SMART

It's smart to set goals; you might say it's even smarter to set SMART goals, which are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timebound (SMART) goals. The criteria have become popular for setting goals in various contexts, including professionally (e.g., project management and commerce) and personally (e.g., counseling or therapy sessions).

Here's a breakdown of the SMART acronym:

• Specific - The goal should not be broad; you need to be able to identify what you are trying to achieve. For example, a boss' goal of being more profitable might be "I want to convert more leads to sales."
• Measurable - You must be able to be quantify the goal. For example, "I want to convert 100% more of our leads to sales."
• Attainable - The goal should be challenging but realistic. For example, doubling the conversions is probably too much of a jump; you should aim for something more attainable, like "I want to convert 50% more of our leads to sales."
• Relevant - Your goal should be relevant to the context in which you set it (professionally or personally). For example, if you are the boss of your company, you wouldn't set a sales goal for the whole company; you'd set it for the sales team.
• Timebound - You should specify when you want to see the goal achieved. For example, "I want to convert 50% more of our leads to sales by the end of the month."

After compiling these factors, the boss' SMART goal might be, "I want the sales team to convert 50% more leads to sales by the end of the month."

Origin of SMART

Consultant George T. Doran of Spokane, Washington, popularized the SMART framework when he published his paper "There's a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management's Goals and Objectives" in November 1981. His acronym initially consisted of Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, and Time-related, but authors, business and life coaches, etc., have created variations over time.