Informed i’s Weekly Business Insights
Extractive summaries and key takeaways from the articles carefully curated from TOP TEN BUSINESS MAGAZINES to promote informed business decision-making | Since 2017 | Week 434, covering January 02-08, 2026. | Archive
What 40 Years of Leadership Taught Me About Setting Goals That Deliver Results
By Ray Titus | Edited by Maria Bailey | Entrepreneur | January 10, 2026
3 key takeaways from the article
- The author believes setting goals should be as automatic in the new year as turning the page on a calendar, yet he is always surprised by how many CEOs don’t do it at all. Goals are the roadmap for a company’s journey, and without one, it’s hard to understand how leaders expect to arrive anywhere meaningful. In his experience, leaders who avoid goal setting usually fall into one of two camps: they don’t have a clear process, or they feel paralyzed by economic uncertainty. But difficult conditions make direction more important, not less. When the seas are rough, you don’t abandon the map — you rely on it.
- Goal setting isn’t static. Even with a strategy in place, business today requires constant adjustment. Involve the entire organization. And measure what moves the goal.
- This is how businesses win — not by fixating on an end-of-year number, but by executing the right actions every day. Just as a basketball team wins one basket at a time, companies grow one call, one meeting and one decision at a time.
(Copyright lies with the publisher)
Topics: Planning, Strategy
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The author believes setting goals should be as automatic in the new year as turning the page on a calendar, yet he is always surprised by how many CEOs don’t do it at all. Goals are the roadmap for a company’s journey, and without one, it’s hard to understand how leaders expect to arrive anywhere meaningful. In his experience, leaders who avoid goal setting usually fall into one of two camps: they don’t have a clear process, or they feel paralyzed by economic uncertainty. But difficult conditions make direction more important, not less. When the seas are rough, you don’t abandon the map — you rely on it.
Goal setting 101. Goal setting isn’t static. Even with a strategy in place, business today requires constant adjustment. What some call herding cats, the author simply call a normal Tuesday. His approach is straightforward: we maintain a one-year plan and a three-year plan, both revisited midway through the year to assess what’s working and what needs recalibration. Each plan includes no more than three primary goals. Fewer than three lacks focus; more than three turns strategy into a cluttered to-do list. Those goals must be challenging, specific and measurable.
Involve the entire organization. Even after four decades in business, we continue to involve everyone in the goal-setting process. We survey teams across our franchise brands, gather ideas and vote on the most critical priorities. Inspiration can come from anywhere, and engagement creates ownership. Each brand also defines success differently. A mature signage brand may focus on increasing average unit volume or expanding the number of million-dollar locations. A newer franchise may prioritize entirely different benchmarks. The key is alignment around goals that actually reflect where the business is today.
Measure what moves the goal. Setting goals isn’t enough — you must decide how you’ll measure progress. The author call these lead measures: the specific actions that drive results. Every goal should have two or three lead measures attached to it. If your goal is to double revenue, what daily or weekly sales activity will get you there? If you want to launch a new product every quarter, what milestones and deadlines must be met along the way? Big outcomes are built from consistent, repeatable actions.
This is how businesses win — not by fixating on an end-of-year number, but by executing the right actions every day. Just as a basketball team wins one basket at a time, companies grow one call, one meeting and one decision at a time.
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