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SMART Goals
The more defined your goals are, the more likely you are to achieve them. Nebulous, fuzzy goals are difficult to achieve: if you can't define it, how do you know when you've achieved it? Goals should be SMART:
S pecific - is the goal defined so I know when I've achieved it?
M easurable - is the goal, or its achievement, quantifiable?
A chievable - is achieving the goal even possible?
R elevant - is achieving the goal important to me?
T ime Bounded - does the goal have a timeframe attached to it?
As a manager, it is important that you set department/group/team goals. Here are some examples of SMART department/group/team goals:
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Increase sales by 12% by the end of Q2, 2005.
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Reduce accounts receivable from 60 days to 50 days by June 30, 2005.
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Increase the percentage of customer problems resolved on the first call from 96.7% to 98% by November 31, 2005.
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Decrease manufacturing rejects by 25% by September 31, 2005.
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Reduce debugging time by 50% by September 31, 2005.
Review each of the following statements and determine if it is a SMART goal. Place a star by the SMART goals. For others, list the letters of the SMART criteria that are missing:
_____Improve teamwork by January 31, 2005.
_____Eliminate data entry errors without sacrificing speed.
_____Decrease software coding time by 10% by August 30, 2005.
_____Provide excellent customer service all the time.
_____Increase customer satisfaction ratings from 4.37 to 4.55 by
5/15/2005.
_____Reduce travel expenses by 33% by end of Q3, 2005.
_____Increase sales per person by the end of the FY2005.
(See the end of this newsletter for the answers.)
Developing goals is easier if you use a formula such as the one below. The formula ensures that the goal is specific, measurable, and time bounded; only you can determine whether the goal is achievable and relevant.
Write at least two goals for your department, group, or team by following the goal writing formula:
The department, group, or team goals you wrote should help your company achieve its goals. Describe how the achievement of your department's/group's/team's goals will help your company achieve its goals.
Career and Personal Goals
While we are using time mastery to help you achieve department, group, and team goals, the same techniques apply to your career and personal goals.
Determine whether the following career and personal goals are SMART goals. Place a star by the SMART goals. For others, list the letters of the SMART criteria that are missing:
_____Be a better parent.
_____Attain financial independence by age 50.
_____Spend one hour with my children and/or spouse every evening.
_____Improve my time management techniques.
_____Get physically fit by July 1, 2005.
_____Be promoted to the next level of management by December 31, 2005.
_____Remodel the kitchen by April 15, 2005.
(See the end of this newsletter for the answers.)
Write at least two career goals and two personal goals by following the goal writing formula:
If you had time to achieve them, these goals would have significant positive results in your department and your life. Let's make it easy for us to achieve these goals by making sure that each goal is aligned, anchored, and linked.
Aligning, Anchoring, and Linking Your Goals
Have you ever tried to start a diet around the holidays? Was it difficult to achieve your goal? What made it difficult? Your challenges undoubtedly included:
The same is true of goals. Goals are easier to achieve if they are aligned with outside forces. As an example, if your department goal is to double headcount and the company's goal is to keep headcount flat, your goal is not aligned with outside forces and you will have a challenge meeting your goal.
For this next section, we'll focus on departmental goals; the techniques and thinking apply to achieving professional and personal goals.
Aligning Your Goals
What happens if your goal is not aligned with company goals? At the worst, you could get fired. At best, your department performs poorly or you are seen as a malcontent.
What happens if your goal IS aligned with company goals? Your department succeeds, you are seen as supporting the company, and your department is seen as a major contributing force in the organization.
Check your department goal to see if it is indeed aligned with outside forces (including your manager's goals!). Ask yourself the question: "Will the achievement of my department goal help the company achieve its goals?"
If your goal MIGHT NOT align with the company's goals, I suggest that you revisit your goal list and pick another.
Anchoring Your Goals
It's also important that your goals are anchored to your inner forces or values. If you don't value the achievement of your goal, or the achievement of your goal goes against your values and principles, your goal will be difficult to achieve.
Check your departmental goal to see if it is indeed anchored to your inner forces. Ask the question, "Will the achievement of this goal reinforce who I am as a manager, leader, or person?"
If your goal MIGHT NOT reinforce who you are, I suggest that you revisit your goal.
Linking Your Goals
Finally, achieving a goal is easier if it is linked to another one of your goals. You may find that several of your goals may link together nicely; by working on one, you can easily work on several.
Even more powerful is linking your goal to another person's or department's goal. Linking answers the question, "Who else might benefit from the achievement of this goal?"
The power in linking your goal to another person or department's goal is that it 1) helps everyone win, 2) brings departments together, and 3) helps the company.
Summary
By aligning, anchoring, and linking our goals, they become easier to achieve.
Achieve
your goals by mastering time
Setting SMART goals is only half of the equation. Many of us fail on our goals because the busy-ness of the day (or the business of the day) takes over.
How many times have you thought or said, "Sure, I'd like to (take a course, take a vacation, work on an additional skill or project, etc) but there just isn't enough time." When we say, "There just isn't enough time," we're shirking responsibility. Let's look at time and I'll show you what I mean.
Time is a unique resource. It cannot be saved, stopped, or replaced. It's interesting, then, that some people seem to "find time" to get things accomplished that others don't. Some people seem to be able to "manage time" better than others and are thus able to "better use time."
