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A method to set clear and relevant objectivesSMART objectives
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SMART – overall presentation
What is SMART?
Where does it come from? The concept first appeared in the November 1981 issue of Management Review by George T. Doran. (1)
How does it work? The five criteria of a SMART objective are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time Bound. By following the five steps you ground your plan in the reality of time, space, feasibility, personnel and potential impact. You make sure that your objectives are the right goals and improve your strategy’s probability of success.
SMART is a framework that allows you to ask specific questions of your strategy so that you can see how well it stands up as a concrete proposal.
Who does it apply to? The method is useful in all strategic planning situations and can be well extended to all professional scenarios in which objectives have to be set.
(1) Doran, G. T. (1981). There's a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management's goals and objectives. Management Review, Volume 70, Issue 11(AMA FORUM), pp. 35–36.
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SMART objectives – The attributes in details
S
M
A
R
T
S for Specific
This stage is crucial. The key is to establish the
concrete foundations of your plan. You need to
define and formulate your objective clearly and
in details. You have greater chance of success
when your objective perimeter is clearly set
rather than when the definition remains foggy.
Furthermore the more clearly your objective are
defined the easier it will be to assess the success
or failure of the project.
For example : ‘I want to improve sales
performance’ is unclear.
‘I want our sales to improve by 10% by this time
next year and our margin to remain stable’ is a
much clearer one.
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SMART objectives – The attributes in details
S
M
A
R
T
M for Measurable
Are we able to quantify the effect of our work:
- Can we say with precision when our target has
been reached?
- Can we measure the rate of progress?
- Will we be able to quantitatively assess the
level of success of the undertaking?
In order to measure both the final level of success
and the rate of change, you have to know both
where you're starting from as well as where you
want to go.
To continue with our previous example, if we want
to improve our sales figures, it’s crucial that we
know precisely what they are now, so that we can
check the rate of progress.
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SMART objectives – The attributes in details
S
M
A
R
T
A for Attainable
This is where you ask yourself if your goal is really
feasible or if it is wishful thinking.
Based on previous performances, do you think
your company will be able to achieve the goal you
have set?
Be sure to ask yourself this question if this kind of
objective has never been set before or if your
expectations are much higher than recent trends.
Most of the time the answer to the question will
depend on:
- The time frame in which you have decided to
reach this goal (see final step: Time Bound)
- The resources you will be able to access in
order to achieve that goal (money, human
resources, infrastructure etc)
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SMART objectives – The attributes in details
S
M
A
R
T
R for Relevant
Relevancy is where you locate your objective
within the broader narrative of your firm's
strategy. What does it contribute? How does it
fit in? Will it have a positive effect on your
company's over-arching plan?
Example: setting the goal of reducing
production costs in all business units might be a
clever goal but may not be viable if the
company’s overall strategy for the year is to
double production at all costs.
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SMART objectives – The attributes in details
S
M
A
R
T
T for Time bound
Setting a time frame is essential to the definition of any
objective, otherwise it’s no more than simple wishful
thinking.
Without a time target a project can be left to drag on and
on. It's a good idea to think about feasibility and
relevancy again when you think about setting a time-
frame. What is the strategic rationale behind your
timeframe. Does it fit in with your other business
projects? Considering all your other projects and
priorities, will you be able to reach your goal by that date,
or does is have to come second to other projects?
But by setting time by which your project should be
finished gives you a yardstick with which to measure your
progress.
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This slideshow is part of Eloquens’ blog post on ‘5 steps to define SMART objectives’