I have been talking to quite a few friends lately about goal setting and using the SMART principle to come up with our goal statements, so I figured I would create a post with more information about using the SMART principle.First, a quick recap on what the acronym itself,
S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Achievable
R – Realistic
T – Timely
Make sure that when you’re creating your goals then each one meets each requirement set out by the SMART principle. I find it easiest to work from the top down fining tuning your goal as you go.
Specific
When setting your goals you should make sure that each one contains a specific action. A good example of setting a specific goal would be, “Sign up new advertisers for procrastinating entrepreneur”.
Measurable
The goal should be easily measurable; by this we mean that you can easily tell whether or not you have achieved your goal. So by adding measurable elements to my stated goal it would now look something like this, “Sign up two new advertisers for procrastinating entrepreneur”.
Achievable
The goal should be attainable using your current resources. I would like to think that my goal of signing up new advertisers is achievable, I have the website, I have the content, etc.
Realistic
It’s good to stretch yourself, but make sure that when setting your goals you’re still being realistic with yourself. If you make wild and unrealistic goals for yourself you will lose your momentum when you don’t achieve those goals. So is my goal of signing up new advertisers realistic? Sure it is, I don’t have any advertisers right now J, and by setting my goal for two new advertisers I am stretching myself a bit, but not wildly.
Timely
Always, always make sure that you set yourself a deadline for each goal. If you leave it wide open, (i.e. I am going to get 2 new clients) then you’re allowing yourself to let a goal go on forever. All goals need an end date!
So finally, here’s what my advertising goal looks like going through the entire SMART principle,
“Sign up two new advertisers for procrastinating entrepreneur by August 30, 2008″
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[...] While you’re waiting, come up with some goals for your website, ignore the obvious stuff like page hits, page views, etc. and instead concentrate on something like conversion rates. For example, Reach a 2% conversion rate for new visitors filling out the request for more information form by a specific date. For examples on how to write your goals see my earlier post about the SMART principle. [...]