Make goal setting a team project

Misty McDonald, receptionist at Ward Animal Hospital in Nacagdoches, Texas, says her staff always tries to find new ways to bring more money into the practice. So it wasn't a surprise when Dr. Grant, the owner, decided to offer employees an incentive—a $25 Wal-Mart card—for meeting the hospital's monthly goals. What was surprising—surprisingly fun, that is—was how the staff members determined each month's goal and how they documented their progress.

"At the beginning of each month, we run a report showing the same month of last year's income, and then we multiply that amount by 10 percent," McDonald says. The sum is then added on, making the total goal for the current month. For example, if in December 2007, Ward Animal Hospital brought in $97,500, its goal for December 2008 would be $107,250—10 percent more.

"On random days during the month, we run a report and mark our progress on a board like a graph," she says. "This has really helped us all become aware of what the practice actually brings in. And when you can see the goal in reach, it makes us try that much harder to reach the finish line."