World's Worst Objectives

5 screamingly obvious ways to make them SMARTWorld’s Worst Objectives

World’s Worst ObjectivesHow to make them SMART

Five real examples

of screamingly bad

objectives and how

to make them

SMART

For help with your objectives contactvinehouse.co.uk

World’s Worst ObjectivesHow to make them SMART

Objective 1:

“Have coffee with people in Slough

once a week.”

Ask:

What do you want to achieve?

How will you know when you’ve achieved it?

World’s Worst ObjectivesHow to make them SMART

The objective:

“Have coffee with people in Manchester once a week.”

Becomes:

“Identify what the people in Manchester are doing that could improve our processes.”

World’s Worst ObjectivesHow to make them SMART

“Develop a close relationship with the sales manager.”

Objective 2:

World’s Worst ObjectivesHow to make them SMART

Ask: “What is it you need to achieve by doing this?”

World’s Worst ObjectivesHow to make them SMART

Objective 2 Becomes: “Ensure we have the sales forecast for the next three months.”

World’s Worst ObjectivesHow to make them SMART

Ask: “When do you need it by?”

World’s Worst ObjectivesHow to make them SMART

“Ensure we have the sales forecast for the next three months by the end of each month.”

Now you have your timescale:

World’s Worst ObjectivesHow to make them SMART

World’s Worst ObjectivesHow to make them SMART

This is a development objective.

“Attend a presentation skills course.”

Objective 3:

Be able to _________ by (date).

World’s Worst ObjectivesHow to make them SMART

Development objective structure:

“Be able to design a presentation explaining the

research data in six slides of no more than 60

words by 30th June.”

World’s Worst ObjectivesHow to make them SMART

Objective 3 Becomes:

“Be able to present the safety information

so everyone knows what they need to do

to meet the new standards by December.”

World’s Worst ObjectivesHow to make them SMART

Or:

Objective 4:

World’s Worst ObjectivesHow to make them SMART

“Build a high-performing team.”

How would you recognise a high-performing team?

World’s Worst ObjectivesHow to make them SMART

A high performing team usually:

o Achieves more than others o Achieves to higher level of

qualityo Achieves in less timeo Achieves with fewer

resources

Define:o Time scales o Resources o What needs to be achieved

World’s Worst ObjectivesHow to make them SMART

Be specific

World’s Worst ObjectivesHow to make them SMART

The objective

“Build a high-performing team.”

Becomes

“Build a four person team that is able to put a new accounting process in place across the company within two weeks.”

World’s Worst ObjectivesHow to make them SMART

Maximise the efficiency of the VK process.

Objective 5:

Ask:

How would you know it had been “maximised”?

Identify what you need to achieve.

Identify what you need to achieve

“Increase the efficiency of

the VK process to 79% by

31st December.”

World’s Worst ObjectivesHow to make them SMART

You may need to do this first:

“Identify options for

increasing the VK process

by 31st October.”

World’s Worst ObjectivesHow to make them SMART

SMART Objectives

Make sure you ask the right questions and you will be able to get your objectives right.

o “What do you want to achieve?”o “How will you know when you’ve achieved it?” o And remember to be specific

That’s what objectives are all about.

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For more help

@nancyslessenger

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www.vinehouse.co.uk

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