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As practice owners and managers, you face a million demands, making goal setting for 2025 both essential and challenging.

Having grown a small practice from one DVM to a 12-DVM team, I learned that setting and achieving significant goals requires a careful balance of ambition and practicality.

Here are a few tips to help you create goals to keep your team engaged throughout the year.

Start with a clear focus. I have found personal success in selecting a “word of the year.” It’s been a simple yet powerful way to guide my decisions and priorities. For example, words like “focus,” “growth,” or “balance” can serve as personal and professional guides.

For 2025, my chosen word is “intentional,” reminding me to remain mindful and take a moment to think or breathe before I respond. This helps me avoid falling into autopilot or responding impulsively. (I find this especially challenging when listening to my son go on and ON about Star Wars.)

I encourage you to select a word that resonates with your practice’s vision. Bonus points if your team decides on a word together! Regardless of how you choose your word, make sure to share it with your team frequently to establish a shared sense of direction and teamwork.

Another effective tool is accountability partners. Encourage your team to hold each other accountable for shared goals. This peer support helps guarantee resolutions don’t fizzle out by mid-January.

Pinpoint your practice’s pain points. Every practice has recurring challenges, whether it’s long wait times, incomplete medical notes, or disorganized workflows. Start by identifying these hiccups and using them as a foundation for your goals.

Again, I highly recommend engaging your team in the process. Host brainstorming sessions where everyone can share their frustrations and propose solutions. When your team feels heard, they’ll be more invested in the changes. (Most of my unsuccessful goals were created alone in my office and implemented without feedback.)

Balance tangible and intangible goals. Tangible goals are measurable objectives, such as reducing prescription errors, improving appointment punctuality, or increasing client satisfaction scores. These can be tracked and broken into action items. Intangible goals are harder to quantify but equally important, like fostering a supportive team culture or improving communication. While you can’t measure these directly, regular check-ins can help gauge progress.

One of my favorite phrases is: Inspect what you expect. Whether tangible or intangible, you must follow up regularly to monitor progress.

Be sure to stay flexible and celebrate wins! Things don’t always go as planned, and that’s okay. The key is to stay flexible and adjust your goals as needed. If a strategy isn’t working, pivot and try something new.

Equally important is celebrating achievements, big or small. Maybe you didn’t hit your target of zero negative reviews but reduced them from five to two. That’s still a win! Recognizing progress keeps morale high and motivates the team to keep pushing forward.

Make an effort to keep your team engaged. The best goals are collaborative. Check in regularly with your team to ensure they feel like they are part of the solution. Their insights and buy-in are critical to turning goals into reality.

Goal setting isn’t just about improving your practice—it’s about creating a better experience for your team and clients. By encouraging teamwork, embracing change, and staying engaged, you’ll transform challenges into opportunities and set up you and your team for a successful year ahead!

So, what’s your practice’s word for 2025? Need help? Feel free to reach out! mbingham@granitepeakcpa.com

Written by Meghan Bingham, CVPM