Many of us have very ambitious goals in our personal lives or in our business worlds that seem to be too vague and not well-defined. For us to attain these goals we really should try to fine tune them the best way we can. Be SMART and get started on a healthy method!
In the early 1980’s a gentleman by the name of George T. Doran wrote an article about management’s goals and objectives. Doran was helped by James Cunningham and Arthur Miller. They realized that many goals weren’t sufficiently planned or had any meaningful impact so it was decided to create the SMART Method.
I learned this many years ago in my professional world. To be honest I do like the system but I believe that it is only good for entry-level-type positions and also for people who are new at the whole personal growth thing. The system to me is very limited and outdated for the new generation.
I created this post for the purposes of the newbies who are having trouble getting started with a framework-style approach. It is also a good refresher for those of you who have good goal-setting skills as well. Sometimes a bare-bones system can serve as a reminder as to how the flow should go. Please use this system as you see fit for your particular situation.
This is more of a guide than a rule
The SMART Method overall lacks vision throughout the process and to me it has more of the end in mind at the beginning. Yes, you should always create goals with the end in mind but I believe we also need to have substance and measurability throughout the process.
To achieve this we truly need to understand how we learn as individuals and we also need to recognize where we are with goal setting. Verbalize and write down the things you are absolutely good at with goal setting and also write down where you feel you are lacking. Be honest. If you feel you suck at goal setting write that down. This will help you build off of that so you won’t suck at it anymore.
Each new day we have new ways of improving and measuring where we are at with our goals. Do they make sense? Are they going to help you in the long run? Ask these questions throughout so you also know if you are on track. Use the SMART Method to get you going and then once you have a handle on achieving the goal you then can abandon the system or just build off of it. The point is to have some type of guide to get you going in the right direction.
Here is the SMART Method broken down:
Specific: Clearly state your goals. You have to have this one right coming out of the gate or you will most certainly be lost. What do you want to achieve?
Measurable: Ensure you can measure success. If you can’t gauge where you are at then you are just wasting your time. Please don’t do that.
Attainable: Set goals you know you can achieve. In my opinion, this should be important. Try to be realistic with it and feel that it’s an attainable goal. Goals are meant to be worked at and your mindset is very important as to your willingness to get through it. In the beginning, think of it as training wheels. Once you set a goal and achieve it you will start to feel that you are competent and then this will boost your confidence. Confidence Competence Loop.
Relevant: Set goals relevant to your career or education. Again this should be done in the beginning of your growth stage. When we are learning how to set and achieve goals it’s important not to get overwhelmed by the process. The SMART Method is a beginning point in goal setting. Once you get the first few goals achieved using this system you can move on to be more specific with other goals and also add parameters for achievement.
Time-based: Set a deadline for completion. This should be mission critical in my opinion. If not you will be years down the road trying to figure out what the heck happened.
Conclusion
The SMART Method is a good starting point in setting goals for your path. Use the pieces that work and then progress in a forward momentum. You got this!
