The Essential Guide to develop S.M.A.R.T. Goals
A life without any objective or ambition is a zero or a circle. One can keep on moving in vicious circles without any direction, but to move in the right direction, one should have a set of parameters or goals which can define whether he/she is on the right path in his/her journey called ‘Life.’
These parameters or goals are Smart goals. What are these smart goals for if they cannot help one define their life and career? All great leaders, whether it be Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, to name a few, had a vision or a goal to define their actions. Their lives have always been highlighted as examples of smart goals for others to mirror.
Any person, whether big or small, must have a set of smart goals to achieve his/her intended target, to succeed in one’s career. These goals define the path to success, whether it is to get a job or promotion or to do our daily chores. A person must have a set of smart goals to achieve success in life. It is where the mnemonic ’‘SMART' comes handy in assisting us in our goal-setting efforts. SMART goals are written after cross-questioning oneself and the members of the team responsible for the project on various aspects, including the 5P’s of marketing, i.e., Product, Price, Promotion, Place, and People inter-relating each with every alphabet of the acronym SMART. Answers to the questions would help deduce the approach to be followed for writing the goals.
For example, let’s take the sales of exercise books and notebooks. When we cover 5P’s of marketing in the market segments to be covered, it includes direct customers, dealer and retailer network or individual stores, and shopkeepers in the geographic boundaries targeted for sales. The pricing of the product in comparison to other market players, the best advertising platform which can help promote and connect to the largest audience in keeping with the economics of the advertisement, including the cost of sales and manufacturing of the product. All this information would go along in helping to write SMART goals for the sales of notebooks project.
What are SMART Goals?
Goals are a part of everyone’s life that provides them a path and motivation to achieve them. Everyone has set some targets for themselves.
Goals are a part of everyone’s life that provides them a path and motivation to achieve them. Everyone has set some targets for themselves.
A SMART goal is a guide that helps in setting goals. Now let us try to understand what SMART goals acronym ’‘SMART' stands for. The acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable or Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based. Each term of the acronym conveys a particular message as discussed below in detail:
Specific:
It implies that one should be precise in his/her approach when setting a goal and should be clear about his objectives. ’‘Specific' in no way means detailing into how we must set about achieving our goals, but it is a mission statement of what is intended. The answer to the 5W and H set of interrogative words can help in reaching the ’‘Specifics' of our aim. It is an interesting approach.
The first of the ’‘W' stands for “WHAT.” Then it gets into details of what are we intending to achieve? In our answer to this question, we should not shy away from the minutest of detail, which strikes our mind. It helps us think like an investigator.
The second ’‘W' stands for “Where.” It helps to identify any location that may be any place, unit, i.e., industry, department, etc. It helps us to pinpoint and locate.
The third ’‘W' stands for “When.” It involves timing and helps to set a time-frame to achieve our goals.
The fourth ’‘W' stands for “Why.” It helps to look for reasons and causes required to meet our goals.
The fifth ’‘W' stands for “Whom.” It helps us to define the people or personnel involved in the pursuit of our goals.
The last interrogative, ’‘H' stands for “How.” It helps us define or describe the processes, steps, and procedures as to how things happen, work, or behave.
Measurable
It helps to decide the criteria required for measuring the progress to attain the set goal. In turn, it helps in making a goal tangible as it determines a method to measure the progress made in reaching the target set by us.
Achievable or Attainable
It helps us to find out ways and means by which we can reach our goals and helps us to develop the attitude, ability, and skills to make our goals come true. You must deeply examine any previously overlooked opportunity with a hawk’s eye, which can help us in achieving our goals. In the long run, an achievable goal helps us to be motivated, encouraged, and keeps us inspired to move forward.
Relevant
It enables us to check whether the goal is reasonable and result-oriented and whether in the long run, it makes us feel rewarded. A relevant goal adds more depth and value keeping us motivated in its pursuit. For example, If you are launching a product, and if you are not approaching the right market, say the consumer market and are trying to find an outlet in the industrial market, your approach becomes irrelevant. The reason is that you are not targeting the correct market resulting in all efforts, time, and money going to the dogs. Relevance, therefore, implies the pursuit of the right goal at the right time, right place, and so forth.
Time-bound
Setting a goal with a targeted date is extremely important. An open-ended goal loses its significance. This important aspect of maintaining a deadline is crucial and should be at the center of all planning activities. It creates a sense of urgency and also helps gauge the relevance of the achievement. All companies maintain time-bound targets, whether it is in sales, production, or project management. A time-bound activity saves a lot in terms of finances and enhances growth. It is essential to define time targeted growth, or else the market is so competitive today that it may lead to the slow death of an organization.
What is a SMART Goal Setting?
Setting up the SMART Goals in a structured and organized way that can help us achieve our desired goal is known as SMART Goal Setting. This kind of structure also helps us to estimate where we stand in the real world and what is our current success rate. It helps us to set a clear picture of our priorities.
