Effective Tips Repositioning Your S.M.A.R.T Goals - by Sonia McIntoah

 Are you unable to achieve your goals?  “Reposition” them and make sure that they are S.M.A.R.T!

*Specific*Measurable*Attainable*Relevant*Timely*

The biggest challenge many of us face when setting goals is that they are not clear enough.  Your weaknesses are at the start and if you are using the same strategies year after year, then you need to reposition them by changing the way you think, feel and envision your goals.  Don’t just focus on “what I want” syndrome.  Look at what you eventually desire in the end that would be beneficial for you, your company…the final outcome!  Where will S.M.A.R.T take you, your department or company in the end?  Will you still be at point “A” after you have used all the framework of S.M.A.R.T?  Perhaps you need to reposition your goals from the customer or employee viewpoint when aligning your specifics.

Let’s look at this scenario for Jane Smith when she first opened her business:

·        Specific – Create a wedding consultancy website for budget conscious couples.

·        Measurable – Gain one client quarterly by participating in area bridal shows and utilizing own in house metric to measure progress.

·        Attainable – Offer free consultation to all clients and share exclusive content through “Constant Contact” to engage  leads.

·        Relevant – An increase in clientele will create an increase in revenue.

·        Timely – Achieve first three clients in 6 months.

Looking at this S.M.A.R.T set up, everything seems to be on point; however, Jane Smith was not achieving these goals the way she had them outlined.  Jane really wanted to be a destination wedding consultant and to show off her expertise in this area (final outcome).   A new year has begun and now Jane Smith is repositioning her goals.   She redefined her Specifics, “Create a wedding consultancy website for budget conscious couples seeking destination weddings.”   Her Attainable now reads “Share exclusive content through Constant Connect to engage the numerous specific leads; and networking with destination hotels/resorts, other destination wedding planners, photographers, videographers and attending specific destination bridal shows.  This new S.M.A.R.T framework will give Jane Smith a clearer picture of where she is heading.

In conclusion, the next time your S.M.A.R.T goals are not in alignment with your passion, “reposition” them.