The rigorous role of Objectives

With your business or practice Vision and Mission completed (see the prior articles), it’s time to determine your Objectives.

The Objectives answer the key question: What results will we measure?
Or even more fundamentally, What do we want more of in our business?  And, what do we want less of in our business?

This is the place where the rubber meets the road. It's where the theory of Vision and Mission get translated into a reality of running a business or practice.

Objectives define what you will measure. And, when written well, they can be graphed, as they should contain numerical data.

Objectives are very high level goals that define the end results of your work effort in measurable ways, and that hold people accountable. And because they contain graphable numbers, they give you and your staff targets to aim for.

Here are the characteristics of a well-written Objective:
 
1. It’s usually written for a 12-month period of time
2. The formula for an Objective = verb + noun + From and To numbers. For example, “Increase (verb) gross revenues (noun) from $1.5 million to $2 million (From and To numbers)”.

Here are other examples of well-written Objectives:

• Reduce absenteeism from 17% to 5%
• Increase gross profits from 5% to 8%
• Reduce no-shows from an average of 20 per week to less than 5 per week
• Boost seminar attendance from 25 per meeting to 35 per meeting

Can you see the Objective formula at work here? These numbers can be graphed over the year.

Remember, Objectives are about What do you want more of and What do you want less of?

There are many different types of Objectives such as Sales, Quality, Safety, Cost control, Customer service, Marketing, Personnel etc.

A key to selecting good Objectives is to spread them across The Balanced Scorecard , namely Financial, Customer-related, Internal Business Processes, and Learning and Growth.

In the methodology I use, you’re limited to 9 Objectives per year, as more would exceed the resources of most normal businesses and diffuse their focus.

This article has provided a brief summary of a somewhat complex concept. I hope it makes sense to you.

Once again, I challenge you to look at your existing business or job, and continue your work by developing your Business Plan Objectives. Please feel free to e-mail them to me at philippa@entrepreneurialMD.com -- I look forward to hearing from you!