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Setting goals can be difficult and even controversial.
Most of us live busy lives, and it’s easy to get caught up in that busyness and think, “I just don’t have time to set goals.”
Part of the reason people don’t set goals is because goal-setting can seem like a big, overwhelming project.
To be candid, setting goals is a big project, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
As with every big project, if you have a process that breaks it down into smaller steps which you can do over several weeks, it can make the whole process much easier, even fun. 😮
Take a walk with me…
Imagine you and I decide to go for a hike together and we come face to face with a 100 foot cliff. I don’t know about you, but I am not a rock climber, so there is no way I can go straight up the cliff to get to the top.
But suppose I’ve done this hike many times before and I know right around the corner is a series of switch-backs with a relatively slight incline. We can take those switch-backs and walk to the top of the cliff . What seemed at first like an overwhelming and even impossible task, turns out to be relatively easy when we know the easy path.
In this article I’m going to share with you, the step-by-step strategic planning process we use here at OurChurch.Com each year to set the 4 types of goals we discussed earlier.
Here’s an inside look…
7-Step Strategic Planning Process
1) Remember who we are, where we’re going
We always start our strategic planning process with prayer. We follow that with reviewing our organization’s vision, mission and values. We read them out loud. This reminds of who we are and where we are going.
2) Determine where we are now
To make any journey successful, you have to know both your starting point and your destination. To evaluate where we are now, we do three things:
3) Determine objectives
The first type of goals we set are objectives. These are general goals like increase SEO clients or improve hosting support. A church’s objectives might be to reach out to more people in the community or improve discipleship and spiritual growth. We take 3 “sub-steps” when setting objectives.
4) Determine projects and processes
Objectives are the “what” of goal setting. Once we know what we’re going to do, the next step is to determine how we are going to do it. This is where we figure out our project and process goals. We use a very similar process for projects and processes as we do with objectives with one extra step.
5) Schedule projects
Now that we’ve determined the priorities of all the projects and processes, we put those projects and processes into a schedule. Usually I do this, putting together a proposed schedule for the rest of the leadership team to review and provide feedback before its finalized. The schedule is going to depend on who is doing the work, how many hours it’s going to take, and how many hours a week they have to put towards strategic planning projects. This helps us set deadlines.
We also have to factor communications into our schedule. If we’re launching a new or improved service, how are we going to communicate that and over what period of time? If we are trying to help our clients accomplish something, like increase the percentage of clients who secure their site with an SSL certificate, are we going to raise awareness by doing a blog series or theme month on that?
Churches have to consider similar things when scheduling. There’s the availability of staff and volunteers, as well as factoring in seasons when people are more receptive to visiting a new church, starting a bible study, or volunteering to help those in need.
6) Set numerical goals
As I’ve said before, setting numerical goals is a controversial subject within churches, because ultimately we believe the outcome is up to the Lord. Here at OurChurch.Com we also believe our outcomes are dependent on God as well. However, we also set numerical goals to help us measure how well we are accomplishing our objectives.
7) Stay on track, make course corrections
One thing I can guarantee – if you set goals at the beginning of the year, put them in a folder, and don’t take them out until the end of the year, you will not accomplish many of those goals.
We review our project schedule every week during staff meetings to make sure everyone knows the projects and processes they should be working on and when they are due. We also do a quarterly review of our strategic plan to see if we need to make any adjustment to the schedule.
So, there you have it – that’s how we scale that 100 foot cliff of goal-setting. Not by trying to go straight up the rock face in one shot, but rather step-by-step, usually over the course of a month.
Get Started!
If you are reading this and thinking to yourself, “It’s mid-January (or later) and we haven’t even started talking about goals. Maybe we can try this next year,” don’t get put off by the calendar. It’s better to put together goals and a plan that will guide you through the last 10 months of the year, than to do the rest of this year without goals and a plan.
Bottom line…
It is more important to know where you are going than to get there quickly. Do not mistake activity for achievement. -Mabel Newcomber
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Once you’ve set your goals, if a new website, a DIY website builder or better search rankings can help you achieve them, we’d love to help you with that.
Post and comment and discuss… What’s your biggest take-away from this article?
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