Goal-Setting

  • Do it the S.M.A.R.T. way & Make them measurable, reasonable & achievable over a set time period.

Why do we set Goals in life, at work, with our businesses? We need them as targets and objectives to aim at, as direction to move towards, as tools of motivation towards attaining them as well as performance measurement upon achieving the goals.

We set Goals to achieve success. To some, however, success is subjective. Success is also relative and comparative. And sometimes success can be intrinsic as well. Hence it is necessary to set a benchmark for our definition of success in measurable terms. Goal-setting should come into the picture with the END in mind, defining what our business wish to achieve, with set timelines.

The S.M.A.R.T. Formula is an acronym which defines the characteristics of Goal-setting. One should set Goals utilizing the principles of S.M.A.R.T.:

“Specific“ - Be Precise & Exact. For instance, “to make 2 sales presentations a day”, and not “to make a few sales presentations a day”

“Measurable“ - Quantify your goal. For instance, “to achieve 20% growth in revenue”

“Achievable“ - Be realistic of your resources in the ability to achieve your Goal.

“Relevant“ - This is relative to other functions. For instance, to tell the kitchen staff at your restaurant of your 20% revenue growth target may be irrelevant to them, unless presented in a way such as initiating a cost reduction by managing raw food wastage by 30%.

“Timely“ - Frame it up with a time line. For instance, your goal should read “to increase profits by 50% from now till year end”.