Reflecting at Year-End: A Business Coach Insight
As the year comes to an end, it’s a good opportunity to think on the goals you set for yourself in January.
How are they?
Did you reach your goals?
Or do you still have goals that you are working on?
It’s important to think on both the positive and bad things that have happened to you over time.
Team Reflections and What Worked
Did you and your team make any goals for the year as a group?
And, even more crucially, whose acts or plans really worked?
Taking a step back and looking at how far you’ve come could be really helpful.
Looking back is equally as important as looking forward.
The last quarter isn’t simply a time to look back; it’s also a great time to make fresh plans for the next round.
KPI & OKR: Not Just Buzzwords — A Business Coach Clarifies
At meetings or on LinkedIn, people might have talked about “KPI” and “OKR.”
A lot of people think they sound like IT alphabet soup.
Don’t worry; they aren’t as hard as they look.
The important thing they both accomplish is help you set, measure, and keep track of your goals, whether they are quarterly or yearly.
What Do KPIs Mean? (Key Performance Indicators)
First, let’s talk about KPIs, which stands for Key Performance Indicators.
These are ways to measure how well a person, team, or organization is performing at reaching certain business goals.
You can use KPIs to do a lot of things, including see how well a marketing campaign worked or keep track of sales and how many people are using your product.
The most important thing is that they help you reach your goals, are easy to follow through on, and make it clear who is in charge.
KPI Example: MQL Growth Goal
For instance, think of a business that wants to obtain 30% more Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) in a year.
This is a great way to set up a KPI:
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What: Raise MQLs by 30%
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Why: More MQLs could help the company make money.
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How: By hiring more salespeople, making marketing more effective, using new tools, or making material that is more beneficial to particular types of people.
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Who: The VP of Marketing is in charge of this metric.
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When: Every three months
It’s easy, right?
That’s why KPIs are so great: they make things clear.
What Are OKRs? (Objectives and Key Results)
Objectives and Key Results, or OKRs, are a little different.
Nageshwar Shukla, an OKR coach, says that they combine big-picture aims with particular, measurable results.
Consider them to be both ambitious and doable.
OKRs usually go a little bit beyond KPIs.
They not only help teams measure their progress, but they also push them to do better.
Intel and Google made the framework popular, but now people from all kinds of occupations and fields use it, from interns to executives.
OKR Examples at Different Levels
Company OKR:
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Goal: Make more people aware of your brand
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Main Results:
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Involve the media 20% more.
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Start a campaign to persuade others to refer you by January 1.
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Use two new social media platforms now.
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Write articles for well-known industry websites that illustrate how much you know.
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Marketing Team OKR:
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Goal: Have 35% more people talk to you on social media
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The primary findings are:
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Find important areas to meet new people and make a plan.
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Talk to six people on Twitter who work in your field.
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You have three hours to reply to comments on Facebook.
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Get 20% more people to like you on social media.
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Individual OKR:
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Goal: Increase the number of people who follow me on social media by 25%
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Main Results:
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Post on Facebook and tweet more often.
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Use LinkedIn and Quora more often.
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Join big groups on LinkedIn.
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If you always post questions and answers on Quora, you might get more followers.
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Should You Use OKRs or KPIs? A Business Coach’s Perspective
A lot of people, especially firms attempting to find out which model is best for them, ask this.
The easiest method to make systems that are already in place better is to use KPIs.
It’s easier to see how things are going and make changes when they’re based on what’s really going on.
If you want to establish a major goal or go in a different direction, OKRs are ideal.
They tell people to be brave and make quick, creative decisions.
Why Performance Tracking Matters – Advice from Business Coach Nageshwar Shukla
It’s clear that if you don’t measure, you’re just guessing, no matter what method you use.
Nageshwar Shukla also believes that not going back to your goals is a waste of a great chance to learn and grow.
The lessons you learn are worth a lot, whether you attain your goals or not.
Final Thought: Review, Learn, and Plan Ahead
Take some time at the end of the year to look back, make changes, and plan for the future.
You might be surprised at how far you can get.