plan for meeting those smaller goals to reach the level of success you desire.
- Critical or media success: Putting together a media plan means researching the writers, editors, bloggers, TV personalities, radio DJs and music directors, etc., that will want to hear the story of your album and get a copy for possible review. Put together a list of these people. Find where they are online, what their submissions process is, what they like based off what they’ve written about before, etc. Nothing is worse than blindly contacting someone–it shows you don’t care enough to research their tastes in music or how they prefer to be contacted. Keep in mind their deadlines and turnaround. Depending on who you’re contacting, conventional print and TV have much longer lead times than real-time bloggers and podcasters.
- Commercial success: Growing your fan base and actually selling the album can lead to a much different set of planning, although garnering critical acclaim and media coverage can definitely bolster this. How will you sell the album? Can you get fan reviews by setting up online presences that encourage interactivity? There are so many options for selling music digitally that it’s almost crazy not to set yourself up on all of them. Remember–the more places you are online, the more you are found through search. It takes time but it raises your level of visibility, which is key.
We’ve simplified these two aspects but it will hopefully get you started on how to plan, and ultimately determine your strategies. By simplifying things, you’ll make it easier to identify the small steps, much easier than trying to take great leaps, right? Remember to always make your thoughts, goals and plans in positive terms.
Some really cool tools are online for goal setting at achieve-goal-setting-success.com, BTW.
Step 4: Execution and Evaluation
Once the plans and goals are in place, it’s time to execute via the strategies you’ve determined in the planning process. How are you reaching out to media? Are you doing press releases or pitches? When do you need to send these? How will you follow up?
How will you sell your album? What is your price point? How much do you need to make to cover expenses and hopefully make some profit?
Where are your fans? How can you find them? In what ways will you connect with them? How will you continue to engage them?
You’ve made it through the cycle once you’ve looked back on your execution and how it helped to accomplish your goals, or didn’t. Be honest with yourself. It’s somewhat like going back to the first step. Review and reflection will help you greatly in setting future goals and plans, and achieve both personal and professional growth–and ultimately, success in what you want to achieve. Keep track of your progress, be it through a journal, a calendar or by telling family and friends.
If you’re struggling…
The process of goal-setting and planning can be difficult for many. Consider getting a coach or mentor if you need one. Sometimes people make mistakes in being either too firm or too flexible. You need to remember to set deadlines for your goals. Otherwise, you’ll never make them. However, build in some flexibility. Give yourself some room to not be perfect. Either extreme can mean you’ll get discouraged and maybe even fold…don’t fall into such ways of thinking!
We’re also fortunate to live in a high-tech world with many resources for tracking your goals, plans and evaluating progress. I personally love Google’s tools. I’ve been able to track multiple projects and collaborate with others, be it through a Google site setup for project management or through their calendar sharing.
Keep putting one foot out in front of the other and good luck in realizing your dreams!
