Wildly Important Goals

Do you ever get the feeling that the more your agency tries to do, the less you actually accomplish? As 2022 gets off to a quick start, you may begin to think about goals for your agency and your clients. Does your agency set yearly goals? How many? Has your agency been able to consistently achieve its goals with excellence? When it comes to goal setting, you need to stay focused on what really matters. Franklin Covey reports that the probability of achieving goals with excellence drops quickly as you add goals, from 80 percent for one goal, to 33 percent for five goals.

The idea of Wildly Important Goals (WIGS), developed by the Franklin Covey organization, suggests that the more an organization narrows its focus, the greater are its chances of achieving the goals it sets with excellence. The idea behind focusing on only a few wildly important goals is the underlying principle that human beings are wired to do only one thing at a time. We may think we are terrific multi-taskers, but the truth is that, as we focus on multiple goals, we lessen the probability of achieving each goal, or achieving it at a high level of quality.

When you focus on one wildly important goal, it’s like punching one finger through a sheet of paper, or focusing the sun’s rays with a magnifying glass to set fire to paper in mere seconds. Think of a team of people playing tug of war—everyone on the team is singularly focused on pulling that rope with all of their strength. Concentrating on only a few goals with laser-like precision can be extremely powerful and effective. Imagine harnessing the entire collective energy of your team on just one, two or three challenges. You’ll be amazed by what you can accomplish.

“Sometimes, choosing your WIG is about more than selecting the aspect of your business where the greatest results are desired; it’s about a WIG so fundamental to the heart of your mission that achieving it defines your existence as an organization.”

Chris McChesney, The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals

What are your WIGs?

While many of your work goals are important, only a few will qualify as wildly important. A wildly important goal carries serious consequences. If you want to drive business success, ask yourself this question: What are the three things that, if not done well, will mean that your agency will have failed?

To find out what your agency’s wildly important goals should be, you’ll need to determine goals supporting your strategic and economic priorities. Wildly important goals support your agency’s mission, leverage core competencies, increase competitive advantage and increase market strength. They also increase customer loyalty and favorably impact business partners and investors, as well as promote revenue growth, reduce costs and increase cash flow and profitability.

Maybe one of your WIGS is to increase annual revenue by ten percent by December 31^st, or to land two new business clients each quarter. Another WIG might be to retain X percentage of employees in the coming year, or to become more efficient and increase productivity X amount in 2018. Your goals set forth exactly what you want your team working on as their top priorities. Pick what’s important and reach high! 

Wildly important goals bring the greatest payback.

To ensure that you are choosing the right goals, involve agency employees in helping determine what will have the most impact. Involving your team increases buy-in, ensuring participation and commitment.

Once you have identified your WIGS, you’ll need to communicate them. For agencies specializing in communications, this should come naturally! Your agency will need to work together to achieve its goals. Everyone in your agency must be aware of what the agency’s WIGs are, how they are being measured, and how each individual’s specific role impacts each WIG.  To really make an impact, break agency WIGs into employee-specific WIGs—what each employee needs to do to help the agency reach its goals.

Stay focused, prioritize your goals, and go out and achieve them.

Do your clients have WIGS?

After going through the process of clearly identifying your agency’s WIGS, take a look at your clients. Have they determined their WIGS? Have they communicated their WIGS with you? As their strategic business partner, your agency could have a discussion with each client defining their wildly important goals, how they will be measured, and where your agency fits in, so that you can both be more successful.

Read the book: The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals, by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey and Jim Huling, Franklin Covey Co.