In this episode, Natalie McFarland, founder and president of McFarland Productions, and Scout Foster, Outreach Marketing Manager, both vigorous goal-setters talk all things setting goals, tracking goals, and achieving goals—a recurrent and important topic at McFarland Productions. In our discussion, we share why goal setting is vital to our success, particularly in a remote work setting, and how we ensure accountability and growth through an organized and goal-oriented process.

The inspiration for using goals as a stepping stone to success came from Natalie’s personal life. She and her husband, Kevin, started setting goals together early in their marriage. Natalie’s parents, who have been married for over 50 years, credit their success to frequent goal-setting. This has been adapted into the company culture, where setting goals collaboratively is seen as crucial to both personal and organizational development.

At McFarland Productions, we utilize the SMART goal framework to ensure our objectives are clear and achievable. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. This structure helps us create goals that are not only ambitious but also realistic and aligned with our broader mission. Our goals come with a clear timeline and a pathway to execution, making them more attainable and actionable.

Utilizing a structured process to track our progress with these goals, involving both a written record and regular check-ins where each team member is responsible for specific aspects of collective goals. Each week we provide updates that help the entire team stay informed and engaged.

Here’s a look at how our goal-setting system works:

Weekly Updates: Every Friday, team members update their progress in a shared goal spreadsheet. This record includes the status of each goal and notes any significant milestones achieved.

Soft Launch to Monday: A concept coined by Scout, the “soft launch to Monday” involves setting ourselves up for the week by clearing out our inboxes and reviewing what needs attention in the coming days. This ensures we hit the ground running on Monday morning, prepared and focused.

Weekly Team Video Updates: To maintain transparency and accountability, Natalie records a weekly video update for the team. This update summarizes the mission, vision, and progress on our goals, highlighting the wins and addressing the losses. It serves as both a motivator and a map for the team’s efforts in the week ahead.

While many may view remote work as a challenge, we see it as an opportunity to enhance our goal-setting practices and company culture, a complete podcast episode on that is coming soon. Our structured approach to goals helps bind the team together, regardless of our physical distances. As we continue to grow and evolve, we invite our community to join us in adopting this goal-oriented mindset. We hope our experiences inspire you to implement similar structures within your organization or personal endeavors.

If you’d like to access our goal-setting template, it is available as a template here. Furthermore, we invite you to join our McFarland Minutes Facebook group, an opportunity to exchange insights, offer mutual support, and track progress together as a community!

In closing, remember this: whether it’s a personal ambition or a large professional target, goal setting is about doing better. And there’s no better time to start than now.

Do better,
Your McFarland Minutes Hosts