By: Michael Miller, State Director, Smart Choice®
The key is adaptability.
If you’re like many of my agents, you may feel like it’s futile to set goals for 2025. We’re still in the midst of a hard market for personal lines, and the country faces the transition to a new presidential administration. The economy remains difficult for many Americans. On top of this, the unpredictability of natural disasters, the threat of cybersecurity breaches, and it is easy to feel like planning goals for your agency is pointless.
I’m here to challenge that line of thinking.
Why Goal Planning in 2025 Still Matters
Goals and plans are the magic keys to success and happiness. Just 3 percent of businesspeople have written goals and constructed plans to achieve them. Ten percent have goals but never write them down. However, a whopping 87 percent of professionals drift through their careers without goals.
Not surprisingly, it’s the top 3 percent with goals and a plan who accomplish 50 to 90 percent more throughout their careers than professionals without goals.
Of course, these professionals faced years with significant headwinds, as we do now. But in the end, those who had goals and plans to accomplish them were more successful than the other 87 percent. Which camp do you want you and your agency to be in?
Four Keys of Effective Goal Planning in Uncertain Times
An effective goal-setting plan has four crucial elements. When one is missing, the entire plan is at risk of failing.
- Direction. Set your sights on a worthwhile goal and build your plan in that direction.
- Balance. Keep your goals realistic and attainable to prevent burnout and frustration.
- Belief. The greater your belief in yourself, the greater your degree of success.
- Adaptability. If your goal is worthwhile, develop a plan A and a plan B (and possibly a plan C) for achieving it.
In uncertain times, adaptability is crucial for the success of your agency. If you plan to increase your agency’s revenue by 15 percent in 2025, for example, your plan to achieve that goal should include at least three different pathways to success. That way, you can change your strategy if the personal lines market doesn’t open up or if the economy takes a tumble.
Getting Started on Your Goals
Setting and achieving goals requires effort, know-how, and perseverance. Those are the reasons many professionals don’t attempt to goal plan in the first place. They may feel it’s too much trouble, or that they do not know how to get started. They may not have faith in themselves or in the goals or plan they have put together. Or, they become frustrated and give up because they did not experience immediate success.
If you are ready to commit to your success, start with the heart of your goal setting efforts: the plan of action.
Your very first task is to develop a blueprint for success. Without it, confusion and frustration will reign. Your plan of action should include detailed goals and a commitment to attaining them.
Your Blueprint for Success
To complete your blueprint for success, write detailed descriptions of what you want to achieve. Take a look at your past performance over the last one to three years and decide which areas you would like to improve. Maybe you want to increase your policies in force next year by 30 percent or add five new carrier relationships to your offerings.
Now, build a monthly calendar of the benchmark goals you’ll complete toward your larger goal. Estimate the time it will take you to complete each benchmark. Make a list of the resources you’ll need to check them off your list.
From there, break your monthly goals into weekly tasks. Add these tasks to your weekly calendar. Get very specific with your planning process. Block out time on your weekly schedule and gather the resources you listed in your monthly calendar so you have everything you need to accomplish your tasks.
It’s now time for the final and most important step in effective goal planning: implementation.
Take the list of the top ten priorities from your weekly planner and divide them by day. Set aside some time every morning to review your daily tasks. List the top priority items for the day. Be very specific: include every detail you’ll need to complete each task. Check off tasks from your daily activity planner as you accomplish them. Keep a record of your accomplishments so you can review them at the end of the week or month and see your progress.
Take your detailed daily activity planner with you everywhere. If you keep your goals with you each day, it is much more likely they will become a reality. You may also find it helpful to create a visualization board for your office to look at several times a day and keep your goals top-of-mind.
Goal planning that actually works requires time, effort, and commitment. But it also pays big dividends if you persevere. Be honest with yourself, dare to think big, believe in your plan, and take action.