Author: Widi Papan
Working hard is so yesterday.(SMART GOALS) If you really want to get somewhere in life, forget the iron will and 80-hour working week and think about how you can be more tactical instead. Your key performance indicators will thank you for it!
Let’s dive into what each of the five aspects are all about.
Specific
Have you ever heard someone say that their goal is to “get fit” or “eat healthy?” Maybe you’ve even said it yourself! But while these might sound like productive and meaningful goals, there’s just one problem: they’re far too vague.
Although the examples above relate to our personal lives, we also need to be specific about our business smart goals. Are you telling your team they need to “make more sales” and “get more clients” — or are you giving them a more specific objective?
Specific goals should be simple yet significant.
Measurable
The best way to be specific is to pick a goal that you can actually measure. So, instead of having a goal to “make more sales,” you could set your salespeople the target of closing two new deals per week (of course, that number could be bigger or smaller depending on the value of those deals).
There are two advantages to having measurable goals: it’s easy to teak them if things don’t go quite the way you expected, and you’ll have something to celebrate if you meet them successfully.
Achievable
So, you’ve set an easy-to-measure goal for your business — maybe something like “gain 100,000 Instagram followers in one month.” You’re a SMART goals star student, right?
Not quite. Setting specific, measurable goals isn’t enough — they also need to be achievable, or what’s the point?
To ensure your goal is achievable and realistic, you need to consider how exactly you (or your team) plan to achieve it. Is there a clear path to follow? Do you have the financial resources or manpower to execute it?
Relevant
There’s no point in setting goals if they’re not going to benefit your company in the long run. Unfortunately, many people end up setting the goals that “sound good” rather than the ones that will yield the right results.
Even if a goal is worthwhile, you might be handing the responsibility of achieving it to the wrong person, or tackling it at the wrong moment in time.
So, think carefully!
Timely
Are you hoping to expand your team to fifty people within six months, two years, or some time within the next fifty years?
Thinking back to the path of how exactly you’ll achieve your goal is essential for this. What kind of time frame is reasonable yet still achievable? It’s okay to be a little optimistic and tweak the goal later on.
Achieve success the SMART way
The advice we’ve given you here on setting SMART goals is a good place to start, but it barely scratches the surface. To really set the right goals for your firm, you need to do some serious soul-searching.
In some cases, those difficult calls can be made internally — but sometimes, bringing in a third party can be beneficial. If you think you fall into the second category, why not get in contact with Gema Consult? With ample experience helping small companies hone their management styles and business goals, we might just be able to provide you the clarity you need.
Author
Successfully Managing a Fleet of Tourism Locations, A Legacy Forged by Mentoring Hundreds of Clients to Obtain Long-term Success
Widi Papan has recently been appointed to Senior Deputy Director at Gema Consult, a hidden gem among gems. A maverick at establishing modern administration styles in an industry relying on largely outdated practices, Widi brings a unique value to Gema’s approach with clients. With clear direction for short and medium-term projects and expert-level knowledge of accounting standards, he is key to establishing successful operations for our clients.
Widi is the operational foundation responsible for Gema’s overwhelming success. His proficiency in executing technology automation, business set-ups, budgeting, cash flow recovery, debt management, capital increase planning, and business process simplification is on another level. This expertise is applied to every one of Gema Consult’s clients.