14 Important and Worthwhile Goals Companies Should Set for 2023

The first few weeks of the new year are the perfect opportunity for businesses to reflect on the previous year and set new goals accordingly. By looking at what worked and what didn’t, you can understand what changes to make to reach meaningful, realistic and relevant objectives by the end of 2023. Moreover, having goals can help you rally your team for a common cause and inspire greater collaboration and productivity.

To that end, 14 Rolling Stone Culture Council members each share one goal companies should set for themselves this year, and why they believe this goal is so worthwhile. If you’re looking for inspiration on where to focus your efforts, consider starting here.

Support Employee Personal Growth

Any company’s goal should be to help each employee’s personal growth, which will ultimately manifest as greater growth for the company. An easy way to get started is to ask your team for their three MIQs (Most Important Questions) and have everyone post theirs publicly. This gives powerful insight into people’s goals and motivations, which is invaluable for understanding how to maximize their joy and contribution at work. – Jeff Chen, Radicle Science

Reduce Your Waste Footprint

It’s time for every company, no matter what service or product they produce, to examine their waste footprint and initiate a plan to reduce their plastic usage. Businesses that lead the way and take the task of reimagining wasteful consumerism seriously will be in a position of resilience, posed to thrive, not just survive. – Maureen Smithey, CastleWare Baby

Focus on Employee Wellness

Last year was a tough year for folks, from Covid to remote work and more. More companies need to focus on their most important asset: people. Companies should heavily lean into employee wellness, focusing on making employees’ lives easier and happier. Our team developed dozens of strategies from no-call days to corporate off-sites and wellness stipends to help drive employee wellness and happiness. – Tim Huelskamp, 1440 Media

Define a Web3 Strategy

Companies that want to lead their industries in 2023 need to clearly define their Web3 strategy. Web3 is here to stay, far beyond crypto, decentralized finance (DeFi) or the metaverse itself. Companies, especially brands in the B2C space, will redefine the way they have conversations with their clients by leveraging the extraordinary potential of Web3 first-party data, the ownership economy and customer-led identity. – Vicente Marti, elrowfamily

Align With a Social Issue

Participating in discussion around current social issues as a company can be a fine line to walk, but studies show it improves consumer engagement and increases employee productivity and loyalty. Collaborate with or sponsor organizations or movements whose issues align with your business strategy and mission statements by sponsoring fundraisers, giving to charities or implementing inclusion marketing. – Andy Hale, Hale & Monico

Create a Strategy for Avoiding Burnout

Many of us work ourselves to the bone even though we know it is not good for us or our business. The goal then is to create a plan for avoiding burnout. Set clear boundaries, know when to take a break and learn when to ask for help. Make sure you’re running your business in a way that is good (and healthy) for you — professionally, psychologically, emotionally, spiritually and financially. – Harrison Wise, Wise Collective Inc.

The Rolling Stone Culture Council is an invitation-only community for Influencers, Innovators and Creatives. Do I qualify?

Prepare for an Economic Downturn

As signs point to an economic downturn, businesses may see a decrease in revenue and profits, which can put pressure on their bottom line. In order to weather the storm, companies should look for ways to reduce their expenses and increase their efficiency. This can include streamlining their operations, cutting unnecessary expenses and finding more cost-effective ways of doing business. – Jason Saltzman, Relief

Encourage Educational Opportunities

Reward out-of-the-box thinking and encourage learning new skills on a daily basis. Give your employees the support and permission they need to thrive and bring you new and innovative ways to make the business better. Encourage new skill development often and, as the leader, be an example. Make learning a large part of leadership. – Stephanie Dillon, Stephanie Dillon Art

Improve Your Workplace Culture

Be a better employer. Recognize both the individual and shared challenges of the last couple of years and find ways to make your workplace a source of joy and fulfillment. This may mean adding more benefits, reducing time spent at work and rethinking the value of recurring meetings. Consider switching to a four-day workweek to give each of your employees 20 percent of their life back. You won’t regret it. – Dan Giuliani, Volt Athletics

Create New Content

Create more content than you consume. As business owners, we are always looking to educate ourselves and learn more. Stop for a moment and consider the amount of time you may be spending reading, taking courses and researching. Instead, create content that supports your customers such as blog posts, videos, podcasts and more. – Matt Campbell, My Wedding Songs

Live in the Moment

Embrace and enjoy the reality of not knowing. For the past several years, it feels as though we have been expected to predict the future, or at least have a plan for nearly any contingency. Not only does this add stress at all levels of the business, but it also threatens innovation because it leads to a “wait and see” attitude instead of a more playful and empowered “let’s try it” approach. – Aili McGill, Nickel Plate Arts

Cut Down on Meetings

One goal companies should set for themselves this year is to ensure that people are not bogged down with meetings. Use that time efficiently and find more ways to connect on a more personal level so the meetings that we do have are more effective and community-building. – Victoria Bachan, Whalar

Try Something New

More companies should aim to try something new this year. Trends come and go, but head-turning developments in the business landscape — from artificial intelligence to video marketing popularity and more — are worth keeping up with. Push your teams to try something outside their comfort zones (internally or externally) and watch both your company culture and actual business thrive as a result. – Dan Serard, Cannabis Creative Group

Focus on Enhancing Your Skills

Every company should set a goal this year to prioritize enhancing their skills, knowledge and training to provide better services or products than the previous year. Setting goals should be about achieving growth, so identify the areas that can benefit or need growth, and then focus on building those areas. – Sonia Singh, Center of Inner Transformations