¿Qué haces si tus objetivos a corto plazo están obstaculizando tus objetivos estratégicos a largo plazo?

If your short-term goals are hindering your long-term strategic objectives, it's essential to reassess your priorities and realign your focus. Consider revising your short-term goals to better complement your long-term strategic objectives, ensuring that they contribute to your overall vision and mission. Additionally, communicate with stakeholders to ensure alignment and garner support for necessary adjustments.

When short-term goals impede long-term strategic objectives, it's crucial to reassess priorities. Review the strategic objectives, prioritize goals based on their alignment with the overarching strategy, and adjust short-term goals accordingly. Effective communication with stakeholders about these changes is essential for maintaining alignment and momentum toward achieving long-term success.

A long-term strategic plan is created based upon a series of short-term goals. When short-term goals effect the long-term plan, then these short-term goals (aka steppingstones) require modification. As painful as it might be, you may have to start at the beginning and redefine business vision and scope.

It might indicate a need to reset either your short-term goal, long-term goal or your priorities. 1. Ask if your short-term goal aligned to your priorities. 2. Ask if your long-term goal aligned to your priorities. 3. Ask if your priorities still valid. 4. Realign. 5. Consider doing this proactively on a quarterly basis to avoid future misalignment.

Evaluating your options ensures that short-term decisions bolster rather than detract from long-term achievements. In my experience, reassessing the alignment between immediate actions and overarching goals can illuminate areas requiring adjustment. One thing I’ve found helpful is to prioritize flexibility in planning, allowing for shifts in strategy when necessary. A common mistake is rigidly sticking to short-term targets at the expense of long-term success. For instance, if pursuing a quick technology rollout compromises the quality or sustainability of the solution, reconsidering the timeline or approach may better serve the strategic vision.

If short-term goals are getting in the way of your long-term strategic goals, it's important to take a strategic approach to balance both and ensure the company maintains its long-term vision. You should clearly communicate with your team and stakeholders the importance of long-term strategic goals and why it is important to keep them at the center of business decisions. This can help ensure that the team is aligned on the strategic vision and is willing to sacrifice some short-term goals for the long-term good of the company. Furthermore, you should be flexible and ready to adapt your objectives and strategies according to the changing needs of the company and the surrounding environment. This might mean changing short-term goals.

Change your strategy. In my understanding, your short-term goals should support your long-term goals. They are the stepping stones taking you towards your destination. If you have created the right strategy, there's no way your short-term goals can interfere with your long-term ones. If you are facing such unalignment, it is best to strategize again. Stop to re-evaluate. Don't waste your time.

We can't know all the unknowns. If short and long term goals are getting out of synch or there's some mission drift, that can indicate that the long term objectives may need some review and adjustment; perhaps they no longer fit the landscape. I advocate for adaptive/responsive strategy and leadership: in fast-changing or even volatile environments and markets the key is fluidity and insight, which means always being ready to adapt or change course.