SMART criteria help set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely goals for individuals and businesses. Goals should be challenging yet achievable and have a deadline to avoid procrastination. For example, a freelance artist can set a goal to earn 30% more revenue by completing 10 commissioned photos by the end of the week.
The “SMART” in “SMART Policies” is an acronym that helps a person set business or personal goals. According to the criteria, a person’s goal should be specific, so anyone can see it, and it should be measurable, so a person can gauge how close they are to completion. It should also be challenging, yet achievable and relevant – so important to the person who is motivated to achieve it. A goal should also be timely, with a deadline that gives it urgency.
The “S” in the SMART criteria reminds a person to set specific goals. Specific goals help keep employees and managers, or anyone else, on track. For example, consider a freelance artist who wants to make more money—a goal that’s too vague to be effective. In order to plan according to SMART criteria, this goal should include how much money you would like to make and how you should do it. A more specific goal is “I would like to earn 30% more revenue by completing 10 commissioned photos by the end of the week.”
Having a measurable goal is the “M” in SMART criteria. It includes goal setting with built-in checkpoints so a business or person can measure progress. For example, the goal that the sample artist set includes completing 10 photos by the end of the week. At any moment, he can measure how close he is to completing those 10 photos. He can also set a subgoal to complete two photos a day.
This example goal is also timely, the “T” in SMART criteria, because it includes a deadline. Having a timely goal is essential to keeping a person or organization from procrastinating. However, there is a danger that a person may be too ambitious in their goal. This is where the “A” in SMART criteria comes in: the goal should be achievable. In the case of the artist, if she normally works hard to complete two photos in a week, she is unlikely to be able to complete 10 photos in a week and shouldn’t set a goal to do so.
Finally, the “R” in the SMART criteria helps ensure a relevant goal. Setting a goal to draw 10 photos is pointless for a recording artist. In a business, such a goal may need to take many forms. For example, if a software company wants to increase its bottom line, a goal for the sales department might include increasing sales by a certain percentage. On the other hand, the technical department’s goal could include the development of a number of software programs by the end of the year.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
