About this episode

This episode discusses a new approach to setting targets in family businesses that focuses on vision and team involvement rather than just financial figures.

Most family business owners set targets by looking at last year's numbers, picking a percentage increase, and getting on with it, and here's why that almost never works the way it should In this episode, Mark and Caroline make the case for a completely different approach to target setting. One that starts with vision instead of figures, includes your whole team instead of just your sales department, and measures things that actually matter to the people inside your business. They get into why financial targets alone are not enough, what Ford Motor Company's dramatic turnaround teaches us about culture and performance, and what a plumber, an accountant, and a receptionist all have in common when it comes to setting meaningful goals. The way you think about targets is going to shift. And once it does, you'll never look at the end of financial year planning the same way again. The businesses that hit their targets aren't the ones with the biggest numbers on the whiteboard. They're the ones who know why those numbers matter, who's working toward them, and what it actually feels like to get there. That's what this episode gives you. And it's a much better place to start than a…

People in this episode

Hosts: Mark, Caroline

Topics covered

• target setting
• family business
• performance measurement
• team involvement
• business culture

Keywords

• family business
• target setting
• performance
• business culture
• goal setting

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Ford Motor Company

More episodes of The Family in Business Podcast

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• The True Cost Of Avoiding Hard Conversations In Your Family Business · July 13, 2026 · 15 min
• Why Most Family Business Meetings Go Nowhere (And How To Fix That) · July 6, 2026 · 16 min
• Here’s How To Stop The Work That's Draining Your Family Business Dry · June 29, 2026 · 15 min
• The Productivity Mistake Most Family Businesses Don't See · June 22, 2026 · 18 min

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