#4 Actional Goals....What are they?

Good Morning Planners,
        Today i want to discuss Actional Goals.  You may not have ever heard of this term before, and neither had i before i started looking for topics for this months blog posts.  I want to let you know how i am going to be using Actional goals in 2015, and what some strategies are that might help you to start using actional goals as well.  so the big question is.......

WHAT IS AN ACTIONAL GOAL?  But before that we need to talk about ACTION PLANS!

This week there is no fancy printable.  I want you as a business owner, blogger, or person who might be interested in one of the above or all of the above to get down to the nitty gritty.  Break out a  college ruled notebook that you bought for $.25 at WalMart, or even a notebook that you have been saving for a special occasion, and get planning!  If you plan on starting a business or a blog i would recommend having a larger notebook with many pages (3-5 subject) so that you can keep all of your ideas in one place instead of  running around like a chicken with its head cut off looking for your next steps in your goals.  Now to the good stuff.... An Action Plan is a document that lists the steps that must be taken in order to achieve a specific goal.  The purpose of an action plan is to clarify what resources are required to reach the goal or goals, formulate a timeline for when specific tasks need to be completed, and determine what resources are required for each specific goal.

DEVELOPING ACTIONAL GOALS
At this point you might be asking yourself why i am blogging about such a heavy subject, and what you can even gain from continuing to read this post.  I'll let you in on a little secret.  It may be a heavy subject, but it works! Even after just starting to read about Actional Goals i have started to implement, or didn't even realize that i was already implementing a crucial part of goal setting.  By this point in the planning process your planning may seem arduous.  Actional goal planning is more strategic compared to the earlier more creative phases of planning, and can often be discarded.  People or organizations complete action plans to reach each specific goal.  Creating actional goals also includes providing numerous methods for verifying and evaluating the actual extent of accomplishment of the action plan.
1. Action plans specify the actions needed to address each of the top issues, to reach each of the associated goals, who will complete each action, and according to what timeline.
2. Develop an overall top level action plan that depicts how each strategic goal will be reached.
3. The format of actional goals depends on the nature, and needs of the organization or person involved.  If you are a big business or organization you may need many people executing many different goals.  If you are a small business or sole proprietor than it may just be you, or you and a couple volunteers or coworkers working on these goals.  When making these goals you should specify:
       A. Goals to be accomplished.
       B. How each goal contributes to the overall strategic goals.
       C. What specific results or objectives must be accomplished to reach the actional goal.
       D. How those results will be achieved.
       E. When the results will be achieved.

DEVELOPING OBJECTIVES
1. Objectives are specific, measurable results produced while implementing action plans.
2. Integrate your current years objectives as performance criteria.
3. Remember that objectives, and their timelines are only guidelines not rules.  These objectives can be deviated from, but should be understood, and explained.

As i said previously i never even realized that i had been doing this type of planning all along.  Here is an example of how i might go about creating a actional goal.  (The table below is better viewed on a tablet or PC!)

Strategic Goal                    Strategy                      Objectives                 Responsibility             Timeline
Get blog readers                           Create blog series                      Reach 100 views                    Emily or James                      Each month
                                                      Post consistently                                                                      guest bloggers                       give self time to find theme


Once you have a table like the one i created above to make your goals visible, actional goals are a synch!  Be sure to check out Ladreena's Blog to see what she has to share about Actional goals, and how she implements her goals throughout the year.  If you find actional goals useful be sure to tag @Createyou86, and #CY86JANCOLLAB so we can see, and like your photos! Also be sure to leave us some comments below to let us know how you are enjoying this series.