Giving Compass' Take:

• Consultant Kris Putnam-Walkerly writes that we shouldn’t stress ourselves out to create goals simply because it’s the end of a calendar year, a fiscal year or any other milestone. The important part is the process.

• In that respect, Putnam-Walkerly lays out some helpful steps to creating actionable goals, from brainstorming to strategy implementation. How might you go about this for philanthropy?

• If you need help tracking and measuring everything, consider our free personal donations manager, Giving Planner.

Goals are important. Strategy is important. They help us envision where we’re headed, so that we can chart our course and align our time and resources toward getting there.

But goals can be set at ANY time. And they should be reviewed and revised as often as is helpful ...

Strategy is your desired future state. What do you envision for yourself, family, foundation, business, or whatever else you are focusing on? What type of person or organization do you want to be, what is the change you want to create in the world? Brainstorm that and write it down. That’s your strategy.

Next, look at your current state. Where are you today (you as a person or as an organization)?

Now, think about how you can get from your current state to your desired future state AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. This is strategy implementation. I’m not talking about incremental change here. I’m talking about speed — what will get you there the fastest? Who are the people you need, and how do you align them, your systems, processes and structures to get to your desired future state?

Next, identify your top three priorities for implementation (what are the most important things that have to happen now), and assign accountabilities (who is responsible for what, by when). Focus everyone involved in those top priorities, regularly check in on progress (at least monthly), and see how fast you can achieve your strategic goals!

Read the full article about setting goals for 2019 by Kris Putnam-Walkerly at Putnam Consulting Group.