Remember those ambitious goals you set in January? Are you on track with the revenue targets, profit margins, and growth projections that seemed so achievable when you were fresh off holiday break and optimistic about the year ahead?
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: if you’re like most business owners, you’re either crushing those goals or wondering where the year went. There’s rarely a middle ground. As we explore in Episode 6 of the Profit Soup podcast, “Goals: Keeping on Track,” the easiest part of goal setting is setting the goals. The challenge lies in execution and follow-through.
The Reality Check
Six months in, it’s time for brutal honesty. External forces may have derailed your best-laid plans. Tariffs might have squeezed your gross margins. Key customers may have lost funding. Supply chain disruptions could have impacted delivery times. Interest rates may have changed your expansion timeline. These aren’t excuses—they’re facts that demand strategy adjustments.
But before you blame external factors, look inward. Are you missing targets because of controllable internal issues? Lack of systems? Wrong key performance indicators? Teams that aren’t aligned with your priorities?
The Midyear Pivot
Here’s your three-step process for the second half:
- Audit Your Goals Against Reality Pull out those January projections and review them through a new lens. Is the budget still realistic? Do parts of it need adjustment? Do your underlying assumptions still hold true? It’s not a failure to modify goals based on current information. It’s smart business. If reaching your original annual revenue target now requires impossible monthly growth, reset it to something achievable yet challenging.
- Create Your “Stop Doing” List Are activities that made sense in January now resource drains? Has the marketing strategy targeting the new customer segment proven itself unprofitable? Is that new product consuming cash without generating margin? Are you having lots of meetings that accomplish nothing? Stop doing them. Immediately.
- Recalibrate Your Monthly Targets If you’re sticking with your original annual goals but you’re behind schedule, do the math. What must happen each month to get back on track? Can your team realistically deliver? If not, you need different goals, or at least a new execution strategy that could make it work.
The Execution Fix
Missing targets often isn’t about the goals themselves, it’s about accountability systems. Are you holding regular check-ins with clear agendas? Are your KPI Dashboards serving as scorecards that your team understands and works to improve? Are your numbers accurate and timely, giving you a true measure of your financial performance? Are you coaching performance issues or just hoping they’ll resolve themselves?
Your Next Move
Block out two hours this week with your leadership team for your mid-year audit. Review your goals, assess what’s working, and identify what needs to change. Don’t wait until December to realize you’ve been chasing the wrong targets.
The year isn’t over, but it’s time to make sure you’re running toward the right finish line and not meandering around the track field. Your profits depend on it.