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31 Days to Becoming a Better Leader
Foundations
Day #7: Long-Term Strategic Objectives and Short-Term Goals 
Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off of your goals. – Henry Ford
With each module in this podcast, we drill down into the component parts of organizational leadership. It’s crucial that you, the leader, are focused on outcomes and not on activities.
- Without goals, there’s a lack of coordinated activity.
- Goals allow each person to push the boat in the same direction.
- Too many goals may be detrimental and even cancel each other out.
- Once goals are written, the action plans can be developed.
- Rather than circular activity, we create a linear track that’s a lot more efficient.
Here are some definitions:
Long-Term Strategic Objectives
Definition of the long-term objectives for the organization:
- Three objectives are enough
- A future arrival point expressed in present tense
- The vision is for 3-5 years completion
Short-Term Goals
One major goal for each long-term objective:
- Also a specific objective expressed in present tense
- The vision is for 12-months or less completion
- One goal for each equals 3 goals (one exception is that you might have 3 goals for the organization you lead and one personal goal)
Short-Term Objective/Benchmark/Milestones
A list of 30-day objectives (benchmarks) to accomplish the 12-month goal
Action Plan
A list of actions needed to accomplish each 30-day objective. There can be weekly action items that support each 30-day objective/benchmark/milestone.
Goals not written down are dreams that seldom are realized, and certainly not realized to their ultimate effectiveness.
This process takes time, however it saves more time (and money) in the long term. It’s well worth it.
Next: Day #8 – Action Plans
