If you really want to ensure that your business performs, ensure that individual and corporate goals are managed effectively.

1. Establish clear goals for everyone: That means from the chief executive to the most junior person in your organisation. These goals should be clearly defined and tailored to specific roles, but also linked to overall business strategy. This last piece is critical to ensure that your employees are motivated and engaged by showing them exactly how their work contributes to overall success.
2. Hold managers accountable for setting and achieving their goals: Managers’ performance should be evaluated based on both the quality of the goals assigned to the people that they manage and their success in achieving the goals that they are set.
3. Define clear processes in order to align strategic and operational goals: Translate long-term strategic company goals related to profit, growth and other business outcomes into short-term, tactical aims that specific departments and employees are tasked with achieving. Think of it this way – taking lots of small steps well will result in you winning the race.
4. Regularly review performance against the goals set: An annual review is not enough. Goals should be evaluated on an ongoing basis throughout the year to guide decisions about business strategy, resource allocation and project coordination. The speed of business change these days is fast and must be managed accordingly.
5. Adjust goal plans as required throughout the year: Change happens. You should update goals to reflect changes to business strategies or operational tactics. Communicate the ‘why’ behind the changes and how the new focus fits with your organisation’s game plan.
6. Use performance data to guide your people decisions: Make missing or reaching goals meaningful. Decisions in relation to pay, career development, promotion, and hiring should be based on how individuals perform against the goals that they have been set.