Focus and clarity in 90 day goal planning for your tourism business

As October begins and we harvest the learnings from the Summer, we enter the final 90-day goal planning period of the year. 90-day goal planning aids us in ending this year strong in order to start the next year with intention and purpose. Goal setting is one of those areas that we all know we need to invest time and energy in but often find it very difficult to give it the attention that it needs. Goals require discipline and clarity. Anchor the dreams and vision of your tourism business through setting specific targets or outcomes that are measurable, realistic, achievable and time-bound.

 

The Value of Clarity in Goal Setting

When I think back on our Huddles and on other conversations I’ve had over the last few years with private coaching clients, there’s a really noticeable difference in the language and outlook of people who are successful in goal-setting and execution and those who are not there just yet.

 

Feelings of focus, direction, resolve, freedom, motivation and confidence

People who set and follow through on goals speak about having focus and direction. They speak about having the resolve required to make decisions and to remain resolute in seeing those decisions through, even if they are hard and unpopular. They express feelings of freedom and motivation because they know all their actions and activities are leading them to where they want to go. In other words, their goals are feeding their vision for themselves and their business. Because they are clear on their vision, they set effective goals which in turn grows their confidence and momentum.

 

Feelings of frustration, exhaustion, busyness and annoyance

On the other hand, those that haven’t really mastered or perhaps haven’t prioritized goal-setting and goal-execution speak more often about having a sense of frustration, even exhaustion. They speak about being the hamster on the wheel, the person on the merry-go-round, the proverbial ‘busy fool’. They feel annoyed with themselves, knowing there’s another way to manage themselves and their business, but not taking the time to step back for long-enough to get clear on their vision and to build goals that help them achieve that vision.

 

In the midst of all else you have to do, what’s the value of spending time on setting goals? Well, when you have clarity, true clarity, on where exactly you want to get to, you can figure out an effective roadmap to get you there. Getting yourself clear on a positive future and purpose for your tourism business allows you to make better decisions and to focus on the things that really matter to you. It allows you to avoid getting distracted by things that don’t - you will be surprised at how easily you can eliminate things that don’t serve you and move towards those things that do.  A clear vision puts you back in the driving seat. Think of your grand vision and then put that into a 90 day context.

 

90-Day Goal Planning

Setting goals and keeping a focus on them is a particularly useful thing to do in times of uncertainty and change. They provide an anchor and steadying force and help you identify what things are under your control. Set good, SMART goals that work for you. Break them down into actions. Create a culture of achievement and accountability.

 

Why 90 Days?

90 days is a good timeframe because it corresponds with the traditional Business Quarter. It’s not too small to get real things done but not too big that you lose the ability to adjust to changing circumstances, challenges or opportunities. It’s also great for tourism because it is a seasonal industry with sharp changes in priority from one season or roughly every 90 days. To aid in your 90-day goal setting process, we have created a Writing, Actioning and Revising Guide which you can access here.

 

Download your guide to Writing, Actioning and Revising Goals here

 

Setting your goals

Here are 3 questions that are particularly appropriate journaling questions for this time of year. They may help you take a little time to reflect and become aware of what the year so far has taught you about your own discipline relating to goals.

 

1. What were your Top 3 goals for this year?

With only a few months left in the year, take time to think about how you tracked against the goals you might have set a year ago. Did you have a Top 3? Have you achieved them? If not, is there anything you can do to bring them home before the sun sets on the year? What did you learn from the process, whether you achieved the goals or you didn’t?

 

2. What have your Top 3 achievements been so far in 2022 that you didn’t necessarily anticipate you’d have to achieve?

Take time to think about what your achievements were, even if you had no desire to achieve them this time last year. When curve balls came thick and fast, grow your own awareness of what you did to deal with them and how you yourself may have grown in the process.

 

3. What did you learn about yourself this year that you can consciously bring forward to next year?

When we are stretched way out of our comfort zone and are diverted from the route we had mapped out for ourselves, we are led to discover abilities, skills, strengths and reserves of talent that we may not have even known we had. In what ways did you rise to unexpected challenges? In what ways did you surprise yourself by the quality of your reaction or the effectiveness of your leadership? What can you clap yourself on the back for and bring forward with pride and confidence to next year?

 

The very least any of us owe ourselves is to give ourselves every chance of success when it comes to achieving our goals.

 

I say that because I know there is no fun at all in going through life feeling frustrated with yourself, feeling annoyed with yourself, feeling like you are underachieving and feeling disappointment in yourself, looking like you’re doing ok but not really feeling satisfaction with what you have achieved so far. We all deserve better than that. If you would like more tips on how to effectively set goals, you can check out a previous article of mine 'How to give your goals every chance of success' here. 

There is such benefit in working consciously to retain clarity on goals and working equally consciously on cultivating the conditions and inner belief system that allows you achieve them. Take some time to write down your answers to the 3 questions above. You may be surprised at what you learn about yourself.

 

Tina O'Dwyer

Tina is a Certified High Performance Coach specialising in tourism. She has extensive experience in sustainable tourism, regenerative tourism, food tourism, networks, clusters and collaborations. To avail of any of our coaching services you can contact us at [email protected] or you can book a 15-Minute Focus Call with Tina here. To gain extra clarity for you business, you can also sign up to the 5-Step Clarity Course here.