Why do business objectives need to be smart

Numbers are an essential part of business. A goal white board posted in your office can help as a daily reminder to keep yourself and your employee focused on the targeted results you want to attain.

Far too often, small businesses can set goals beyond reach. No one has ever built a billion dollar business overnight. Venture capitalists and angel investors discard countless business plans of companies with outlandish goals.

Dream big and aim for the stars but keep one foot firmly based in reality. Check with your industry association to get a handle on realistic growth in your industry to set SMART goals.

Achievable business goals are based on the current conditions and realities of the business climate. Once your business goals are SMART , break down each goal into a specific set of tasks and activities to accomplish your goals. University of California. Accessed April 28, To help formulate some answers here, think about your goal in terms of the six Ws:. How will you measure progress against your goal?

Making goals measurable ensures that they're more tangible and attainable. It gives you a way of evaluating progress. Will the project take a few weeks or more? Consider setting a few milestones along the way by thinking about what micro-tasks you or your team can complete at various points. How important is the goal to you? How can you make it happen? Do you need to develop new skills or embrace new technology?

It's key not to get discouraged. Goals are designed to motivate you, to get you out of bed each day determined to move one step closer. So what do you need to do to achieve the goal? Can you get there within your current skill set? Think about what needs to change to get you there. Relevance means focusing on your wider business goals. You might be launching a new product.

So your goals should be in tune with the business' overall objectives. Your team might have a product that's ideal for the Chinese market, but if Far-East expansion isn't on the company's agenda, it's not a worthwhile goal.

You could say, "I'm going to increase productivity by 23 percent," which would be nice and specific. However, as a goal, it's useless without setting a specific timeframe in which you want things to happen. You'll put events off, you'll let things drift, and it won't seem to matter because you hadn't nailed anything down to a set timeframe. Coming up with a realistic deliverable date is vital. Specific - An objective that follows SMART is more likely to succeed because it is clear specific so you know exactly what needs to be achieved.

Measurable - You can tell when it has been achieved measurable because you have a way to measure completion. This is an important check because it asks you to examine your resources and marketing environment Macro environment, Micro environment and internal environment to decide whether you are able to achieve the SMART objective.

Realistic - Before setting a SMART objective relevant factors such as resources and time were taken into account to ensure that that the objective was realistic. Many business experts suggest that both corporate and functional objectives need to conform to a set of criteria referred to as an acronym SMART. Company Reg no: VAT reg no Main menu.

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