76 Percent of People Who Wrote Down Their Business Goals, Achieved Them

Recently at Catapult Creative Media, we’ve dusted off a practice we have used for years: goal setting. We decided to take a different approach in goal setting and to rework the classic “SMART” framework. Many companies and people only think about the need to set goals at certain times; such as New Years or after accomplishing a major project. We have decided that the time to set new goals is now. Why wait for a special occasion when you can make today special just by setting a new goal? We’ve asked our employees to set some new personal and professional goals and to write them down somewhere visible. In addition to our employees setting goals, we’re setting some new business goals for the company.

Here’s what we’ve discovered in setting our new business goals and why we believe it is a practice that every company should follow on a regular basis.

Why You Should Set Business Goals in the First Place

So, what’s the point in setting goals? It’s a fair question because let’s face it, taking the time to set goals is just one more thing we have to make time for in our busy lives. Believe it or not though, setting goals is extremely important in achieving success, but more on that later. One simple reason as to why you need to set goals is so you can measure your success. Goals allow you to take better notice of when you actually accomplish something. Whether you want to reach customers in a new state or acquire a new building for your business, making it a goal instead of just wishing for it in the back of your mind gives you a more concrete way of measuring your success.

Setting goals the right way gives you specific action steps to perform in a given amount of time. We highly suggest the SMAARRRTI goal method, which is our version of SMART goals.

Using the method above gives you extremely specific goals and steps on how to achieve them. Having an action plan already gets you part of the way to success. You have thought through how you are going to achieve your goals and the only thing that is left is the execution. Don’t stop with just thinking about your goals. Science says you need to take it one step further, which we will talk about next.

Write Down Your Business Goals

According to psychologist professor Dr. Gail Matthews, writing down your goals influences how likely you are to achieve them. Matthews explains that writing your goals down along with sharing them with others makes you more committed to achieving your goals. In fact, Matthews conducted a study on goal setting and found that 76 percent of those who wrote down their goals with action steps, told a friend about their goals, and provided weekly progress reports achieved their goals. If you compare that to the 43 percent of people who only thought about their goals but still achieved them, it reasons that following the SMAARRRTI goal method is highly recommended.

Set Your Business Goals and Encourage Your Employees to Set Goals

Now that you know why and how to set goals, it’s time to set some goals you can accomplish. Make them challenging but achievable to push your business to the next level of success. In addition to setting business goals that your whole team can achieve and feel proud of together, encourage your employees to set their own personal and professional goals. Employee growth will help your team members grow individually and help your business in the long run.

At Catapult, we are all sharing our goals with one another and trying to help each other achieve them by offering support and encouragement when needed. We are working with schedules, providing outlets, and giving tips on how to achieve professional and personal goals as we all work on our company goals together. Share your own goals with your team members and start launching your business to new heights.

Meredith Kisow is the lead copywriter at Catapult. She enjoys reading, hiking, and taking way too many pictures of her cat.

Work with Catapult Creative Media Inc. Catapult Creative Media Inc. is a digital marketing and design agency serving clients over the United States but is proud to call Baton Rouge, Louisiana home. Founded in 2007, Catapult provides digital, social and mobile marketing solutions backed by relevant strategy and measurable results. Catapult works the web to their clients’ advantage, launching them to their next level of success.