How to Lead Your Elevator Business with Bold, Clear Goals

Most of the business owners I’ve met have goals for their companies. But too often, those goals aren’t looking, 1, 3 or even 5 years ahead.

It’s not because they don’t think they’ll be in business by then. It’s typically because they’re stuck in the day to day of their operation and can’t lift their head up far enough to see what the future holds.

Inevitably, months will go by. Those business owners will realize they’re still solving the same problems. They’ve got cash coming through the door, but where is the real, tangible progress for the company as a whole?

Where is the growth?

It’s our responsibility to pause long enough to ask:
Where are we actually trying to go?
What do I want this business to look like 5 years from now?
Who do I need to become to get us there?

These are thought-provoking questions. They take space away from the daily grind. They take stillness to consider. And they take courage to answer and implement.

Slow Down to Set the Right Goal

The best decisions I’ve made in business didn’t come from sitting in a meeting room with a notepad full of numbers or at the end of a long, tough day on the job.

They came when I least expected it—at 5am, parked in the woods on my side-by-side with my phone on Do Not Disturb.

They came floating in the bay, watching the fog roll across the water while the sun started to push through.

When I step away from the grind, and the noise can dissipate a bit, I can finally hear what matters. That’s when I get clear on what I actually want—for my family, for my team, and for the future of the business.

You don’t have to plan a grand retreat to a cabin in the woods, but you do need space.

Because if you never step away from the to-do list, you’ll keep building someone else’s vision without ever defining your own.

What Makes a Goal Worth Pursuing?

It’s not about what inflates the ego or what pays the bills.

Big, audacious goals are about alignment. They should feel crazy, difficult to explain, exciting, and contain a ton of hairy details when you start to consider them.

They help you lead with intention instead of reacting with urgency.

A solid business goal will connect three things:

• What you’re truly passionate about building

• What you can do better than anyone else in your space 

• What drives revenue and keeps your business sustainable
  
  

If your goal misses even one of those? It’s time to get back to the drawing board because you’re missing some pretty solid pieces in your business foundation.

Ask the Right Questions Before You Chase It

Once you have a goal in mind, don’t rush into action. Pressure-test it first:

Is this goal aligned with your long-term vision?
Not just something that looks good to the marketing team, but something that genuinely supports the future you want.

Can your business support it financially?
You don’t need a CFO (or maybe you do depending on how hairy the goal), but you do need clarity. What will this cost? What will it return? And where is the money going to come from?

Are your systems and people ready for it?
More growth means more responsibility. If your foundation is not solid, a big goal will break things wide open.

Make It Real. Write It Down. Read It Often.

Once you’ve landed on your goal, write it down. Every. Single. Day.
Look at it in the morning. Before meetings. After setbacks.

Set it in stone and make it real. I could mention all of the psychology behind the repetition for this, but to be blunt, what you put out there, and revisit over and over again, will eventually become reality.

You can tweak the language as you go, or maybe adjust your timeline because something huge just came up.

But if you commit to revisiting it consistently, it will start to shape your decisions.

Set the Goal. Then Build Toward It.

We’re not slapping a post-it on the board and hoping for the best, here. We’re making a commitment to seek clarity, direction, and a willingness to work toward that goal.

Maybe you’re aiming to expand, restructure, or step out of daily ops. Whatever it is, your goal should stretch you to the max, but not overwhelm you. It should challenge where you are today. If it doesn’t, you’re aiming small.

And if you’ve built it with intention, it’ll start showing you exactly what needs to shift in your business to support it.

That’s when the real work begins. That’s when things move. That’s how you know you’ve found your Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG). Can you tell how passionate I am about strategic planning and the future of business?

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