🧠 What Are S.M.A.R.T. Goals? (#43)
💰 Wealth Z 💰👉🏼 The S.M.A.R.T. approach to handling goals came out of the corporate world in the early 1980s.
👉🏼 It describes a method for setting and working toward goals, and the acronym stands for the following:
🌟 Specific: Clearly define goals as succinctly as possible.
🌟 Measurable: Identify metrics for measuring progress and success.
🌟 Achievable: Set realistic goals that can be completed within specific parameters.
🌟 Relevant: Ensure that goals are worth pursuing.
🌟 Time-Bound: Assign deadlines to goals and related action steps.
👉🏼 Using the S.M.A.R.T. framework for managing goals and objectives can help you examine the motivation behind pursuing a certain goal.
👉🏼 It can also help you determine what resources will be required to reach that goal.
👉🏼 The S.M.A.R.T. guidelines break down the goal planning process into clear steps so that vital questions can be answered efficiently.
👉🏼 S.M.A.R.T. goals may be especially useful when dealing with complex goals that need to be broken down into multiple, actionable steps that you delegate to various team members and track over time.
👉🏼 This framework can also be combined with other strategic planning by analyzing strengths and weaknesses, identifying internal and external resources, and evaluating risk.
👉🏼 Planning for potential problems and tracking metrics closely can help reduce risk, keep progress on track, and increase the chances of reaching a goal by the desired completion date.
Tips for Setting (and Reaching) Attainable Goals
Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you set goals and create plans for reaching them:
1️⃣ Start Small and Build on Success
👉🏼 Whether you’re aiming to retire by a certain age, lose 50 pounds, or grow business profits over a five-year period, create a plan that starts with steps you can take now.
👉🏼 Add benchmarks down the road so you have clear short-term steps to reach your ultimate goal — doing so provides a manageable ladder for you to climb and gives you ongoing gratification as you reach each objective leading to the end goal.
2️⃣ Focus on the Most Important Goal
👉🏼 Dealing with the goals of a complex organization, long-term project, or even an individual life can feel overwhelming.
👉🏼 In any situation, identify the most important goal — this will help you create an effective plan of action and prioritize other goals.
3️⃣ Consider Both Lead and Lag Measures
👉🏼 Measuring key indicators is vital to tracking the progress and effectiveness of business endeavors.
👉🏼 Leading and lagging indicators are both important measures of success, but each provides different information.
👉🏼 Simply put, lead measures are drivers that can help you achieve a goal, while lag measures are outcomes; the former is predictive, while the latter provides information about a completed process.
👉🏼 Lagging indicators offer measurable results that can be used to analyze progress.
👉🏼 However, when planning business goals, it is vital to consider the leading indicators that may improve those outcomes.
4️⃣ Keep Goals in a Visible Place
👉🏼 This is a simple tip that can go a long way toward maintaining focus and tracking progress. It could mean keeping files easily accessible, so updates are shared among stakeholders.
👉🏼 Or, it could simply mean posting a printed sheet in your home office as a reminder of high-priority tasks that need to be completed or long-term goals that you are working toward.
5️⃣ Consider Accountability as a Form of Motivation
👉🏼 Goals for work projects may have accountability built in via deadlines and performance reviews.
👉🏼 But, when undertaking personal goals, it may help to choose an accountability partner or let friends and family know what goal you are working toward.
•••
Read Next💡
11 Life-changing Questions to Ask Yourself Today (#42)
➡️ Twitter
➡️ Instagram
➡️ Telegram
➡️ Facebook
➡️ YouTube
➡️ TikTok
➡️ E-magazine