Why Is It Important to Set and Achieve Smart Business Goals?

Why Is It Important to Set and Achieve ||Smart Business Goals?

SMART (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, Time-bound) goals help to give your organization direction. Businesses often set goals that are too vague or unrealistic. Understanding how to set SMART goals will help focus and guide your organization’s goal-setting process to increase your success rate.

Goals are statements in your plan that are short-term in nature (12 to 24 months) and have outcome statements built into them. They live between strategic objectives and initiatives/action items (less than 12 months). They cascade into these shorter-term initiatives.

It’s best to start your SMART goal with a verb that has motion (actionable). Be clear on what the goal means (specific). We want to understand the goal when we re-read it in a month or two. Use numbers if you have them (measurable) and include a time frame; this year, this month, etc. (time-bound). The “R” refers to the entire goal. Is your goal realistic? Conclude with a statement that answers the “why?” Why is this goal important?

SMART goals have a meaningful commitment. Somebody must own it and be clear on what success looks like and when it will be accomplished.

Now that you know how to set SMART goals use them to improve the quality and completion of your organization’s goals.