Milestone. Even the word itself feels heavy.
Perhaps not as heavy as “millstone”...but still.
When I hear the word used in a sentence, for me it calls to mind an arduous climb up a mountain where, breathing heavily, one would plant their flag in victory. Figuratively, we’ve all reached milestones of varying sizes in our business and personal lives and while all ‘stones are different in metaphorical weight, they often all materialize from and are managed by common elements.
Recently the futures trading technology startup I work for, Tradovate, reached the milestone of having our Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) registration approved by the National Futures Association (NFA). This is a BIG milestone for our firm and we’re now one step closer to the greater goal of changing the futures trading industry with our value proposition.
Reaching this particular milestone has caused me to reflect on the importance of managing milestones themselves:
Tracking Milestones
It is critical to be able to track and manage the tasks and items that help achieve milestones as well as be alerted to tasks that need to be completed. There is a special kind of satisfaction that comes with checking off tasks in a list and there are some terrific software tools out there that help achieve organization in breaking down milestones and setting goals. JIRA, Confluence, and Asana are all programs with excellent “milestone management” in terms of goal setting, alerts automation, calendar deadlines, completion visuals, and project collaboration among team members. Without a concrete method of tracking milestones, losing focus and perspective becomes a greater risk.
Milestones As Tools of Empowerment
Meaningful drive often comes from intrinsic or internal motivation, knowing that you’ve achieved something great and seeing the results of that hard work. Milestones can help keep us on track and filter out any negative influences that may discourage us on our journey. Achieving smaller milestones can also help stave off the feeling of being overwhelmed by the daunting mountainous goal that may loom overhead. Like small pieces of a larger puzzle, small milestones all add up to create the bigger picture - each one, no matter how small, is necessary to the development of the big picture.
Celebrating Milestones
Deconstructing larger goals into smaller goals and celebrating each of those milestones as they are completed can be a great source of motivation to continue towards achieving larger goals. Involving company employees in the celebration of these goals -- even if it’s simply celebrating with pizza on the company -- helps strengthen team building and helps positively reinforce the significance of reaching milestones. It also helps employees feel like they’re contributing to the company’s overall story. Each company milestone should be treated as a marketing opportunity to build upon the company’s story both internally and externally. Your business made it past the one year mark? Celebrate! Your company was recently rebranded? Celebrate! These are good opportunities to tell your story and raise awareness to your customers.
Organized milestones turn into milestones reached that can further empower you and your employees - and of course they should all be celebrated and used in positively building up your team and developing the company narrative.
*******
Sarah McNabb is Director of Marketing at Tradovate, a financial technology startup developing a new online futures trading experience. Sign up for a pre-launch invite at www.tradovate.com.
