January 17, 2008

Everything You Need to Get on Track and Stay That Way

• Create your strategic plan without spending thousands of dollars
• Learn from world-class Strategy Coaches
• Make connections with others who are growing their businesses
• Learn how Mystrategicplan will keep you on track all year long

Get SMART!
If you'll remember when we last left off, we were encouraging you to break down your New Year's resolutions into several smaller, easily attainable action items in order to better track your progress throughout the year on the way to achieving your desired goals. This week we'd like to pick up that line of discussion and remind you to also keep the acronym SMART in mind as you set these goals for yourself or your organization. Smart goal setting ensures that everyone knows what they’re supposed to be doing and when.

HOW SMART GOAL SETTING WORKS

With goals, you convert your mission, vision, and long-term strategic objectives into performance targets, and you should think about achieving them in one-year time frames. They are immediate mileposts on your way to your vision. For maximum effectiveness, goals must state how much of what kind of performance and by when it is to be accomplished. This is where it pays to think SMART when creating goals.

Specific Measureable Attainable Responsible Time

Specific:

Goals need to be specific. Try to answer the questions of How much and What kind with each goal you write.

The sprocket department will raise sprocket production by 20% by the end of this year.

Measurable:

Goals must be stated in quantifiable terms, or otherwise they’re only good intentions. Measurable goals facilitate management planning, implementation, and control. The sprocket department will raise sprocket production by 20% by the end of this year.

Attainable:

Goals must provide a stretch that inspires people to aim higher. Goals must be achievable, or they’re a set-up for failure. Set goals you know you, your company, and employees can realistically reach.

The sprocket department will raise sprocket production by 20% by the end of this year.

Responsible person:

Goals must be assigned to a person or a department. But just because a person is assigned to a goal doesn’t mean that she’s solely responsible for its achievement. See our article on Performance Management for ideas on how to hold your team accountable for goal achievement. The sprocket department will raise sprocket production by 20% by the end of this year.

Time specific:

With reference to time, your goals must include a timeline of when your goals should be accomplished.

The sprocket department will raise sprocket production by 20% by the end of this year.

CHECK OUT OUR SMART GOAL WRITING TOOLS

• Sign up for a free trial to use our goal setting software, MyStrategicPlan
• Download our goal setting worksheet.
• Use MSP's Goal Reminder tool - enter your top 3 goals for 2008 & We'll send you a inspirational reminder each month!

STRATEGY CHECK: