Work S.M.A.R.T.
Perhaps you’ve heard that a goal without a deadline is a daydream. A due date is one of the concrete elements of a 5-part goal-setting process, called SMART goals. Let’s get smart one letter at a time.
S
In my coaching practice, I take a very tactical approach with clients, typically asking them what goal they want to work on. Now, most people like to have options, so I often hear two or three goals. But I press them to select the most important goal for “right now.” Said another way, I ask them to be Specific. So the “S” in SMART is specific. Specific pertains to more than just identifying one goal. It means stating the goal in a detailed way. If a client says, “My goal is to have more customers,” I will ask “What kind of customers?” And we’ll drill down through more probing questions until we have a very specific customer description: “I want more customers who need my Y product/service. Now we’ve put a specific face on the goal.
M
Continuing with the process, I will say to the client, “Good, so you’ve described the kind of customer you would like to have. You said you wanted ‘more.’ How many is ‘more’?” In other words, the client must quantify the goal. “M,” then, is Measurable. If there is no measurable component to the goal, then how can the client know when the goal is reached? The “M” also has a subtext of meaningfulness. I will question the client about what amount of more is meaningful for his/her business in terms of real revenue. A 10% increase in customers on a customer-base that is 100 may not have a meaningful impact on the bottom line. So quantifying the goal means putting a sharp pencil to it.
A
“A” stands for Attainable or Actionable. In other words, it must be physically possible or likely the client can attain the goal. In the coaching conversation, the operative question I would ask is, “What are some ways you can achieve that?” This is the “stretch factor.” Stretch goals make you exceed your typical effort or mode of operating to achieve an important goal. But they don’t ask you to do what you can’t physically do. Additionally, the goal must be expressed in behavioral terms. In the example we are developing, the goal statement would run this way (so far): “I will increase my Y-product customers by X-% by initiating a direct mail campaign to the zip codes where the target customers live.” The direct mail campaign to the appropriate zip codes is the actionable or behavioral component.
R
“R” refers to how Realistic the goal is. Using direct mail is a more Realistic method for reaching hundreds of prospects quickly than phoning them or going door-to-door. So, in addition to being physically attainable, a goal must be realistically attainable in terms of the efficiency or effectiveness of the method of attainment.
“R” also carries a subtext of Relevance. The behavior or actions taken must directly relate to achieving the goal. For example, improving operational efficiency or cutting costs are not nearly as correlated to acquiring the desired increase in new customers as the direct-mail strategy. Now, if the goal had been stated in terms of improving operating income by X-%, then all three methods would be relevant. Getting at the relevance is the reason coaches drill down with questions. If the client is crystal clear about what the goal is, then he/she will discover the most effective way to achieve the goal.
T
We began by stating that a goal without a due date is a daydream. “T” is for Time. Any SMART goal must be time-pegged. The coaching question that prompts this usually takes the form, “When do you see yourself having this X-% additional customers?” The time factor is what puts real teeth into the goal because as soon as you designate a timeframe, the clock starts ticking. A good coach will usually want to drill down on this element as well. A question to consider is whether or not the due date is too tight or too lax. A coach will probe into that in order to keep you from sabotaging yourself (too tight a deadline) or giving yourself a cake walk (deadline too generous).
You Written Goal
The final version of your SMART goal would read. “By the end of the next quarter, I will increase by X-% the customers who buy my Y-product/service, using a zip code pegged direct mail campaign.” From that statement, you can break down the goal into subtasks and sub-sub-tasks with begin and end dates.
And that’s what they mean by working SMARTer not harder.
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