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The SMART framework is a tool used for setting individual, team, or company-wide goals. SMART goals are widely used in business settings to help align effort, track progress, and evaluate performance; however, they can be applied in any scenario where goal setting is valuable. In this workshop, you'll learn how to write meaningful and measurable goals using the SMART framework, with a focus on crafting a SMART goal that supports the objectives of the company you work for.
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Welcome to Crafting SMART Goals, a short
workshop that will teach you how to write
0:00
meaningful and measurable goals
using the SMART framework.
0:05
In this workshop,
we'll learn what SMART goals are,
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then focus on crafting a SMART goal that
supports the objectives of your company.
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Let's get started.
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The acronym SMART stands for
specific, measurable,
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achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
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SMART is a framework for setting
individual, team, or company-wide goals.
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SMART goals are widely used in business
settings to help align effort,
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track progress, and evaluate performance.
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But they can be applied in any scenario
where goal setting is valuable.
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Your company's goals are a good place
to start when crafting your individual
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SMART goal.
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For our example, let's say your company
has focused their first quarter goals
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around increasing customer use
of a brand new mobile app.
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Your individual goal supporting this
company goal might be something like this.
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Implement a customer engagement program to
help increase our mobile app user base.
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Sounds like a pretty solid goal, right?
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But what if I told you that's
not a SMART goal at all?
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Let's define the word goal.
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A goal is a result toward which
an effort or action is directed.
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A goal statement should define
the result you're aiming toward
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rather than the effort or
the action you'll take to get there.
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You'll want the result you focus your
individual goal on to directly support
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the greater goals of the company.
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Before writing your own SMART goals, make
sure you understand the relevant specifics
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around the result your
company is aiming toward.
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Let's identify where our
mobile app goal falls short.
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The first part of our goal statement,
implement a customer engagement program,
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describes the action you'll take to
achieve a result which is valuable
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to know.
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The second part of our goal statement,
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to help increase our mobile app user base,
describes a result.
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However, it isn't a specific result.
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It doesn't describe enough about
the result to be measurable.
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How much of an increase is expected, and
when do you expect to achieve the result?
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Identifying the specific metrics that
will define success is key to tracking
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progress in your goal.
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Let's look at the metrics that
will make this goal SMART.
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How many mobile app users
does the company have today?
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You need to know this in order
to measure your progress.
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If you don't know this key metric,
ask your manager.
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Without it,
you won't be able to calculate your goal.
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How much of an increase
in users is expected?
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This metric will allow you
to calculate progress.
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Talk with your manager to ensure
it's a number that's achievable and
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aligns with the company's expectations.
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Taking a wild guess at a number to aim for
without thinking it through or
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discussing with your manager or
your team can set you up for failure.
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What's the deadline for
reaching this result?
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With this metric, you know when
to measure the final result and
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how much time you have to achieve it.
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Now you have meaningful and
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measurable metrics you can
craft your SMART goal around.
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Identifying metrics is one step
toward crafting your goal statement.
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In fact, writing your goal statement
should be the last step in crafting your
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SMART goal.
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To write a meaningful SMART goal,
first answer these questions.
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What's the specific result
you're working toward?
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Be sure to define the result or
outcome you want to achieve.
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How will you measure your goal
to know you've achieved it?
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Include the metrics you'll
use to measure your results.
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Is the goal realistically achievable?
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Make sure the result is within reach.
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Explore all possible constraints and
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dependencies that could
affect your progress.
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Is your goal relevant to
the company's objectives?
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The result you're aiming towards should
directly support the overall goals of
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the company.
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Within what timeframe do you
expect to achieve the result?
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Commit to a specific end date,
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otherwise you won't know when
to measure your results.
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Working through these questions
eliminates generalities and
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makes it easier to track progress.
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Once you've answered these questions,
you'll have the tools to
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craft a meaningful, measurable,
and specific SMART goal statement.
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Now that we know the answers
to our SMART questions,
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we can write a SMART goal statement for
our mobile app goal.
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Let's begin our statement
with the time frame.
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By end of quarter 1, we can follow
that with the result we wanna achieve.
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I will increase our mobile app user base.
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Include the unit of increase you
expect by the end of the quarter, 10%,
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and the action you'll take
to achieve the result,
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implementing a customer
engagement program.
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This is a solid SMART goal as is.
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However, you may choose to look
back at your SMART answers to add
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more specifics about the relevancy of
the goal, benchmarks you intend to hit
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along the way, or other teams you may
collaborate with to achieve the goal.
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Your goal is now easily measured at
any point within your timeframe.
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You have 500 mobile app users at
the beginning of the quarter, and
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you know you need 550 at the end of
the quarter to achieve your goal.
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Track your progress along the way to
ensure you're making headway, and
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make adjustments in your
approach if you feel you need to.
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Here are four methods you can use to
measure progress towards success.
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Keep a record.
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Have you recorded all your actions
in a document or spreadsheet?
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Assess your plan.
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What are your commitments?
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And where can you improve?
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Create a checklist.
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Can you simplify any tasks?
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And finally, track your progress.
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Are you moving forward
with your result smoothly?
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Now that you know what a SMART goal is,
why it's important, and how to write one,
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it's time to put that
framework into practice.
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Start with the specifics of
the result you want to achieve.
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Brainstorm the five SMART questions.
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Then craft a clear, actionable and
attainable goal that will keep you focused
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on your result and
help you measure progress in achieving it.
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Good luck crafting, and
thanks for watching!
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We hope you found this workshop valuable.
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Email us at feedback@teamtreehouse.com
with your thoughts.
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