Goal Setting Still Key To Practice Growth

Continuing from my last column in The Bottom Line, where we started to look at career growth for practitioners, this time I am going to look at a critical aspect of achieving personal and professional growth – goal setting.

It’s an old cliché that ‘you can’t hit a target that you haven’t set’ but it’s as true today as it ever was.

Just stop for a moment and think; when was the last time you set any type of goal for your practice?

Sure, we all set goals for revenue, chargeable hours, recovery rates, and expenditures, but that’s no more than budgeting. If you think it’s anything else, you’re only kidding yourself.

Real goal setting should cover issues, and ask questions, such as:

· Who are the ‘key’ contacts that I want to develop better relationships with?
· Who are the right type of people I want to recruit this year?
· What new markets do I want to break into this year?
· What new skills do I need to acquire?
· What key services do I want to promote?
· What do I want to become ‘known’ for?
· Where do I want to be ‘published’?
· When do I want to achieve these goals by?
· Why do I want to achieve them?
· How many new referrals do I want to generate this year?

This is by no means an exhaustive list, and each firm will probably have a different set of questions depending on their own circumstances, but this is the direction in which you should be thinking if you want to set and achieve goals in the coming twelve months.

Once you have determined what your goals are going to be, then it’s time to draw up a list and prioritize them by asking, ‘Which of these goals will give me the biggest bang for my buck?’

No two firms are ever the same, so it follows that no two firms will have the same goals, objectives and priorities.

And that’s the great part of my job! Every firm I work with is different, every assignment is different, and the tools and techniques suitable for one firm will certainly not be suitable for another.

So how can I cover such a wide topic and so many potential outcomes within the space permitted for this column? I can not.

But what I can do is to provide some common-sense ideas that will help you keep on track. Let’s face it – the majority of us who set goals often start out with good intentions, but the pressure of everyday practice life often quickly diverts our attention and three months later we suddenly realize that we are nowhere closer to achieving our goals.

So, here are some initial thoughts:

· Set a series of small goals that are achievable within reasonably short periods (‘baby steps’).
· Review your goals and objectives regularly – are they still relevant and appropriate for you?
· Celebrate small successes.
· Do not be deterred by setbacks.
· Find a ‘buddy’ that you can speak openly and frankly with about the problems you face.
The last bullet point might surprise you – but many practitioners (especially sole practitioners) find that developing a relationship with another sole practitioner (maybe in a different town or city) provides them with a feeling of camaraderie and professional friendship that is usually missing – by the very definition of sole practitioner.

By revealing your goals to a like-minded third party within your profession, you will be able to become each others’ confidant and even coach – it’s a lot like going to the gym with a ‘buddy’ who ‘spots’ you, and encourages you to go farther that you ever thought possible simply by making you do that extra one rep.

Successes and failures can be shared, fears and aspirations too, and before long, you’ll develop a wonderful relationship that will help you achieve most, if not all, of your goals.

If your firm’s goal is growth by acquisition, you can catch Steve McIntyre-Smith’s next presentation, entitled ‘Purchase of an Accounting Practice in the Current Environment’ on Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at the North York District Chartered Accountants Association meeting at Ramada Plaza Hotel –185 Yorkland Blvd. (Sheppard & Don Valley Parkway) – tickets available from Linda Kalda-Sikes, Braithwaite Innes, Chartered Accountants, 200 Consumers Road, Suite 305, Toronto, ON M2J 4R4. Tel 416-590-1728.

© 2004, MFA Group Inc