New Year – SMART Goal Setting

By Rob Canales – VP of Product Development and Marketing

Happy New Year!  Since many folks are just coming back to the office from the holidays I think today is the perfect time to introduce this wise topic.  SMART Goals.  If you haven’t heard this acronym, or even if you need to dust off the egg nog and reacquaint yourself with SMART, here’s the idea and breakdown:

SMART goals, whether for business or personal use, are a method to thoughtfully plan achievements or goals that you have chosen for focus.  This framework is intended to guide you intelligently through goal-setting to give you the best shot at reaching those goals.  So here we go!

Specific – Zero in on your goals, don’t be vague or you’ll risk missing them.  Provide details so you don’t miss any angles.

Measurable – Your goals should be quantifiable otherwise you risk giving yourself slack and settling for a half-hearted result.  For example, I want to eat more fish vs. I will each fish 3 times a week.

Achievable/Attainable – Your goal should push you but not be so lofty that you have no realistic shot at it.  You may need to break up results into a stair-step by week, by month, by quarter, etc. to help you grow consistently and realistically without risking burnout.

Relevant – This is all about “why”.  Get real about your goal targets and ensure they are truly meaningful to you and not some popular fad that is sure to wane.

Time-Bound – You must have some date targets/parameters to guide your efforts and help you to answer “when”.  This is critical, a little, plus a little, plus a little, equals a lot over the long haul.

Don’t be flippant about your goals, give them plenty of thought, factoring in your tendencies, your determination/perseverance level, and where you have already decided you want to be.  So let’s identify your goals, measure them up against the SMART guideposts, and get after it!