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Monday, July 14, 2014

Setting Business Objectives

I speak at approximately 100 events every year. At the beginning of just about every speech, I ask the participants the following question: "Before I begin my presentation, I would like to know what you would like to be able to change in your life, or business as a result of attending this session? In other words, what can I do, as a presenter, to make this time worth it for you?" At this time I actually take comments and list them on a flip chart. Once everyone is done telling me what they would like, I put this list up on a wall and use it as my class objectives. Throughout my career I've been goal oriented and managed businesses with specific objectives in mind. I believe this is the primary reason why I have been very succesful at what I do. Even now when I work with a business owner, I focus on setting goals, putting together a strategy and marching forward. From the years of 2002 through 2007 I coached my stepson's little league baseball team. at the beginning of every season, I would establish a set of objectives for the team and focus on those for each individual player. When we transitioned from playing in the 12 and under to the 13 and up league there was some significant changes in the way the game was played. For example, the length between bases went from 60 to 90 feet. The pitchers mound to homeplate went from 46 feet to 60.5 feet. Basically we were playing in a field that was as a major league baseball field. The most significant change however was that runners were now allowed to lead off bases and steal. In preparation for these changes, I spent a lot of time watching the 13 and older boys playing to get a "feel" for their strategy. I quickly realized that stealing bases would result in almost half of the runs in a game! I knew now that if I could limit the amount of runners from stealing bases, we can win more games. So my objective for the preseason was to make sure we practiced picking off runners and anyone trying to steal a base. This resulted in a lot of infield practice just doing the same things over and over again. That was the first year that we had an opportunity to make it to the state championship. We also became known as the team who wouldn't let anyone steal bases. Designing a winning strategy, setting objectives and putting in a process to make it all happen will cause any business to become a winner. It just takes a bit of planning and some practice! If you would like to have me speak to your team, help you design a winning strategy or just want to talk to me, give me a call at 888-538-5383. Best regards! Frank Besednjak