Do you want to be successful and satisfied? SMART goals are here for you. If you are one of those people who do not want to leave anything to chance, you will find some useful tips in this article. Lay the goal itself as the cornerstone of your success. Setting it is not easy, because it should stem from your mission and vision and have specific qualities. This article explains all of this, so there is nothing to worry about.
SMART goals in practice
Do you think this rule is only useful for the boss of a billion-crown company? You may be wrong. This approach can also help you at home, whether you are planning your savings for a new flat, your mum’s birthday party or a wedding. Anyone can use it, in practically any field. Any goal can be SMART. So if you want to complete your project successfully without working harder than you need to, try SMART goals.
SMART goals for a business
Let’s start from the beginning. The approach is easy to explain using the example of our beloved Google. Imagine you are Larry Page or Sergey Brin. You wake up one morning, think for a moment and say: “I’ll start a company.” But why would you do that? All that hard work and those sleepless nights… Perhaps you want a pile of money, so you get to work anyway. Yes, the idea of getting rich tempts a lot of people.
Being lectured that you should not go about it this way probably will not convince you, will it? Perhaps it will help if you search the internet and find out that around 95% of newly founded companies go bankrupt. They probably did not follow expert advice very closely…
How does it all fit together? Experts say that if you start a company only with the prospect of high profits, it never ends well. Instead, focus on why your company should exist at all and what it will bring people, in other words its mission (purpose).
Enough lecturing. Let’s get back to our favourite search engine, Google. Nobody will ever know exactly what Larry Page and Sergey Brin were thinking when they founded it. But it is easy to guess from its mission.
“Our mission is to organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
Google
Sergey or Larry were evidently tired of searching for everything slowly and laboriously in books, so they decided to do something about it. And because they were not stingy, they shared Google with us too. See? In this version there are no dreams of big money. Following this example, you can go a really long way.
So the idea is born. But what next? The mission should be followed by the company’s vision. That is, a specific goal towards which all activity is directed. It is a clear and specific picture of a future state. You can focus on what you would like to achieve even decades from now. And how does Google see it?
“To be the most prestigious and the most important search engine in the world, while being a free and easy-to-use service that delivers relevant results in a fraction of a second.”
Google
So where do SMART goals fit in? For companies to be successful, all their goals should stem from the company’s mission and vision. It is important to connect everything. So whenever Google sets a goal, it should consider whether the goal helps organise information and supports its aim of being the most prestigious search engine in the world.
SMART goals explained
What exactly does a SMART goal mean? In Czech, the word can be translated as “clever” or “sharp”. However, it is actually an acronym made up of other English words:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Realistic
- Time-bound
Specific
Let’s take the example of a company again. Every business struggles with high costs at some point. So the aim will be to reduce them. But watch out! If you set the goal this simply, it may not pay off. So follow rule number one and make sure your goal is specific enough.
When you know exactly what you want to achieve, it is easier to come up with strategies and ways to do it. What is more, if you are not working solo, you will delegate work and hand it over to other people, and they might not understand the goal reduce costs in the same way as you. For example, they might focus on a completely different type of cost from the one that matters to you. So what does a properly specific goal look like? In 2023, reduce production costs by 10% compared with 2022.
Measurable
You will surely agree that the most valuable goal is one that has been achieved. But can you actually tell that you have achieved it? It is not always simple or obvious. If you take the previous example, reduce costs, a year after setting it you will have no idea whether you have achieved it unless you measure it. In this case, you can use percentages. The measure, however, should be as precise as possible. So you could even use crowns directly.
Achievable
Of course, it is great to set yourself high goals. You know the saying… “The only limit you have is the one you set yourself.” But watch out! You must be able to achieve your goal. So remember the letter A in your SMART goal and set a goal that is achievable. Nobody can do the impossible. So think everything through carefully first.
Realistic
This word is linked to the previous one. If you set yourself the goal of bringing your other half the moon from the sky, it will not be easy. Your goal must be realistic. So do not put too much pressure on yourself. You simply cannot do the impossible, however hard you try.
Time-bound
To make time work in your favour, include it in your goal. Instead of reduce costs, set a goal such as reduce costs by the beginning of next year. You may be surprised at the ways you come up with to achieve it. If it is important to you, your brain will start producing more and more new ideas and thoughts on its own.
Setting SMART goals
Everything you read is about companies. But how can SMART goals help you if you want to use them for personal projects? Simple. Of course, you do not need to bring mission and vision into it. It is enough to simply follow the letters.
Always start by deciding exactly what you want to achieve. That is the letter S. Then decide on something that will tell you the goal has been met. That is M. Next comes A. So be aware of your limits and do not set anything beyond your abilities. The letter R reminds you to keep your feet on the ground and not build castles in the air. And finally T. Try to make friends with time so that it helps you rather than works against you. Set an exact date or time by which you must complete the project. And your goal is SMART! Enjoy your successes, and then dive into our other interesting articles.