S.M.A.R.T. Goal Setting...

While short term goal setting often occurs "on the fly", there are some definite benefits to using a more, structured approach for running a business. The goal-setting concept has been taught in business schools for decades. Our aim here is to make the process as simple as possible while maintaining its usefulness.

Make goals measurable and set a date for implementation to raise success rates. We recommend using the S.M.A.R.T concept for goal setting. The concept is simple and effective. S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym for the process of goal setting. These steps ask if the goal is Specific, Measurable, Achievable,

Relevant, and Timely. Incorporating all five of these characteristics into the new goals will help foster team vision, commitment, and motivation. Let's look at the S.M.A.R.T. characteristics in more detail.

Specific goals are goals that are clear and focused and not broad, ambiguous, or general statements. An example of a general goal statement is "The advisory team will improve the business clients profitability." A clearer more focused goal statement is "Employees of business client will lower costs by producing xyz, by having xyz in top working order by a certain date,

" Specific goals are much more focused and concrete and provide specific information on what behaviors are associated with the goal.

Considering the situation, goals that are set should be as measurable as possible. An example of a goal that is not measurable is "Improve quality." To state this goal in a way that is more measurable and, therefore more

useful, we could say that the goal is "To increase the average value from 100 to greater than 125 for xyz."

The second statement provides a measurable indicator of success. In a

measurable goal, it also becomes easy to monitor progress and to know exactly when it has been attained.

It is important to note that not all goals are, or should be, quantified with numbers. As much as possible, however, goals should be verifiable in some way. It may simply involve getting a "yes" or a sign-off from a supervisor, manager, or worker.

It is important that goals are achievable. The goal should be realistic, well within the abilities, responsibilities, and resources of management and staff. This does not mean that goals should be too easy to achieve. Every

effort should be made to reach a higher level of performance. Sometimes called "Stretch goals," goals can encourage the person to step out of their comfort zone and tackle tasks in a new way that is challenging, yet

achievable.

Goals should also be relevant or appropriate to the person. Relevant means that the goal is more important in some way. In other words, the goal is not simply an activity, but it has a meaningful end result that

adds value to the individual in some way. Because the worker has acquired new skills he is more valuable to the business.

Finally, the attainment of the goal should not be open-ended, but timely. As much as possible the exact date that

the goal is to be achieved should be pinpointed.

When a goal has a deadline it provides a measurable point and speeds progress toward critical goals. It clearly says to the individual this action is more important than other tasks that don't have deadlines.