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3 Examples of SMART GoalsA Goal that’s Not SMART: Win new customers.A SMART Goal: To increase the number of customers by 50%, send out 10,000 emails and cold-call 1,000 potential prospects by January 10.Not SMART: Spend more time on self-development.SMART: Free up 1 hour per day by more efficiently coordinating tasks and activities, and spend that hour on self-development activities.Not SMART: Produce more content.SMART: Create 50 new blog articles for our corporate blog by July 1.Full article about SMART Goals:The Ultimate SMART Goals Template For Achieving Your Objectives 2018

I think setting SMART goals is a start if you are new to setting goals. So first I’m going to explain what SMART goals are and then I’m going to show you what I’ve personally been missing and how I improved the SMART system.What does SMART stand for?To make sure your goals are clear and reachable, each one should be:Specific (simple, sensible, significant).Measurable (meaningful, motivating).Achievable (agreed, attainable).Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based).Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).Example of a SMART goal: At the end of 2020 I want to weigh less than 65 kg.What do SMART goals miss?There are a couple of things that smart goals miss:Reason (why do you want to achieve this?).Emotion (what are the emotions related to this goal?).Consequence (what happens if I don’t reach that goal?).Achievement (what is the reward if I reach that goal?).Answering these four questions has helped me get a much deeper bond with my goal, therefore resulting in way better achievements over the last couple of years.

From reading the definition alone, many professionals can understand how SMART goals can be beneficial in a work setting. It’s a great way to define all of the important details of a project before you tackle it. The specificity in the goal makes it clear to everyone involved on what’s to be done, why you’re doing it, and the objectives you want to reach. As a result, your team is much more aligned, focused and productive.By laying the foundation of your project with SMART goals, you are setting the stage for tasks that will need to be complete in order to accomplish what you set forth. Each goal may have objectives attached that can turn into an organized and succinct to-do list for your team.Meanwhile, the overarching goal are revisited regularly to monitor progress and keep everyone on track. This is an excellent way to create visibility and accountability among your team members. In this environment, everyone’s contributions are easily recognized so hard work can be rewarded.SMART goals also increase motivation for your team members because the results feel more tangible. For example, increasing revenue by 20% might sound like a tremendous feat. However, once your salespeople know the exact game plan you’ll be using to make it happen, they will feel much more confident about their ability to do it. And this isn’t just hearsay.Studies have shown motivation is actually tied to performance. According to research by Edwin Locke and Gary Latham, they found that for people who followed goals that were both specific and challenging, it led to higher performance 90% of the time. Setting SMART goals is a great way for your team to visualize success and get energized about conquering the next mountain.Lastly and most importantly, setting SMART goals saves time (which means it also saves money). When dealing with keeping a team aligned on a project, think about the amount of questions that are asked, meetings that are had, and time that is wasted due to the lack of centralized information. Especially when that information is thoughtfully laid out, founded on strategy and agreed upon by everyone in advance, it can be the most valuable resource in a project. And if made readily accessible to every team member, SMART goals can serve as the one-stop shop for everything there is to know about a project.Read more about SMART goals here - SMART Goals Template for Strategic and Data-Driven Managers