How To Set SMART Goals
With an eye to simplicity, I offer the SMART approach to developing your goals. [4] Don't let the apparent simplicity of the SMART theory prevent you from using it. It works. Just ask your mentor or anyone you know who is experiencing success. By the way, if you don't have a mentor, get one.
The SMART Approach:
- Specific (dates, numbers, times, etc.)
- Measurable (end result)
- Attainable (to me)
- Relevant (to me)
- Trackable (progress of goal) [5]
All five criteria must be in place in order to achieve your goal. Don't be overzealous. Be realistic and set goals that are relevant to your environment and to your future. Don't be guided or influenced by the goals of other people such as family, friends, managers, or coworkers. The SMART approach to goal-setting provides a way to articulate what you need to accomplish and where you are going.
The following example illustrates the simplicity of a SMART goal: I will save $500 by December 20, starting June 1. This goal satisfies the SMART criteria, including when it starts. Note that I didn't state, "I want some extra cash for Christmas." I stated a very specific goal, a SMART goal. Now I have a destination. My next step is to set short-term goals to ensure I reach my destination of $500 by December 20.
Goal-setting is most effective when goals can be accomplished within a reasonable period of time. Many people associate goals with a large window of time, five to ten years into the future, but goals are not reserved for long-term thinking only. Long-term goals are only achieved by setting daily, weekly, or monthly short-term goals. Few people appreciate that goals can become a daily exercise. What's my goal for today? You must think of daily or weekly goals as stepping stones that eventually lead to your longer-term goals. Perhaps Charles Noble said it best, "You must have long-range goals to keep you from being frustrated by short-range failures." The feeling of accomplishment is highly rewarding. This feeling fuels your motivation to remain focused on your short-term goals, en route to your ultimate long-term goals. Without goals, we periodically experience accidental success. It's called a fluke. Consider a professional sports team. A hockey team doesn't win the Stanley Cup by winning one or two games. Victory stems from a series of wins during the season and post-season, one game at a time.
Valuable Benefits of Setting Goals
There are several important benefits of goal-setting. The process:
- sets a destination, daily or otherwise
- clarifies purpose
- motivates you to action
- delivers a sense of accomplishment
- provides a benchmark of success
- validates that you are successful
- builds self-esteem
- provides a clear commitment
The SMART process stimulates a clear commitment from you to achieve your personal and professional goals. Commitment casts aside self-imposed barriers such as procrastination, the virus I spoke of earlier. Consider this story taken from Lee Boyan's book, Successful Cold Call Selling:
Well, most people feel safer in a twin-engine plane. They figure if one engine quits, you have another one to keep you up. But consider this. It takes a lot more pilot skill to keep a twin-engine aircraft flying with one engine out. It's terribly unbalanced. It's especially tough in bad weather. Worse, if you have to make a forced landing in bad weather.
But pilot skill is only part of it. The real reason you may want to consider a single-engine airplane safer is this. If that engine quits, the pilot is totally committed to land that bird. There is no other option. Total attention, skill, and effort are concentrated on bringing it down as gently as possible. No distractions.
A twin-engine pilot, no matter how skilled, isn't applying all of that skill to the one critically important task. A twin-engine pilot's mind is going back and forth struggling with a dilemma. Should I keep it up?
Should I bring it down?
I am sure many people drift through life like that. They never fully commit to a specific goal. They dabble in this and that, not doing anything very well. Don't simply try something, commit to it. Success requires unshakeable commitment: Commit your full attention, your energies, and your skills to fulfill your goals. If you only try something, it becomes a very trying experience. Be passionate, not merely interested. Don't be like the kamikaze pilot who flew 17 missions. Get focused.
I recently set a personal SMART goal to lose 15 pounds within 90 days. The goal kept me focused, kept me on course and ensured that I did what was necessary. Goals keep you focused regardless of whether you like the necessary activities. I didn't particularly cherish the thought of dining exclusively on cabbage soup and veggies, but those activities were necessary. The discomfort of discipline.
