Preparing for take-off

We thank you for flying Mogulette Airlines. Please fasten your seat belts as it may be a bumpy ride. Our final destination will be...you fill in the blank!

Our next stop after Mission Statements is Goals and Objectives. This is the stuff that's going to move us towards our vision. I love what Jill Koenig, the "Goal Guru" says on her blog: "Small Goals invite small effort. Big Goals inspire a much higher level of performance. Big Goals inspire miracles" (see full text here).

I followed Jan King's advice in her book, "Business Plans to Game Plans", and came up with 3 big picture goals for the first three years of operations. She says objectives should be big, bold and highly motivational. I really like the sound of that! Here's my list:

Year 1: Build the infrastructure for my business
Year 2: Expand locally and branch out into additional products & services
Year 3: Expand out of state and into the Hispanic market; provide free services to underprivileged clients

For each goal she suggests setting up 5 objectives, and making sure they're realistic. Some questions to ask yourself:

• Do your objectives further the intent of your vision and mission?
• If you completed all of the objectives, would you feel you have accomplished something that is key for the company's overall success?
• Are the objectives realistic within the time frame allotted?
• Are the objectives realistic given the circumstances of the current market?
• Are the objectives realistic given your resources in terms of staff, time and money?

According to King, "the owner or CEO should decide corporate objectives based on what trends have led to this point, what resources are available to the organization this year and what opportunities are open in the market". So it helps to have done the soul searching we did in our past meetings (see "Existential Angst", below) in order to come up with ideas for goals.

When I shared my goals and objectives with Martha, my fellow Mogulette, it felt like part fantasy, part wishful thinking, but I was totally jazzed thinking of all the possibilities! The engines on Mogulette Airlines are definitely revving up...

I also found some useful tips on goal setting at morebusiness.com

Next up:
Business Philosophy: What is important to you in business? What do you want your company to stand for? For example, for Federal Express it’s speed, for Apple it’s quality, design and innovation, for Wal-mart it’s wide product selection...