For every entrepreneur, setting well-thought-out plans is one of the most important things when developing a product, a company, or a vision. Although long-term objectives are important, the most important part to get right is quarterly plans and short-term objectives.
It is absolutely vital that everyone on your team understands the bigger picture and especially their role in reaching the objective. People with goals tend to achieve 10 times as much as people with no goals. To be productive, set company goals and metrics to measure success.
Why quarterly plans are important
Quarter plans are a very good unit of time in between weekly reporting and yearly long-term plans. It’s long enough to get measurable results and short enough for frequent review.
We’ve gathered three tips for making sure your quarterly plans are well thought out.
Focus on a few quarterly plans
Too much of a good thing is usually bad for you and that is true for setting goals as well. It’s important to have a few (3 – 5) big objectives every quarter that fit your long-term strategy.
Having more means that your focus will be divided and you can’t give your best.
Make sure you can measure success
No goal or plan is useful unless you can measure your success later on.
Weekdone offers an OKR (Objectives and Key Results) system where each quarterly plan (objective) is tied to 3 – 4 measurable results that can be evaluated on an ongoing basis.
That way you always know how close to reaching your goal you are
Be SMART
SMART goals are a good way to make sure you have succeeded in making manageable plans.
SMART goals are:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
You can learn more about SMART methodology from our infographic or try Weekdone to put your goal-setting skills to work right now.