How to Set Goals for Your Ranch

Question of the Week: What’s one thing that never seems to go right each year?

Is there ever one thing that just never seems to go right for you and your cattle operation? Maybe it is stressful working days? Or, is it cattle marketing and business management related? 

Whatever it is, recognize it is an area of improvement, visualize how you want it to work, brainstorm ways to get there and make an action plan to start making changes.

'Tis the season for New Year’s Resolutions and reflecting on the past 12 months. Personally, I’m not one for New Year’s Resolutions. Why should a calendar decide when we start making changes? However, because it is fresh on many of our minds, I do want to bring attention to the importance of setting goals for your cattle operation and a few ways to go about the goal setting process that will keep you on track throughout the year. 

The differences between goals and success are the actions that happen in between. Without action a goal is simply a wish. Setting goals for your cattle operation can aid in decision-making and increase your confidence as you go about day-to-day operations too. They are a key component of keeping your operation on track to be profitable, just like any other business. 

I have yet to find one type of goal setting method that fits every person and purpose, but there are commonalities between various formats that are important to include in your goal setting process. The three main components to include in your goal setting processing are to make sure your goals are specific, measurable and include a deadline. An example of an undefined goal that is hard to measure and has not timeline would be, we want to make more money. An example of a specific and measurable goal with a timeline is we want to reduce input costs by 2% without sacrificing animal health and calf performance at weaning. 

I’ve found 3 different goal setting methods that always rise to the top in terms of effectiveness for my personal, ranch and business goals. These methods include SMART goals, OKRs and simply asking myself what I want life to look like 1, 3, 5 and 10 years from now. SMART goals ensure you are creating specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely goals. OKR stands for objective and key result. You set one objective for your ranch, identify 4 key results/events that show you are making progress toward your objective because they happened and finally you set 3 to 4 action steps to help you attain your key results. The simple where do I want to be 1, 3, 5 and 10 years from now goals are nice if you are a visionary and in a reflective space. They allow you to think about what you want life and business to look like, feel the energy that comes from just thinking about it and then work backwards to determine what steps you need to take to create the future you want. You can also use this method for 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, or whatever timeline you prefer. 

If you are reading this and thinking you don’t have time to sit down and make goals or aren’t sure where to start, trust me when I say I’ve been there. I’ve found that I waste more time avoiding goal setting and reflecting on the wins and losses of the past few months than it takes to do the work.

If you are new to the goal setting process, start by setting a timer for 15 minutes. During these 15 minutes, write down what went well in the past year along with what did not go well. I’d encourage you to do this with your whole team and family. As you look at this list, how many times do the wins and losses happen repeatedly? Are they recurring problems or did something change in the past year to impact the results you got?

Once you’ve gone through this 15-minute brainstorm, decide on 1-3 areas you want to focus on and pick one of the goal setting methods above to start outlining. 

Setting goals and sticking with them are two different stories. A few strategies I use to stick with my goals include keeping sticky notes on my desks and mirrors to serve as reminders. I also set daily reminders on my phone to keep me on track. Telling a family member, neighbor or friend also serves to make sure someone holds you accountable for your actions. 

I’d encourage you to either make time now or set a reminder on your phone to start working through what changes you want to make and what goals you will set to start living your ideal life today. It only takes a few minutes and can completely change the outcome of the coming months and years.