If your goals aren’t written down, they’re just hopes and dreams. Goals take strategy, and one of the best strategies on the market is SMART goals.
CEO and Little Bird Momma, Priscilla McKinney and Executive VP, Ashley Le Blanc talk shop about SMART goals and they break down S-M-A-R-T with cheerleader levels of exuberance. SMART goals is a system that is not only strategic but is repeatable. Nailing your goals this year is great, but achieving all your goals for the next five years? Now, that’s fantastic.
“S” stands for specific. Instead of thinking in vague, lofty, idealistic terms get nitty-gritty with your goals. Get as specific as possible. Use numbers. Put a number on a “good” salary bonus - an actual number of new clients you want to onboard each quarter. Go ahead and make numbers your new BFF.
“M” stands for measurable. If you can’t measure it, then you won’t be able to accurately track your progress. Plus, the beauty of measurement is that it gives you all the glorious possibilities of celebrating small wins— we all need every “W” we get! The magic of measurement also gives you, as Priscilla puts it, “permission to tweak the strategy as you go.” If you can measure it, you can chart your results and adjust as you need along the way.
“A” stands for attainable. You have a goal, but is it really attainable? A good question to ask yourself is, “Can I attain this goal within my desired timeframe?” Also, consider asking others for their insights and advice. After all, this is common practice in business— consulting strategists, coaches, and colleagues. If you have some SMART goals that aren’t professional in nature, ask a spouse, partner, parent, or friend. Just make sure you choose who to ask wisely, certain people are in our lives to hype us up and dream big with us, and others are there to be our guardrails, offering us more caution and prudence.
“R” stands for relevant. Don’t create goals to check them off your to-do list for the year. Don’t create goals because they’re popular, trendy goals. Don’t create goals that are based on what everyone else thinks you should be doing. Create goals that are relevant to you, and are in alignment with who you want to be, what career you want to have, and where you believe your company should be going.
“T” stands for timely. Regardless of whether you are a self-diagnosed procrastinator or not, timelines matter. Timelines motivate us to take steps forward. They’re the binding agent in the recipe. Don’t just have a date of completion on your timeline. Mark dates down on your calendar for the halfway point, or when a key thing needs to be checked off the list to work you closer to completion. To-do lists are our favorite. So is Trello— which Priscilla advocates that the “T” could also stand for.
Without a clear game plan goals are really just wishful thinking.
Feeling hyped up about SMART goals? Snag your free, printable SMART goals resource guide here.
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