I can't remember where I first heard the presentation on goal setting, but I do remember the instructor telling us our goals need to be SMART. I instantly thought to myself "who would create dumb goals", but I quickly found out that SMART was merely an acronym for Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-based. The first use of the term I could find occurred in the November 1981 issue of Management Review by George T. Doran.[1]
Over the years this word has helped me remeber to focus the goals I set for myself in a way that is smart. Recently I have also seen where E and R have been added to remind us to always Evaluate and Reevaluate our goals even after we feel they have been accomplished.
You might be saying to yourself right now "I would rather have a set of dumb goals and am tired of trying to be smart all of the time." Well it just happens the experts have developed a mnemonic just for you. Doable, Understandable, Manageable, and Beneficial goals have been developed by the personal development folks but they are far from dumb. Any tool that will help us focus our goals is SMART even if the name is DUMB.
Have a great week!
[1] Doran, George T. "There's a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management's goals and objectives." Management Review, Nov 1981, Volume 70 Issue 11
I truely believe we all have the ability to be life changing leaders in our homes, at our jobs, and in the community. In this blog I will try to post tools we all can use to hone our leadership skills. I welcome any comments.
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