Goals Don’t Work—People Do: The Challenge of Gaining Employee Buy-In

You’ve set the goals for the quarter. Now comes the real work. 

Because let’s be honest: businesses don’t hit targets, people do. 

Getting your team’s buy-in isn’t optional. It’s the secret to getting things done.

Buy-In is more than a memo

Getting buy-in isn’t just about announcing a new goal at the Monday meeting or in a company-wide email. 

Buy-in is a conversation. It starts with 

• The goal itself: What is it, in clear, simple terms?
• Impact: How will this help the business, and by extension, the people in it?
• Milestones: What does progress look like along the way?
• Challenges: What bumps might you hit? 

Buy-In is a conversation

This is an email that should have been a meeting. 

Don’t toss out a target and expect applause. Sit down with your team and open the floor. 

Let them share their thoughts, spot roadblocks you might have missed, and tell you how they’d go about hitting the goal.

After all, they’re the experts when it comes to actually getting things done. 

When people help build the plan, they’re far more likely to be committed to seeing it through.

Buy-In achieves goals

Business is a group project. 

Get your people involved early and often, give them some say in the plan—and watch those company goals turn into shared victories.

What next

Trust your employees to know what goals are realistic. Contact me for a group workshop to hear from everybody in your business and decide what you will get done.