Are you setting the right goals for the year ahead?

Whether you've set your business goals for the year or still setting them, stop and ask yourself, "Have we set the right goals?" Have you set goals that propel the company beyond simply a percentage growth on the previous year? Have you learned from your performance in 2010 and set goals that exploit what worked well and addresses what didn't?

At the beginning of your annual cycle it is vital that you:

• Set the right goals to keep your business on course;
• Have the resources and capabilities to implement these goals;
• Create the right messages to attract prospects;
• Set the right business model to create and capture maximum available customer value.

The Think phase is a crucial first stage of the strategic planning process for setting the right goals.

Get this phase right and you will:

• Ensure you will keep your company on its true course;
• Attract and keep the right customers;
• Win business over you competitors;
• Reduce costs and work more efficiently;
• Return strong shareholder value;
• Resist external influences that drive other companies off course;
• Build a stronger company.

Get it wrong and your company could:

• Be vulnerable to external influences and get blown off course;
• Struggle to grow versus competitors;
• Risk losing opportunities and customers;
• Lose market share;
• Demotivate your people and partners;
• Lose its way.

• Rate your company against key elements in the Think phase.
• Receive an accurate assessment of your strengths and weaknesses.
• Clearly see areas that need to be addressed.
• Set the right priorities to strengthen these weak and vulnerable areas.