The evidence is overwhelming; it’s laughable to argue against the setting and managing of goals. No matter for personal use only, setting goals for a project, or building goals into your department or company, the proof that setting goals does positively impact results is without question.
So then, why do so many “smart” people not make goal setting part of their natural and professional lives? Briefly, let me share a few that I’ve discovered working with leaders over the years.
- Goals created were soon forgotten and not managed
- When the desired results were not reached, there was little enthusiasm to create goals again
- Too busy to sit down and really think about where an individual or group want to be in the future
- Hitting our budget is the goal
- A created goal didn’t have an end point or specific measurement
- The goal lacked real specifics…just said, “lose weight”
- Focus is on other things such as quality, safety, productivity objectives, etc.
Like setting a “New Year’s Resolution,” most well-meaning people may set a goal and then slowly fade away from managing the goal before it finally drops off the radar. But in this article, we’re not talking about losing weight or increasing your road work to run a marathon, as worthwhile as those two effort are. We’re talking about the difference in just working toward achieving some thing “out there,” and being disciplined to develop a very specifically targeted objective, supported with just as specific action steps, in order to achieve or surpass critical company objectives to beat the competition. Trust me, your competitor would love nothing more than for you and your work associates to simply bump along, never really injecting the human capital available to you to win the prize of more volume, more market share, more customer loyalty.
It has been generally accepted that the first use of the SMART acronym was first recorded in November 1981 in Spokane, Washington. Mr. George T. Doran, former Director of Corporate Planning for Washington Water Power Company, published a paper titled, “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives.
It is generally accepted that the SMART acronym was first written down in November 1981 in Spokane, Washington. George T. Doran, a consultant and former Director of Corporate Planning for Washington Water Power Company published a paper titled “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives”.
Mr. Doran defined each letter in the following way.
- Specific: target a specific area for improvement.
- Measurable: quantify, or at least suggest, an indicator of progress.
- Assignable: specify who will do it.
- Realistic: state what results can realistically be achieved given available resources.
- Time-related: specify when the result can be achieved.
While there have been numerous adaptations for the individual letters and their meaning, most interpretation of S.M.A.R.T. is mostly intact today. So, let’s consider a brief expansion for each letter as it might apply to you.
Specific
The very first and most critical effort to writing a meaningful goal is to define it specifically. To simply write:
“We will improve communication this year,”
is not as specific as writing,
“We will improve clarity and timely updates of customer orders every day at 8:30AM and 4:00PM between the following departments: Purchasing, Production, & Sales.”
Consider that no physician would prescribe any medications without first making the cause of the illness as specific and sure as possible. So too, should any leader take the writing of a goal with the same specificity in mind and practice.
Measureable
It is in the measuring of a goal where the depth of the goal is found. There is an old carpenter’s axiom that states, “Measure twice, cut once.” What is true in building a house or building is true for other industries. Making your goal measureable gives body and substance to what is needed to achieve.
Returning to our example earlier, let’s add some measureable element to the statement.
“We will achieve a 16% increase in customer fulfillment of orders through improving the accuracy of customer requests, our production schedule, and our capacity, for each daily update at 8:30AM and 4:00PM, between the following departments: Purchasing, Production, & Sales.”
You can see in this statement that we have added some “volume” to our statement, turning eyes specifically to a more narrowed measuring of what we will be reaching for each new day. We have identified a measureable in two fashions: A. There is a 16% increase target for customer fulfillment orders, and; B. There is an improvement in accuracy of customer requests, our production schedule, and our capacity. This “B.” measureable is directing those involved to include these elements in their two “updates” each day.
Assignable
This element of the acronym is where some leaders fail in sustaining the potential impact of goal setting. By not assigning key responsibilities to contributors to the success of the goal, there will more often be a breakdown, leading to the decreased activity to reach the goal.
In our ongoing example of goal statement, there actually has been an assignable effort made by pointing out three departments involved with the exchange of more specific communication: Purchasing, Production, and Sales. Now, no names of individuals were included but this would have to be determined by either the leader over each area or pointed out in the action plan that supports the goal. While individual names could be added, I’m not sure that this would be necessary if the departmental leaders stood up to address.
Realistic
The real test for any individual or group in setting goals comes when they must determine a realistic endpoint to accomplish the goal. That is to say, “What do we get when we get there? What will the accomplished goal look like?”
This is a fair but difficult effort for some goals. In our earlier example, what might be the “realistic” portion of the goal? Well, our first realistic test is to reach the 16% increase in customer fulfillment of orders. If we feel that we have the needed resources, the proper coordination, and the commitment to reach this number, then we will lean toward this goal being realistic.
While making our goals “Realistic” doesn’t always require an editing effort to the actual goal statement, the requirement here is for the goal writer to believe that they have the necessary resources to see the goal through. If the individual, or team, do not feel they have the needed resources, then this will undoubtedly dampen the enthusiasm for the effort to achieve the goal.
To summarize this fourth element, if we feel that we have the needed resources to accomplish the goal, then the 16% increase in customer fulfillment of orders is realistic for the people charged with achieving the goal.
Time-Related
The fifth and final element to writing a S.M.A.R.T. Goal is perhaps the “gut check” for those who are creating the goal. Why? Because if a goal is to have any real traction and impact, there must be a time frame that the team feels pressured to achieve. There must be some imposed element to reaching the goal, and setting the goal to the calendar is one sure way of doing this.
From “cramming for a test” in college, to preparing for a new child in nine months, there is something about the scheduling of time that tends to refocus, empower, inspire, and pushes most people to excel beyond their wildest expectations. Recall the effort made by the NASA Engineers when an Apollo Mission to the moon was brilliantly brought to the movie screen. The Engineers were told to use only what was available on the Capsule and that they only had a few hours to solve an energy and oxygen problem.
As we know now, the Engineers did solve a very short term, and life threatening, goal to save three astronauts, and to bring them home alive. They accomplished their goal, each digging deep into their knowledge, experience, and creativity to turn the “most successful failure in NASA history” into an inspiration for science for all time.
Now, having accomplished writing of a S.M.A.R.T. Goal, it is important to put a plan of action to support the achievement and management effort. You will find an Action Plan template that is easy to use. Whether you have your own action plan document or use the attached one for this article, you will discover that without doubt, putting the goal, especially one that impacts and needs the involvement of more than one or two people, can serve the effort nicely. The Action Plan provides a regular check-up, helps to place measurement to smaller steps in the process, and keeps the management of the goal in focus.
With so much at stake for your company’s future success, doesn’t it make sense to commit to the writing of goals, S.M.A.R.T. Goals? Recommit, with more understanding and fire power available, to set your goals more proficiently and clearly before those engaged with achieving the goal.
Be S.M.A.R.T., start developing our goals today!
Brad Humphrey
The Contractor’s Best Friend
