SMART Objectives

Purpose

When you’re a manager, you face challenges every day. They may relate to projects, performance or personal development.

Setting SMART objectives helps you deal with these challenges. SMART puts issues into context and gives you a model for resolving them in a positive manner. In other words, SMART places you in control and lets you do your job as well as possible.

How to Use SMART Objectives

SMART stands for:

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Attainable
  • Relevant
  • Time bound

To use SMART effectively, you apply each of the above words to a given objective.

  • First establish if your objective is specific. Is it clear to both you and anyone else who is involved? Is it relevant to other objectives within your organisation? Does it have a start, middle and end?
  • You must be able to measure the objective’s success. Such a measurement should be exact, with amounts, percentages and dates as appropriate. If the objective is to increase sales, for example, you need to specify what constitutes success. This may be in the form of an 8% increase in overall sales within six months. Only when you have measurable objectives, do you really know if you have achieved anything.
  • Is your objective realistically attainable? If you don’t reach an objective, the effect can damage morale. On the other hand, don’t set an objective that is simple to reach. This can weaken long-term motivation. Instead, an objective should be hard to attain but achievable.
  • An objective must be relevant to your strategic direction. It must fit in with other objectives. What you don’t want are objectives that waste your time and effort.
  • Always set a deadline for an objective. Deadlines can stimulate motivation. They can make you work with a greater sense of interest and urgency.

The SMART framework applies as much to objectives at work as at home. You can use it to further your career and your life. What lies behind it, and what has made it so popular, is an easily remembered model for meeting goals and being a success.

Limitations

SMART is a proven technique that works. This is why consultants and managers have developed its use over the past 30 years.

SMART began as a framework for project management. It then became a common feature of performance management. And from there, managers saw the benefits of using SMART for personal development.

But you must adhere to the SMART approach. To help ensure success, you need to follow the SMART criteria: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound.

Related Subjects

  • Strategic Planning. Every organisation should have a strategy for success that takes it in a certain direction. Strategic planning creates this strategy and uses techniques such as SMART to assist.
  • Setting Good Goals. SMART is a useful model to have when setting good goals. It helps to clarify the goals you can achieve.