Smart lenses and their 5 elements

We all have the intention of reaching our goals, however when we go on the march, the pending issues and day-to-day emergencies can “derail” us from our objectives. SMART goals are a great tool to help us set the direction for our projects clearly; were proposed by George T. Doran and handle 5 fundamental elements to achieve an effective goal setting.

Although the acronym SMART has many meanings depending on the field where they are applied (Performance Management, Project Planning, Administration or Personal Growth), here we share the most general way to build and establish SMART Goals for work and life:

1. S-Specific (Specific):

Ambiguity has never served to set good goals, being specific allows us to reduce gray areas and maintain our focus throughout the process. It is important to be clear about the "why" you want to meet that objective, the "where" it will be carried out and "what" are the elements that will be required. Example:

I want to be a better father and spend more time with my children (Not SMART) I want to be a better father, because my children deserve to be given my best and I will start by spending more time with them from 7 to 8 pm on weekdays. What we will do together is have dinner, play games and read stories before going to bed. (Yes it is SMART).

2. M-Measurable (Measurable):

Peter Drucker already said "What is not measured is not improved", therefore establishing an indicator of success in our objectives will allow us to know how close we are to the final result.

I want to lose weight (It's not SMART); I want to lose 3 kilos (Yes it is SMART). When the goal is not quantifiable, the success indicator can be set in another way. For example: I am going to work on the relationship with my partner and my indicator of success will be that I enjoy the time we are together much more.

3. A- Attainable (Attainable):

By considering whether a goal is achievable and realistic, we can identify what kinds of skills, attitudes, or other resources we need to meet them.

My goal is to get closer to each member of my team and spend an entire week with each member (Not SMART). Realistically, I can start by meeting for 10 min every Monday morning with each member of my team (Yes it is SMART).

4. R –Relevant (Relevant):

It means that it is related to a vision or a master plan either of life or of business.

I can start taking flamenco in the afternoons (It's not SMART if it doesn't bring you closer to your vision) On Friday afternoons I can go back to school to get the graduate degree I need to take my career to a managerial level (Yes it's SMART)

5. T -Time Bound- (In a time frame and with a deadline):

If we do not establish a time limit, our tasks and projects can be extended indefinitely.

We need to increase sales this year and improve productivity (It is not SMART). We need to increase sales by 10% against the previous year in April. In mid-April we can monitor how we are doing with this objective and see how the strategy is working (Yes it is SMART).