How do you review and adjust your business objectives based on feedback, data, and changing circumstances?

1 Collect feedback

Feedback is the information you receive from your customers, employees, suppliers, partners, and other stakeholders about your products, services, processes, and performance. Feedback can be positive or negative, formal or informal, quantitative or qualitative. You should collect feedback regularly and systematically, using various methods such as surveys, interviews, reviews, ratings, comments, complaints, suggestions, testimonials, etc. Feedback can help you identify what is working well, what needs improvement, and what opportunities or threats exist in your market.

2 Analyze data

Data is the facts and figures that you collect, store, and process about your business activities and outcomes. Data can be financial, operational, marketing, sales, customer, employee, or any other relevant metrics. You should analyze data regularly and systematically, using various tools such as dashboards, reports, charts, graphs, tables, etc. Data can help you measure your progress, compare your results, identify trends and patterns, and evaluate your performance against your objectives and benchmarks.

3 Monitor changes

Changes are the events and situations that affect your business environment and conditions. Changes can be internal or external, planned or unplanned, positive or negative. You should monitor changes regularly and systematically, using various sources such as news, research, reports, alerts, feedback, data, etc. Changes can help you anticipate and respond to opportunities and threats, adapt and innovate, and stay relevant and competitive.

4 Review objectives

Objectives are the specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound statements that define what you want to accomplish as a business. You should review your objectives regularly and systematically, using various criteria such as relevance, feasibility, alignment, clarity, etc. Reviewing your objectives can help you assess whether they are still valid, realistic, consistent, and clear, or whether they need to be modified or replaced.

5 Adjust objectives

Adjusting your objectives means making changes to your goals and targets based on the feedback, data, and changes that you have collected, analyzed, and monitored. You should adjust your objectives regularly and systematically, using various methods such as revising, adding, removing, splitting, combining, etc. Adjusting your objectives can help you improve your performance, optimize your resources, and motivate your team.

6 Communicate objectives

Communicating your objectives means sharing your goals and targets with your stakeholders, especially your employees and customers. You should communicate your objectives regularly and systematically, using various channels such as meetings, emails, newsletters, websites, social media, etc. Communicating your objectives can help you increase your visibility, credibility, and accountability, as well as gain support, feedback, and loyalty from your stakeholders.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?