If you work in business — whether that’s as an employee for a corporation or the founder of your own entrepreneurial venture — you know the importance of setting goals and reaching them. Unfortunately, this is often easier said than done and business goals can often turn out to be more complex than you initially thought.
Thankfully, there are some novel ways to make achieving your business goals achievable — even if they may seem a little contradictory at first glance. Here are seven counterintuitive tips for crushing your business goals.
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#1. Get an Advanced Business Degree
For those already working in a business role, going back to school to get another degree may seem unnecessary on the surface. However, obtaining a Master of Business Administration (MBA) actually has the power to help you take your business career to the next level and be more capable of pulverizing your business goals. In addition, many institutions now offer MBA programs online, making it easier than ever to earn an advanced business degree while working full-time.
While there are many reasons to start pursuing your online MBA, building a strong network and gaining a stronger command of business principles and practices are among the most important ones. When it comes to achieving your business goals, it’ll be close to impossible to do everything on your own. Participating in an MBA program allows you the opportunity to make deep networking connections with others who will likely go on to be in positions to help you and your business ventures in a myriad of profound and impactful ways.
#2. Welcome Failure
If you’re here to find some tips on how to crush your business goals, you may think welcoming failure seems like some pretty unreasonable advice. But despite how it may seem at first glance, looking forward to failure is a surprisingly effective way to make you more capable of reaching your business goals. This is because every time that you fail, you have the opportunity to learn from your mistakes and grow as a business person.
The world of business can be vast and complex, and being successful in every area isn’t going to be easy without first gaining some experience. By making mistakes and making a concerted effort to learn and grow from them, you’ll become far more capable of avoiding some disastrous pitfalls and crushing your business goals.
#3. Find the Right People to Help You
Sometimes, those in business — especially entrepreneurs — can have a tendency to feel like they are the only ones responsible for achieving their business goals. While your personal actions as an individual can obviously have a pretty significant impact on your ability to reach your business goals, going at it alone can only get you so far — especially when it comes to achieving large-scale business goals. This being the case, though it may seem a little odd to depend on others to help you reach your goals, choosing the right people to help you can make a world of difference.
Everyone — yourself included — has their own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to business. If you have a list of worthwhile business goals, chances are there are some goals on that list that’ll fall into the category of your weaknesses. By crafting a team that has strengths in the areas your weakest, you’ll find that your business goals will become more attainable and easier to accomplish.
#4. Focus On Your Well-Being
Many business professionals and entrepreneurs have a strong sense of drive and motivation, which can be a huge asset in terms of pushing through and getting things done. However, while working long hours and expending an enormous amount of energy to reach your goals may seem like a great idea on paper, it can actually cause you to become less capable of actually achieving what you set out to accomplish. If you’re consistently burning yourself out, you’ll find that it’s hard to reach a state where you feel like you’re on your a-game.
To ensure that you’re never hampering your ability to reach your business goals, it’s important to focus on your well-being. The more you take care of yourself, the better you’ll feel and the clearer your mind will be. When you feel like your mind is sharp and your body is energized, you’ll become far more capable of acting in ways that get you closer to achieving your goals. So while it may not seem like a priority, taking care of yourself and focusing on your well-being will actually make you more capable of obliterating your business goals.
#5. Try to Reduce Unnecessary Spending
When it comes to achieving lofty business goals, it can sometimes be tempting to throw the kitchen sink at challenges and hope that everything works out. While there will come times when spending large sums of money will turn out to be a great business decision, it’s important to be cautious and not waste any money that you don’t have to.
Whether you’re a CEO cutting back on office parties or a student entrepreneur figuring out how to reduce the cost of college, cultivating a habit of reducing unnecessary spending will make you more capable of reaching your business goals. The more spending you’re able to cut back on, the bigger the funds will be that you can use to make necessary business decisions. As such, reducing as much unnecessary spending as possible can make you far more capable of reaching all of the business goals on your list.
#6. Take Breaks from Your Goals
You’re probably thinking this one is really far-fetched. Though it definitely sounds counterintuitive, taking breaks from going after your goals can actually give you more clarity around how to realistically achieve your business visions. No matter who you are, whether you were working on an essay, a song, or a piece of art, you’ve likely experienced a point at which you’re no longer sure if what you’re doing is good work or not. Unfortunately, this same phenomenon can occur during your attempts to achieve your business goals.
By taking periodic steps away from working towards your business goals, you’ll be able to return to them with a heightened sense of clarity and motivation. So while it may seem counterintuitive, taking breaks from your business goals can actually help you become more competent when it comes to achieving them.
#7. Make Obstacles Your Friend
No matter what your business goals are, there will come a time when obstacles arise between you and your goals. While these unforeseen challenges can cause some people to become dismayed and less motivated, making obstacles your friend will make you a more capable and resilient business professional.
Obstacles can come in all shapes and sizes. Some will be minor and easy to overcome while others may be more complex and require more effort to solve. By making a game out of the act of overcoming obstacles that arise between you and your goals and actually looking forward to the challenge, you’ll become a more motivated decision-maker and will find that reaching difficult business goals becomes an enjoyable pastime.
The Right Answers Aren’t Always Obvious
Though some of these tips may not initially seem like the most obvious ways to improve your business efforts, they can make you a more powerful achiever when utilized. By taking advantage of these simple, albeit unusual, tips, you’ll become more capable of crushing your business goals and taking your career to heights beyond what you thought possible.