The fact is, these resourceful people cannot "find time" or "manage time" any more than the rest of us. Time cannot be "managed" or "found". We all have the same amount of time in a day, a week, a month, and a year.
Everyone has:
24 hours in a day
168 hours in a week
8,736 hours in a year
613,200 hours in a lifetime (assuming a life span of 70 years)
306,600 hours left (assuming you're now 35 years old)
How many hours do you have left in your life? Take a minute to calculate the time and write your answer in the margin. Compare the accomplishments you've achieved in the time you've already lived with the goals you want to achieve in the time you have left. Are you pleased with where you're at and where you're headed?
Ask yourself how you can use the remaining time to accomplish job, career, and personal goals that are meaningful for you. Ask yourself, "What is the one thing I can do TODAY that - if I did superbly - would have significant positive results in my department, career, or personal life?"
Managing time isn't about time at all; it's about priorities. It's about achievements that - at the end of the day - are most important to you. It's about setting achievable goals and using a planful method for achieving those goals amidst the many forces vying for your time every day.
Long-term Success Happens a Week at a Time
When you go on a diet, are you "good" every single day? If you blow your diet by going out one night, do you give up on your goal? The answer (hopefully) is "no." Likewise, if your goal is to get promoted within a year and you haven't done anything about it today, do you give up on your goal? The answer is "no." Most people focus too much on the long-term goal OR on the day-to-day task. The truth is that you must look past the day-to-day and before the long-term goal to your intermediate goal.
Think about how you walk. Try walking by looking down at each step you take. You may not ever stumble, but you will certainly lose track of where you're headed. Now, try to walk by looking at your destination (say a building a mile away); you MAY reach your goal if you don't fall down the steps or get run over by a truck as you cross the street! To walk effectively, you must look forward - not a mile forward, but several steps ahead.
To effectively achieve your long-term goals, you must first break them down into intermediate goals, goals that can be reasonably achieved in a week (or for longer-term goals, in a month).
Intermediate steps are in the medium-range,
"might-take-a- week-to-get-it-done" perspective. These steps are not the minute detail. Examples of intermediate steps for "increasing sales by 15% by year end" may include:
Examples of intermediate steps for "purchase a house by July 1, 2005" may include:
Some people simply brainstorm the intermediate steps. Others proceed chronologically. Use the method best suited for you.
Take a few minutes and list the intermediate steps required for you to achieve your most important department goal and one of your most important career or personal goals. Write the intermediate steps in the appropriate spaces on your objectives page in your Time Management System.
You may wish to also record on a post-it note your top goal and intermediate steps and post it on your page marker to keep in front of you at all times.
You will want to keep track of these intermediate goals on a monthly calendar. NOTE: You will also want to keep track of appointments, meetings, and other business action items on this monthly calendar as well; this will enable you to quickly see how packed or free any specific week will be.
Daily Planning
Having long-term and intermediate goals are the first two steps to "managing time." The third step is to ACT! As the saying goes, "The longest journey begins with the first step."
Many people - all with good intentions - ignore the realities of the day when they first start integrating their intermediate goals in their daily regimen. They forget that they have meetings they're supposed to attend, job commitments they're expected to fulfill, and other things that will tug and pull at their available time. As a result, they become frustrated with their lack of progress on their goals and become angry with the things - work and family obligations - that are taking all their time.
Take a few minutes each morning to plan your day:
Step 1: Identify your appointments, meetings, and other business action items
Your first step in planning your day is to transfer appointments and other business action items from the monthly calendar. These are non-discretionary: you've already made commitments to them. Take time now to transfer any appointments and business action items from your monthly calendar onto your daily calendar in their appropriate places.
Step 2: Plan your daily duties
Your second step is to plan your daily duties such as phone calls, mail, inbox items, etc. These are activities that are less defined that action items but still require a portion of your day. By planning these duties, you allot time for them without letting them drive your entire day.
Step 3: Make appointments with yourself
Your third step is to "make appointments with yourself" by identifying which intermediate steps you wish to tackle today. Transfer these discretionary activities (intermediate steps) from your Goal Planning page. This makes discretionary items non-discretionary by the simple act of recording the item in the daily plan. You move the future into the present so you can act upon it now!
Here are some tips to help you "manage time" and achieve long-term success:
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Limit the number of activities you plan for a day. Commit to - and complete - a few activities rather than overcommitting.
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Make a habit of planning for 15 minutes every day.
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Do your priority first. Period. Include a quiet time to accomplish your top priority.
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Take a long-range view of your commitments. Does your calendar fill up quickly? Should it? Space your non-discretionary time carefully week to week.
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Take a medium-range view when planning time for your intermediate steps. "What is the one thing that I know if I did superbly THIS WEEK would have significant positive results in my department, career, and/or personal life?"
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Use your time management system to keep important information such as your department, career, and personal goals and intermediate steps; your appointments, business action items, and other commitments; and your contacts.
Entelechy's Time Mastery Tip
"What is the one thing I can do TODAY that - if I did superbly - would have significant positive results in my department, career, or personal life?"
This information comes from Time Mastery, a module in Entelechy's High Performance Management program. Check out this module as well as our 40 other modules, training tools, and eGuides at
www.unlockit.com.
ANSWERS TO EXERCISES
The following are the answers to the exercises in the first article.
Group 1 - Departmental Goals
Group 2 - Personal and Professional Goals
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