CEO goal setting

Joel Trammell

Welcome to 2025. Time to shed those holiday pounds and set some corporate goals!

I know it can feel a little daunting at times, but goal setting for the company is one of the most pivotal tasks of any CEO. Why do so many of us struggle with it?

Well, goal setting at scale is naturally uncomfortable. Any time you create a goal, you are implicitly saying you are not happy with how things are now. It also involves making hard choices: You can probably think of hundreds of things your company could do or try. Committing to just a few of those means closing off a lot of doors.

And finally, goal setting is hard because it’s easy to overcomplicate things, like coordinating socks with pants.

Should you use OKRs? MBOs? KPIs? Should they be stretch goals and BHAGs? Do you need a dashboard? There’s a lot of noise out there on the topic, and a lack of what most CEOs need: information specifically about how to set goals for an entire company. That’s quite a different process from setting goals for yourself or with a small team you lead.

But here’s some good news. After working with countless CEOs and scaling up companies myself, I’ve boiled company goal setting into a pretty simple process. It’s not easy per se (you’ll still have to work through a little discomfort) but it is clear, repeatable, and proven to work when you stick to it.

In a nutshell, we’re going to align your business to a small number of high-priority objectives every quarter. If you get started now, you will have gone through the process four times by the time 2026 rolls around. That’s about the time it takes to really master the process, but you’ll start seeing the benefits in your company’s results a lot sooner than that.

Here’s how I do it:

Start with the Six Core Areas of Business

Every business operates across six essential domains:

1. Sales
2. Marketing
3. Product/Service
4. Customers
5. Employees
6. Shareholders

I organize these into two “triangles of tension”; I’ll explain in an upcoming post or you can check out The Chief Executive Operating System. The value of identifying these fundamental areas of the business is that it gives you a clear place to start in setting holistic goals for the company. Start by drafting one goal for each of these areas.

Each of the six areas has a consistent overarching aim—for example, maximizing customer satisfaction or increasing shareholder value. Your task is to identify the one goal that will best measure progress over the next 90 days. To get you started, I’ve created a cheat sheet listing the primary aim of each area and some ways you might consider measuring it over the quarter.
 

Limit Yourself to 5-7 Goals

The biggest mistake I see CEOs make is trying to do too much. You’re not listing every activity your company is going to do this quarter. You’re listing the top desired outcomes that will signal progress toward achieving the ultimate vision.

If you set one goal for each area of the business, you’ll end up with six, which is about right. I generally recommend 5-7 company goals each quarter—there may be some quarters where you don’t have a corporate-level goal for one area, or where there’s a goal that overarches several areas. But certainly don’t go over seven.

You can also balance these 5–7 goals between “sustaining” goals (maintaining excellence in core operations) and “initiative” goals (new strategic projects).

For example:

• Sustaining goal for the Customer area: Maintain customer retention rate at 90%.
• Initiative goal for the Product/Service area: Launch a new product line by the end of Q1.
   

Make them SMART

Good intentions mean nothing without clarity. That’s why every goal must be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

For example, if your goal is to increase market share, don’t leave it at that. Break it down:

• Specific: Expand market share in Region X.
• Measurable: From 15% to 20% by Q4.
• Achievable: Based on historical growth rates and market conditions.
• Relevant: Aligned with the corporate strategy to dominate key markets.
• Time-bound: Your goals will naturally be time-bound since you are setting them for the quarter.

