The 1-Page Guide to Company Goal Setting

I recently got a request from an attendee of my CEO Masterclass. They wanted a simple representation of the company goal-setting process we go through in the class. I realized I didn’t have a 1-page version—but needed one!

The process is not super complicated, but it is useful to see all the parts in one place. Below is the process we teach in the Masterclass. You can download a PDF of it here.

(You’ll see the 1-Page Strategic Plan mentioned. You can get a sample of that here.)

Why does this specific company goal-setting process work so well? One reason is that it was developed by me over decades of running organizations—so it’s born of practice, not just theory.

But it also:

• Begins with the essence of the business. If goals aren’t rooted in the ultimate mission and vision you’re trying to achieve, they won’t take you where you need to be.

• Links long-term vision to 90-day milestones. As you’ll see, the process includes defining strategic objectives for the next 2–3 years and the immediate milestones that need to be achieved this quarter. Based on how the quarter goes, you can then regularly update the 2–3 year objectives. It’s a rolling process that carries your momentum forward.

• Includes the whole team. Many CEOs set primarily sales/revenue goals and maybe a product goal. That skews the CEO’s view of performance and leaves whole swaths of the organization disconnected from company targets. By contrast, this process asks you to consider all 6 key areas of your business.

• Is predictive. The process asks the CEO to meet with the executive team each week and assess the likelihood of each quarterly objective being met on time. This forecasting twist on the typical “status update” makes a surprisingly notable difference in the CEO’s understanding of the future.

• Holds people accountable. The hardest part of company goal setting is just doing it. When you install this process in your business, everyone knows the expectation. We’re going to have clear goals every quarter, and we’re going to predict the outcomes every week.

And now here is the 1-page version of the CEO-S Company Goal-Setting Process: