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Welcome to BK Talks Business, the podcast where we dive into the world of entrepreneurship with practical insights and actionable tips. I'm BK, your host, a project and operations management professional, and I am thrilled to have you join me. Over the next 30 days, we'll be delving into 30 systems in 30 days. Each episode of this series is designed to be short, sweet and power-packed with valuable information geared at helping you get your business to run like a well-oiled machine, and at the end of 30 days, you will have a pretty good list of the systems in your business that, if optimized, can take you to the next level by being more efficient. Let's get started. Hey there, friend, welcome back to another episode. Today is a special one. This episode features two systems that we will be adding to our system list, which is goal setting and tracking for business success, and your business internal communication system. So let's jump in to the first one goal setting and tracking.

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I'm sure you've heard of SMART goals, s-m-a-r-t, and, yes, who doesn't like a simple framework to work from? It's easy to understand, it's easy to implement, and I actually think there are limitations to the SMART goals that I can't really overlook when I'm planning. I just need another level of detail and specificity when I'm setting goals, and I'm sure you have your own way of setting your goals and keeping track of their progress. But whatever your method of goal setting, there are fundamental things that should be in place in order to set them effectively them effectively. The bottom line is, when setting goals for your business, make sure they are clear, quantifiable, realistic, and that they are aligned with your vision and have a deadline for completion. One effective technique is to break down larger goals into smaller, manageable tasks, and this makes them less overwhelming and allows you to track progress more effectively. This would be perfect to add to your project management tool to organize, prioritize and delegate tasks related to each goal.

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Another thing to be mindful of and have as part of your system is a regular review and adjustment of your goals. As needed. It can be scheduled weekly, monthly and quarterly. You know things are constantly and consistently evolving and changing, so it's important to keep going back to your goals and to stay flexible and adapt your goals accordingly. Set aside time periodically to assess your progress, to celebrate what you have achieved and to make any necessary course corrections. You might also want to involve your team in the goal setting process, because when employees have a stake in the company's goals, they're more motivated to contribute to their best efforts towards achieving them. So fostering a culture of collaboration and accountability where everyone is aligned towards a common vision could be just the thing you're looking for to take your goal setting system to another level.

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So implementing a robust goal setting and a tracking system starts with defining your business objectives right. Take the time to clarify what your long-term vision is and break it down into specific, actionable goals that align with your mission and values. Next, establish and be clear on the key performance indicators, your KPIs. You want to measure progress towards each goal. These metrics provide the objective feedback for your performance and your team's performance and help you stay on track. You want to choose KPIs that are relevant to your business objectives and that track them on a regular basis so that you can gauge how you are doing and how you can improve, if that's what the metrics are telling you. Once your goals and KPIs are in place, let your team know what they are. So tell them, make them plain and clear to your team, make sure everyone understands their role in achieving these goals, and provide the necessary resources and support to help them succeed. You want a culture of accountability, where team members are empowered to take ownership of their tasks and to contribute to the common goals. Lastly, leverage technology to streamline this goal tracking process. There are so many tools and software solutions available out there that can help you to monitor your progress, to track your KPIs, to visualize your data, find the right tools that suit your business needs and integrate them into your workflow for maximum efficiency. Implementing a goal setting and tracking system will provide you and your team with the clarity and the focus that will guide your effort and put your energy towards meaningful tasks and objectives. It will also enhance the accountability and the motivation as you progress towards the goals and as you're monitoring and seeing that you are actually making progress towards your goals.

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All right, let's move on to our next system, which is your internal communication system. So I don't think there's anything that causes more headaches in a business than a bad communication system. You know, when you have things being communicated via email and then by text and then by phone call. Everything is everywhere and lots of information gets lost along the way. So let's kick things off with our first step establishing clear communication channels. Define how information flows within your business. Make sure that every team member knows where to find important information, updates, where to share ideas and how to communicate with colleagues. This is the clarity that is so important, because it builds this culture and the practice of transparency. It reduces misunderstandings and it just generally makes for easy communication flow among the team. So let's explore some considerations for establishing efficient internal communication channels.

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One thing I suggest is to think about how different communication channels fit within your business, what's working and what's not. Channels fit within your business, what's working and what's not, and also consider how your business works and how you would like your team to work within it. Is there space for synchronous communication tools like video conferencing, instant messaging, which are very good for real-time discussions, for quick decision making? Or would you like a more asynchronous tool like email and the project management platform, which allows team members to communicate and collaborate at their own pace, regardless of time zones or their schedules? So think about what works for you and for your business, and then you can build a system around that.

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Another thing to think about is do you want to designate specific channels for different types of communication? For example, you can decide to use email for only formal announcements and for distributing documentation, for example, you can only use chat platforms like Slack, which I love, for quick updates on subjects for informal discussions. What is great about Slack in particular, too, is that you can keep communication about specific topics all in one place, so you can have different channels and just have the topics of the channels being discussed within those channels and they don't go out of that, which keeps things really tight within your business, too, because you'll know exactly where to find information regarding something you discussed about. You know your podcast, for example. You know exactly which channel to go to to get that information, and this is also doable in your project management tool. Most of them have chat features and you can keep communication specific to tasks and projects within that space, so things don't get scattered and information doesn't get lost. This definitely helps you streamline communication. It prevents important information from getting lost in all the noise and all the chatter that happens sometimes.

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And, to quickly add, look into how your chat tool, for example Slack, can be integrated into your project management tool. This will take your communication to another level, because it'll streamline it and make it more efficient than before If done properly, because it can also get messy than before if done properly, because it can also get messy, and so if you think about how you want things to flow and you look at the integrations that you can do with your tools, then you can definitely streamline your communication and make it more efficient. So when you're thinking about kind of looking into your communication channels, specifically internal communication, think about your team, assess your team's communication needs and their preferences. Think about factors like your team size, your remote work arrangements and just the general nature of your projects, because it's based on this assessment that you'd be able to choose the most suitable tools and platforms for your business and for what it is that you do, and then you can establish protocols and guidelines to ensure consistency and clarity, define when and how each communication channel should be used, as well as expectations around response times and etiquette, communicate these protocols to your team and provide ongoing training and support as and when needed, particularly when people are new and they're getting used to the rhythm of communication within your business. Once your communication channels are in place, you want to regularly evaluate their effectiveness and make adjustments if necessary. Talk to your team, ask them to give you feedback, because this is how you can identify right areas of improvement and to address any pain points or bottlenecks within your communication process.

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Lastly, the biggest tip, I think, is to lead by example. Demonstrate what effective communication practice is with your own interactions with your team members and encourage them, because this encourages them to do the same. For example, as a business owner, I need to use the tools correctly, as agreed. This models positive communication behavior and you set the tone for the collaborative and communicative work environment, so fostering better teamwork and collaboration, increased productivity, increased innovation. Really, at the heart of this lies communication, just creating the sense of belonging, the sense of transparency and openness within the organization, Making sure that people can share that.

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There are ways to give feedback and receive feedback. There's open communication. Just that general open door policy among the team really does build a stronger, more resilient team which, when challenges arrive in because they always do a team like that that is strong and is able to communicate effectively and efficiently, supported by the systems that are in place, they can tackle any challenge that comes their way. So there you go. Building an effective internal communication system is essential, we've talked about it. Internal communication system is essential, we've talked about it Collaboration, productivity, a positive work culture within your business, no matter the size. By giving clear, intentional communication channels, you create a cohesive team that will be able to do anything and tackle anything together. So thank you for tuning in to today's episode our two for one episode. I do appreciate your time and I look forward to chatting with you again soon.