Welcome to 2025. Time to shed those holiday pounds and set some corporate goals! I know it can feel a little daunting at times, but goal setting for the company is one of the most pivotal tasks of any CEO. Why do so many of us struggle with it? Well, goal setting at scale is naturally uncomfortable. Any time you create a goal, you are implicitly saying you are not happy with how things are now. It also involves making hard choices: You can probably think of hundreds of things your company could do or try. Committing to just a few of those means closing off a lot of doors. And finally, goal setting is hard because it’s easy to overcomplicate things, like coordinating socks with pants. Should you use OKRs? MBOs? KPIs? Should they be stretch goals and BHAGs? Do you need a dashboard? There’s a lot of noise out there on the topic, and a lack of what most CEOs need: information specifically about how to set goals for an entire company. That’s quite a different process from setting goals for yourself or with a small team you lead. But here’s some good news. After working with countless CEOs and scaling up companies myself, I’ve boiled company goal setting into a pretty simple process. It’s not easy per se (you’ll still have to work through a little discomfort) but it is clear, repeatable, and proven to work when you stick to it. In a nutshell, we’re going to align your business to a small number of high-priority objectives every quarter. If you get started now, you will have gone through the process four times by the time 2026 rolls around. That’s about the time it takes to really master the process, but you’ll start seeing the benefits in your company’s results a lot sooner than that. Here’s how I do it: Start with the Six Core Areas of Business Every business operates across six essential domains: Sales Marketing Product/Service Customers Employees Shareholders I organize these into two “triangles of tension”; I’ll explain in an upcoming post or you can check out The Chief Executive Operating System. The value of identifying these fundamental areas of the business is that it gives you a clear place to start in setting holistic goals for the company. Start by drafting one goal for each of these areas. Each of the six areas has a consistent overarching aim—for example, maximizing customer satisfaction or increasing shareholder value. Your task is to identify the one goal that will best measure progress over the next 90 days. To get you started, I’ve created a cheat sheet listing the primary aim of each area and some ways you might consider measuring it over the quarter.   Limit Yourself to 5-7 Goals The biggest mistake I see CEOs make is trying to do too much. You’re not listing every activity your company is going to do this quarter. You’re listing the top desired outcomes that will signal progress toward achieving the ultimate vision. If you set one goal for each area of the business, you’ll end up with six, which is about right. I generally recommend 5-7 company goals each quarter—there may be some quarters where you don’t have a corporate-level goal for one area, or where there’s a goal that overarches several areas. But certainly don’t go over seven. You can also balance these 5–7 goals between “sustaining” goals (maintaining excellence in core operations) and “initiative” goals (new strategic projects). For example: Sustaining goal for the Customer area: Maintain customer retention rate at 90%. Initiative goal for the Product/Service area: Launch a new product line by the end of Q1.   Make them SMART Good intentions mean nothing without clarity. That’s why every goal must be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. For example, if your goal is to increase market share, don’t leave it at that. Break it down: Specific: Expand market share in Region X. Measurable: From 15% to 20% by Q4. Achievable: Based on historical growth rates and market conditions. Relevant: Aligned with the corporate strategy to dominate key markets. Time-bound: Your goals will naturally be time-bound since you are setting them for the quarter. Communicate and Align Even the best-crafted goals will fail if they’re not understood companywide. CEOs must communicate goals clearly and repeatedly. As I’ve written before, your role as CEO is a communications job more than anything else. Employees need to see how their work ladders up to the company’s priorities. Pro tip: Use a 1-page strategic plan to ensure transparency and accountability. Publicizing the goals creates alignment and encourages buy-in across departments. I like giving my 1-page strategic plan to every employee as a laminated desk placemat.   Review, Reflect, and Adjust Goal setting doesn’t stop once you’ve written objectives on paper. At the end of each quarter, you must have the discipline to close out each of the goals (marking them as Achieved or Not Achieved), evaluate what’s working, and recalibrate as necessary as you then set goals for the next quarter. Celebrate wins, learn from misses, and keep moving forward. Remember, goal setting isn’t about perfection; it’s about momentum and clarity. Here is a good sample set: Your Homework Assignment: Identify where you need to focus most this quarter across your business’s six core areas. Craft 5-7 SMART goals that mix sustaining and initiative efforts. Share these goals broadly, ensure alignment, and set up regular reviews. Don’t make this process harder than it needs to be. With the right framework, goal setting can move from a chore to one of your greatest leadership tools. Here’s to a great 2025!

Joel Trammell Co-Founder and Chief Architect Chief Executive Operating System