Importance of SMART Goal Setting
SMART goals help you achieve success by making the goal specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. The SMART method helps push your limits, gives you a direction, and helps you to reach your goals on time. It enables us to have a proper aim in life. To achieve their goals, a person must be self-disciplined.
Without discipline, one cannot reach any goal. It motivates you to move forward by reminding you about your priorities in life. It helps to become more adaptable to situations under pressure. After achieving the desired goal, it gives us a sense of satisfaction and motivates us to set up new goals and grow in life. It helps each individual to be more happy and satisfied in life.
SMART Goals Objectives
Process Objectives
Helps in identifying how the plan can be achieved and in what way the goal can be reached.
Impact Objectives
Helps in identifying what are the long-term effects of the goal and what are the impacts of this plan on others as well.
Outcome Objectives
Helps in identifying the kind of results formed in the process of execution of the plan and how it impacts the audience.
Personal Objectives
It not only helps in external factors but also helps in the personal development and growth of an individual.
Different kind of Goals:
Long term goals
Goals that require long term planning and execution are known as long term goals. They usually take up to 5 years or more to plan and execute. The impact of these goals is very fruitful, which is why an individual is willing to dedicate more time and effort towards it. For Example: Building a casino.
Intermediate-term goals
Goals that require planning and execution between 1-5 years are known as intermediate-term goals. The impact of these goals is also very profitable. .
Short term goals
Goals that require planning and execution in less than a year are known as short term goals. They do not have a long term impact.
SMART Goals Template
Specific
Who is involved in the goal?; What do I want to attain?; Where is the goal to be accomplished?; Why I want to achieve this goal?; When to reach the goal?
Measurable
How do I know I have reached the goal?; What is the progress rate?
Achievable
Do I have resources and capabilities to achieve the goal?
Realistic
Is the goal practical and within reach? ; How to achieve the goal?
Timely
What should be the deadline for my target?
Advantages of SMART Goals
They are
precise
Uncertain goals don’t give us proper direction to work on. Specific and precise goals help you to pay particular attention to what you want to pursue. It also helps you to make necessary alterations according to the situations you face in your way to reach your goal.
Divide larger goals to several smaller goals
SMART goals help to bifurcate broad complex goals into various smaller and easy to attain goals. It guides you not to burden yourself with a humungous project but try to divide it into smaller tasks within the team.
This reduces work stress.
Easy computation of
success rate
Through SMART goals, the work done to reach your goal is easily measurable. You can evaluate your progress, that is how much you have done and how far you still have to go.
It also helps in predicting results in the long run and evaluate the results.
Easy identification of missed target and work flaws
It makes it easy to identify the performance level of employees, i.e., who is working up to standard level and who need guidance for optimum performance, and the status of work done. It is easier to relocate missed steps and keep track of activities performed in the past and to be performed in the future.
Multiple plans incorporated
in one
Multiple tasks are absorbed into one main goal. For example, if you set the goal to be slim and fit, you need the right equipment ( treadmill, etc.),
You have to follow proper diet routine and something to track your goal ( such as fitness band). Hence multiple tasks are included in one main goal.
Facilitates timely completion of targets
The bifurcation of the main goal into smaller and attainable targets helps to complete each target within the allotted time. The purpose of urgency motivates the completion of objectives within timelines.
This helps you to reach your goal faster and economically without wasting time.
Disdvantages of SMART Goals
Addiction of achievement
Repeatedly attaining goals might lead you to addiction to accomplishments. In such conditions, individuals concentrate only on the goal - achievement and start ignoring other factors of work. It might lead a person to move into solitude and segregate from the rest of the team members, and in some cases, it results in blocking out social interactions.
Confusion of Identity
The consistent stress of reaching the targets may question the identity of a person in society, leading to identity scrape.
Hence, the unintended consequences of this can lead an individual to a sick psychological state leading to distress and disorientation.
May cause depression
A person who is consistently achieving goals, if due to some adverse situation, fails to achieve a goal, it may cause severe, depressive conditions. It may cause loss of self-confidence; he/she may think that he/she is incompetent. Failing to achieve a single goal doesn’t mean that a person is incapable of achieving something.
Overambitious perspective
Constant achievement of goals makes a person over-ambitious and full of vanity.
You should try to focus on the primary tasks and work on them step by step to reach the final objective with a positive outlook.
Goal setting marathon lifestyle
Consistently working under speedy routine surroundings with strict time-boundedness can cause severe changes in a person’s lifestyle. It results in declining health conditions and burdens a person with a high level of stress. It is recommended to take appropriate rests after each project completion.
Spiritual Starvation
In the race towards consistently achieving the goals, there are some elemental effects on a person, that is, some sort of spiritual starvation.
The person eventually loses the worth and motive of life.
In today’s world, time is running out for everyone in anything they do. It becomes all the more imperative to have clarity of ideas, rightly focused efforts and productive utilization of available resources and time. This helps in achieving what we want in life and improves our chances of success. Smart goal templates available nowadays have helped many people, who spent much of their lifetime shifting from one job to another or trying to rush about things to do more. They have helped in achieving a lot more from life and contributed to reducing worries and tensions.