Tool Box
Issue No. 17 - June/July 2004
Business Pyramids
Keeping your plan alive
by Craig Stubing
What have Pyramids got to do with business?
We all know that one of the keys to business success is the ability to set clear and co-ordinated goals. Despite this many people in SMEs and elsewhere struggle with the practical application of goal setting principles.
Here are some ideas that may help you.
The Goals Pyramid
Picture a pyramid on top of which rests a single large stone block. This large stone block represents your business’s primary goal.
Every business must have a clear primary goal. This goal can be set by answering a question like “If we achieve nothing else this year, what is the one thing we must achieve?”
This may not be an easy question to answer, since it is likely to be linked to stakeholder relationships and the viability or longevity of the business, however you must give it the deep consideration it deserves.
The layer of large blocks immediately below the top block on the pyramid represents a layer of second-level goals. These are the goals whose achievement will ensure the achievement of the primary goal.
These second-level goals also need to be identified and set with great care. Depending on the substance of the second-level goals it may be necessary to set a series of supporting third-level goals, and so on.
By using the pyramid structure you can ensure that the goal setting for all of your business functions, including your sales and marketing, is aimed at supporting the achievement of the primary goal.
Results goals and Activity goals
A results goal is simply that: an expression of an end-result to be achieved, for example “Gross Sales of $x in the 2004/2005 Financial Year”.
An activity goal is an expression of activity-units to be achieved, for example “New Prospect sales calls of y in the 2004/2005 Financial Year”.
People cannot do results but they can do activities. That is why it is vital for you, when setting results goa...
